Defending national champion Mississippi State baseball begins 2022 season against Long Beach State

Friday’s first pitch is set for 2 p.m. CT.

By Collin Wilmes@CollinWilmes Feb 18, 2022, 12:12am EST

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The No. 4 Mississippi State baseball team begins its quest for back-to-back national championships when the Bulldogs host No. 24 Long Beach State for a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field.

The series begins Friday at 2 p.m. CT, continues Saturday at 2 p.m. and concludes with a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday. All three games will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

Chris Lemonis is in his fourth season as MSU’s head baseball coach. The Bulldogs finished the 2021 season with a 50-18 overall record and a 20-10 record in Southeastern Conference play. MSU defeated Vanderbilt in a best-of-three series to claim its first College World Series title.

The Dirtbags played just 43 games last season due to COVID-19 restrictions. They finished 28-15 overall and 26-14 in Big West Conference games. The Dirtbags were selected as the preseason favorites to win the conference in 2022, according to a poll of the league’s 11 head coaches. They are coached by Eric Valenzuela, who is in his third season with the team.

MSU and Long Beach State will be playing in the fifth, sixth and seventh games between the two programs and the first time in Starkville. Long Beach State leads the all-time series 3-1, with the most recent meeting being a three-game series back in 2020. The Dirtbags won Game 1 and Game 3 on their way to a series victory.

Friday, Feb. 18 (2 p.m. CT)

Probable Starters:

MSU: RHP Landon Sims (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

LBSU: RHP Luis Ramirez (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Live Video: SEC Network+

Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=394982

Saturday, Feb. 19 (2 p.m. CT)

Probable Starters:

MSU: RHP KC Hunt (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

LBSU: RHP Marques Johnson (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Live Video: SEC Network+

Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=394983