Mikey Tepper
# 3 Mississippi State (16-4) will host North Alabama (1-16) at 6pm on Wednesday. The Bulldogs are fresh from a series win against LSU in Baton Rouge. The Golden Lions were swept by Bellarmine over the weekend. It was a real fight in Florence as the team only has one stroke with a batting average of over 0.300. North Alabama pitching gives up nearly seven runs per game (6.99 ERA).
The Bulldog offense could certainly use the batting practice as they prepare for a big streak with Arkansas this weekend. The Razorbacks took two out of three out of Alabama over the weekend and blew Memphis 14-1 on Tuesday night. The Razorbacks will be the state’s toughest opponent yet this season.
On their last two trips to Starkville, the pigs were swept by the Bulldogs. In 2016, the state of Mississippi completed the program’s first SEC title since 1989 with a sweep of the Razorbacks. The 2018 Diamond Dawgs turned their season around with a sweep of # 3 Arkansas. The state hopes recent history repeats itself as the Bulldogs attempt to step up in the SEC West race and win a possible SEC championship.
The Bulldogs plan to send RHP Mikey Tepper (0-0, 0.00 ERA) up the hill on Wednesday. Tepper has appeared in two games with three full innings. Opponents made an inexperienced run but failed to get a base hit. Tepper hit four and only ran one in his two reliefs. State will likely use a Johnny Wholestaff approach and get work for multiple pitchers should the game be played.
The match was originally scheduled to be played on Tuesday but was postponed due to weather forecasts predicting rain in the Starkville area. The rain cleared up in the morning hours, which provided a window to play, but the schedule change was already complete. Rain was expected again in Starkville on Wednesday but it appears the game is ready to be played.
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Mississippi state fans are encouraged to be weather aware and stay up to date on any additional schedule changes on social media. The rain is now expected to enter the area on Wednesday evening. There is a possibility of an earlier start time. Mississippi state officials say they will make a final decision on the game at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
The Bulldog basketball team will be back in action on Thursday when they face Richmond in an NIT quarterfinal game. The spiders have two SEC profits in their accounts. Richmond has won street games in both Kentucky and Vanderbilt this year, so State must make a solid effort to advance to the semi-finals.