Mississippi State vs. Mississippi Series Preview: Rivals duel on Super Bulldog Weekend

The Mississippi State Bulldogs and Ole Miss Rebels mix it up this weekend in a three game set during Super Bulldog Weekend in Starkville, and for the Bulldogs, the series presents an opportunity to regain a bit of lost momentum from last weekend in Baton Rogue where the Maroon and White suffered a sweep at the hands of the Tigers.

The Rebels boast a weekend starting rotation of three pitchers with a total of 12 wins against two losses. Mississippi State, on the other hand, will be missing their usual Friday night starter, Preston Brown. The Bulldogs plan to bump up their other two weekend starters, Ross Mitchell and Trevor Fitts, and go with Ben Bracewell or Brandon Woodruff on Sunday.

Both teams will want to pick up the win Friday with their ace on the bump.

The big question for Mississippi State will concern their bats. The Bulldogs have struggled at the plate as of late, and so far this season, the team has lacked the pop to help complete a big comeback. With the ground ball inducing Mitchell on the hill Friday, defense, especially in the infield will be at a premium, but as the weekend progresses, it will be interesting to see if line up changes are made in an attempt to kick start the offense.

Should the Bulldogs pick up a series victory, they have a chance to go on a roll during the next four SEC series as they face Texas A&M, Missouri, Auburn and Tennessee.

all times and pitching matchups courtesy of HailState.com.

Game Times and Pitching Matchups (All times Central, matchups subject to change)

Friday - 6:30 p.m. - Dudy Noble Field - Starkville, Mississippi
- RJr. LHP Ross Mitchell (5-2, 1.54 ERA) vs. Jr. RHP Chris Ellis (4-0, 1.88 ERA)

Saturday - 3:00 p.m. (FSN, ESPN3) - Dudy Noble Field
- Jr. RHP Trevor Fitts (2-2, 3.41 ERA) vs. RSo. LHP Christian Trent (4-0, 2.41 ERA)

Sunday - 1:30 p.m. - Dudy Noble Field
- Jr. RHP Ben Bracewell (2-2, 2.48 ERA) -OR- Jr. RHP Brandon Woodruff (1-2, 4.12 ERA) vs. Jr. RHP Sam Smith (4-2, 2.22 ERA)

Leading Hitters

Ole Miss
- Austin Anderson, 3B | .351 avg, 47 hits, 4 HRs, 23 RBIs, .507 slg %
- Will Allen, C | .346 avg, 47 hits, 5 HRs, 38 RBIs, .559 slg %

Mississippi State
- Derrick Armstrong, OF | .333 avg, 25 hits, 10 RBIs, .404 ob%, 11 SBs
- Brett Pirtle, 2B | .320 avg, 41 hits, 13 RBIs, .385 ob%, 3 SBs
- Gavin Collins, C | .306 avg, 15 hits, 4 RBIs, .449 slg

Links

Baseball America Weekend Preview - 4/11 to 4/13
MSU vs. Ole Miss - Game Notes (via HailState.com)
Ole Miss Baseball Homepage

Top 25 Weekend Matchups

- (1) Florida State at Georgia Tech
- (14) Clemson at (2) Virginia
- Arkansas-Little Rock at (3) Louisiana-Lafayette
- (4) Cal Poly at Hawaii
- (15) Florida at (5) South Carolina
- (6) Oregon State at Washington State
- (7) Texas at Oklahoma
- (13) Louisville at (8) Houston
- Stanford at (9) Washington*
- Auburn at (10) Alabama
- Texas A&M at (11) Vanderbilt
- Missouri at (12) Kentucky
- Arkansas at (16) Louisiana State
- (19) Mississippi at (17) Mississippi State
- (18) Cal State Fullerton at (22) UC Santa Barbara
- San Jose State at (20) UNLV
- (21) Rice at Tulane
- Morehead State at (23) Indiana
- Pittsburgh at (24) Miami
- UC Riverside at (25) Oregon

Bold indicates an SEC series
*Indicates my series of the week

SEC Weekend Matchups

- Missouri at (12) Kentucky
- (15) Florida at (5) South Carolina
- Tennessee at Georgia
- Texas A&M at (11) Vanderbilt
- Auburn at (10) Alabama
- (19) Ole Miss at (17) Mississippi State
- Arkansas at (16) LSU