Game Time and Details
Thursday, March 29 – 7 p.m. CT
Friday, March 30 – 7 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 31 – 2 p.m. CT
Venue: Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field (10,326)
Where They Rank
LSU – No. 19 by Collegiate Baseball; No. 21 by Baseball America
MSU – unranked
Weekend Pitching Rotation:
Game 1
Zack Hess (3-3, 5.68 ERA, 31.2 IP, 17 BB, 45 SO) vs Konnor Pilkington (1-3, 1.82 ERA, 34.2 IP, 4 BB, 48 SO)
Game 2
Caleb Gilbert (3-1, 3.86 ERA, 32.2 IP, 7 BB, 20 SO) vs. Ethan Small (1-2, 2.73 ERA, 33.0 IP, 10 BB, 46 SO)
Game 3
Ma’Khail Hilliard (5-1, 0.92 ERA, 29.1 IP, 9 BB, 28 SO) vs Jacob Billingsley (2-1, 3.96 ERA, 25.0 IP, 16 BB, 21 SO)
Storylines
Hitting Needs to Turn Around
This series is going to be a turning point, no bones about it. LSU’s taking on a team that’s underwhelmed at the plate in Mississippi State and will help the Tigers who have been solid at the plate, it’s just not showing when it comes to putting runs on the board for some reason. If they can get runs across home plate, it’s safe to say that they come away with a series win this weekend.
Big Game for Hess
The 2018 season hasn’t been kind to Zach Hess with the sophomore hitting a slump as a starter, going 3-3. If not for injuries to Eric Walker and Nick Storz, odds are he’d be moved over the bullpen but because of it being a proverbial mash unit it’s forced Hess to be a starter. If he doesn’t have a good start, perhaps the tinkerer in Paul Mainieri will begin to tinker
-Clint Domingue