Dog fight set for Dudy Noble Field on important SEC weekend for State

It hasn’t exactly been one step forward and two back for Mississippi State baseball this season, but the Diamond Dawgs will have a road block every time it seems the team is gaining momentum.

After knocking off No. 18 LSU in the opening weekend of the season and coming up just short in two series on the road against No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 6 Florida, the Diamond Dawgs had a massive toe stomp on Tuesday. State fell behind 7-1 against Central Arkansas and had a furious rally in the ninth stopped by two strikeouts from Dakota Jordan and Hunter Hines as they dropped the midweek matchup 7-6.

The Diamond Dawgs are No. 23 in the country with an 19-11 record and 4-5 mark in SEC play, but State needs some wins to stack before the end of the season to get into postseason play. That begins this weekend when Georgia (23-6, 4-5 SEC) comes to town.

“It’s huge. We’ve got to go out there and play really good baseball against a really good team,” head coach Chris Lemonis said. “That’s how SEC play is every single week. Every weekend is huge. Everything that you can get, you are scrambling to get every win that you can in this league.”

It was hard to hide Lemonis’ frustrations on Tuesday afternoon, but there have been quiet a few of those frustrating days for MSU over the last three seasons. The Bulldogs are working to get back on track after two disastrous seasons in which they followed up a national title by missing out on postseason altogether.

The pitching staff hasn’t been perfect this season but new pitching coach Justin Parker is on pace to lower the ERA by well over 2.00 runs and the team has 314 strikeouts to 116 walks after walking a school-record 321 a season ago.

Long, others have brought different mentality to 2024 team

One of the biggest reasons for State’s improvement this year might just be the mentality. The infusion of players like catcher Johnny Long, pitcher Cam Schuelke and second-year middle infielder David Mershon has changed the makeup of the team and dugout.

Long especially has been a Godsend for the Diamond Dawgs. The Pittsburgh transfer was brought in for depth purposes but he’s turned into State’s top catcher and a teammate that commands everyone’s respect.

“Before I got here, I really had no expectations of playing and I was so bought in on being a team guy and taking everything that I’ve learned from my freshman year to now and flooding it to brains of the younger kids. I think it’s so vital that they just learn,” Long said. “Every kid that’s a freshman here is a superstar. They’ve never sat on the bench. They’ve probably never been on a team that’s lost before.

“I think my knowledge and everything that I’ve taken from my past five years I want to give it to them so they’re able to learn it and become a better teammate. At the end of the day, you can be a superstar but if you’re not a good teammate, it’s not going to make you a good baseball player.”

Georgia bringing the bats to Starkville

Long and his teammates are facing a big task this weekend to try to get the ball rolling again and building a resume. The Georgia Bulldogs have been one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the SEC all season long thanks to the season being had by Charlie Condon.

In 29 games, Condon is batting an incredible .481 with 52 hits, 19 home runs, 11 doubles and 41 RBI. He has an eye-popping 1.130 SLG% and a .593 OBP. There’s also the interest of former State third baseman Slate Alford who is back home this weekend with his .331 average at his new school and he has eight home runs after a hot start to the season.

First-year coach and former MSU pitching coach Wes Johnson is leading the helm and is still working with his pitching staff’s 5.33 ERA and .258 batting average against, but Georgia is going to be a tough out.

“I think it’s 80-something homers. They walk and get HBPs, they have a high on base percentage so they kind of work it both ways and then wait for the homer,” Lemonis said. “It’s a walk, HBP and then it’s a homer. They’ve got some great players and have some good arms in there, too.”

Game times this weekend will be 6 p.m. on Friday, 7 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday with the Saturday game being set for SEC Network. Khal Stephen and Jurrangelo Cijntje will start again on Friday/Saturday with Sunday’s decision still to be determined.