No. 6 Mississippi State baseball opens SEC Tournament Wednesday against No. 13 Florida

HOOVER, Ala. — The No. 6 Mississippi State baseball team will begin Southeastern Conference Tournament play on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. CT against No. 13 Florida at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The game can be watched on SEC Network.

The Bulldogs (40-13, 20-10 SEC) are coming off a series sweep of Alabama last weekend and enter as the No. 3 seed.

Senior Tanner Allen leads the Bulldog offense and was named SEC player of the year on Monday as well as earning first-team all-SEC honors. He is batting .387 overall with 79 hits, 53 RBIs and 54 runs. Senior Rowdey Jordan was selected to the all-SEC second team, and is hitting .315 with 63 hits, 57 runs and 38 RBIs.

Junior Brandon Smith will get the start on the mound for the Bulldogs to start the tournament. He has appeared in 16 games this season with one start. He owns a 2.76 ERA and has struck out 35 batters in 29 ¹⁄₃ innings.

The Gators (36-19, 17-13 SEC), who hold the No. 6 seed, defeated Kentucky 4-1 in the opening round of the SEC Tournament on Tuesday to earn a spot in the double-elimination field.

Sophomore Jud Fabian, who earned first-team all-SEC honors, is batting ,251 with 52 hits, 20 home runs, 46 RBIs and 49 runs. He was also named to the SEC All-Defensive Team. Sophomore Jacob Young is hitting .309 with 72 hits, 52 runs and 37 RBIs, while freshman Nathan Hickey is hitting .304 with 62 hits, 47 RBIs and 36 runs.

Wednesday’s game will mark the 119th between the Bulldogs and Gators on the diamond. Florida owns a 66-52 edge in the series,

Probable Starters:

MSU: RHP Brandon Smith (4-2, 2.76 ERA)

UF: LHP Hunter Barco (9-2, 4.04 ERA)

TV: SEC Network

Live Video: https://hailst.at/3fCFd45

Live Audio: https://hailst.at/audio

Live Stats: http://hailst.at/StatBroadcast