PEARL – Mississippi State returns to Trustmark Park on Tuesday for its annual non-conference game against No. 23 Ole Miss known as the Governor's Cup.
The showdown between the instate rivals is slated for a 6 p.m. start on SEC Network+.
The Diamond Dawgs have claimed the past two Governor's Cup games and lead 11-5 since the midweek series moved to the former home of the Mississippi Braves in 2007. MSU also holds a 24-19 advantage since the Mayor's Trophy/Governor's Cup series started in 1980.
Last year, the Bulldogs prevailed 5-1 thanks to a four-run eighth inning. Hunter Hines went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and an RBI in that victory.
State leads the overall series against Ole Miss 267-213-5 and have claimed the past two contests. The Bulldogs defeated the Rebels 2-1 at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama the last time the two teams took the diamond together.
Mississippi State (24-16) has slated junior right-hander Noah Sullivan to make his sixth start on the mound in the past seven midweek games. Sullivan has a 1.50 earned run average with nine strikeouts and two walks in 12 innings this season but has not factored into a decision.
Ole Miss (28-12) counters with freshman righty Cade Townsend, who will be making his 11th appearance and fourth start. Townsend sports a 1-0 record and a 7.13 ERA, 27 strikeouts and 13 walks through 17 2/3 innings of work.
Both teams head to Pearl after losing their respective weekend series but salvaging the final game. The Diamond Dawgs downed Florida 14-8 on Sunday while the Rebels closed out their road series at South Carolina with a 12-2 victory in seven innings on Saturday.
MSU is batting .304 with 66 home runs and scoring 7.4 runs on average. Chris Lemonis' club has also stolen 37 bases in 43 attempts and maintains a .970 fielding percentage.
Junior left fielder Gehrig Frei leads the Bulldog regulars hitting .387 and a .693 slugging percentage. Sophomore third baseman Ace Reese continues to top the team with 13 homers and 47 RBIs, tied for eighth in the Southeastern Conference in both categories. Sophomore catcher Ross Highfill remains State's leading base thief with 10 steals in 12 tries.
Hines is third among active Division I players with 62 career home runs. The senior first baseman ranks second all-time in school history, five behind Rafael Palmeiro (1983-85).
The Diamond Dawgs' pitching staff continues to be one of the nation's elite. Mississippi State ranks fourth in the country in strikeouts per nine innings (12) and is fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.37).
Bulldog hurlers have a collective ERA of 4.18 with 445 strikeouts and 132 walks through 334 innings. Opposing hitters are batting just .221 against them.
Pico Kohn paces MSU with 81 strikeouts while Cade O'Leary and Gavin Black both have flawless ERAs. Luke Dotson, Chase Hungate and Stone Simmons have all recorded a pair of saves and top the team in that category.
Ole Miss is hitting .291 as a team with 78 homers and scoring 8.3 runs per game. The Rebels field at a .974 clip and have swiped 58 bases in 75 tries.
Luke Hill leads Mike Bianco's bunch with a .362 batting average and has stolen 13 bases in 17 attempts. Mitchell Sanford has clubbed a team-high 12 homers while Judd Utermark tops Ole Miss with 40 RBIs.
The Rebels' pitching staff has a team ERA of 4.66 with 439 strikeouts and 155 free passes in 348 frames. Their opponents have hit .244 against them with 44 long balls.
Connor Spencer maintains a team-low 0.66 ERA and team-high three saves while Hunter Elliott leads Ole Miss with 58 strikeouts.
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