Mississippi State, Ole Miss Square Off in SEC Tournament

The 12-seed Ole Miss Rebels baseball team (27-28) faces off against the 5-seed Mississippi State Bulldogs (36-19) in the first round of the SEC Tournament at 9 p.m. The SEC Tournament is being held in Hoover, Alabama.

https://twitter.com/OleMissBSB/status/1792920997072413093

The Stakes

The first-round matchup between the Bulldogs and Rebels is a single-elimination game. The winner will advance to the second round of the tournament to face 4-seed Texas A&M in a double-elimination matchup.

Mississippi State enters the SEC tournament projected to be a two seed in the Terre Haute Regional by D1 Baseball. A deep SEC Tournament run is not a necessity for the Bulldogs, but it could boost their resume to the committee.

Ole Miss, however, is at jeopardy of missing a regional tournament appearance for the second year in a row. A deep SEC Tournament run could help boost Ole Miss’s chances in making a regional appearance. After winning the 2022 College Baseball World Series, the rebels failed to make the SEC Tournament in 2023 and narrowly squeaked in as the 12-seed this year.

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Regular Season Series

The Bulldogs and Rebels have faced off four times during the 2024 regular season, splitting the series at two-a-piece. On April 12, Ole Miss and Mississippi State started a three-game series. The Bulldogs took the first game of the three-game series by a final score of 8-0. The Rebels bounced back and took the last two games of the three-game series with scores of 10-9 and 14-2.

The last time the two teams played each other was on May 1st, at the annual Governor’s Cup in Pearl, Mississippi. Mississippi State won the game 5-1.

https://twitter.com/HailStateBB/status/1785860788063818156

Projected Starters

Ole Miss is projected to send out righty Riley Maddox, who is 3-7 on the year, with a 6.10 ERA. Mississippi State is projected to start righty Brooks Auger, who is 1-2 on the year, with a 3.78 ERA.

Maddox appeared in the first game of the three-game series against the Bulldogs going 5.1 innings, giving up 6 runs (5 earned) and striking out two batters. Auger appeared in the second game of the three-game series going 3 innings, giving up 0 runs and striking out three batters.

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Series History

The Mississippi State Bulldogs lead the all-time series 266-213-5 over Ole Miss. The last time the two teams met in the SEC Tournament was 2007 with the rebels winning 3-1.