What to know as Mississippi State hosts Eastern Michigan

Bulldogs and Eagles set for a three-game weekend series

It's the final weekend before Mississippi State starts Southeastern Conference play. That makes the next three days critical for the Bulldogs as they settle their pitching rotation and make any final adjustments with the league slate looming.

Coming to Dudy Noble Field to give MSU one last weekend tuneup before conference action starts is Eastern Michigan. The Bulldogs and Lions open up a three-game set on Friday night.

So what do you need to know as State and Eastern Michigan get set to face off? Let's take a look.

Game times

• Friday, March 12 - 6 p.m. central
• Saturday, March 13 - 2 p.m. central
• Sunday, March 14 - 1 p.m. central

Where to watch/listen

If you're not inside Dudy Noble Field this weekend, you can still watch the action via streaming it on SEC Network+.

On the radio, you can listen to the games courtesy of the MSU Baseball Radio Network. You can find your affiliate by CLICKING HERE. You should note that the baseball radio schedule could be impacted if MSU men's basketball continues to stay alive in the SEC Tournament as basketball would hold priority if there are any schedule conflicts. 

No matter where you are, you can access audio of all the games via TuneIn.com or the TuneIn app. Fans can simply search "Mississippi State" on the TuneIn app. TuneIn is available for download on iOS and Android, plus more than 200 connected devices. Game audio can also be heard via Mississippi State's website HERE.

Who's scheduled to start on the mound?

Friday: MSU LHP Christian Macleod (0-1, 2.79 ERA) vs. Eastern Michigan RHP Davis Feldman (2-0, 0.00 ERA)

Saturday: MSU RHP Eric Cerantola (0-1, 11.81 ERA) vs. Eastern Michigan RHP Justin Meis (0-1, 4.50 ERA)

Sunday: MSU RHP Jackson Fristoe (1-0, 1.38 ERA) vs. Eastern Michigan TBA

Up to this point

No. 3 Mississippi State enters this weekend's series at 10-3 overall, having won three games in a row and seven of its last eight. The Bulldogs have lived up to their preseason hype by winning two out of three games in each of the first three weekends of the season, including in the season-opening State Farm College Showdown against all-nationally-ranked competition. MSU has backed all that up by going a perfect 4-0 in midweek games.

Eastern Michigan is 4-2 so far this year. The Eagles have a pair of one-run wins over Alabama State and they split a four-game series with Bellarmine last weekend.

On the mound

Eastern Michigan's pitching staff has been far from a dominant force through six games. The Eagles have a team earned run average of 4.20 and opponents are hitting .257 against Eastern Michigan arms. 

That said, the Eagles' Friday-night starter, Davis Feldman, has been outstanding. He's started his season by hurling 11 shutout innings over his first two starts. He's only allowed six hits in that span while striking out 10. Meanwhile, Eastern Michigan's scheduled Saturday starter hasn't been anywhere near as dominant. Justin Meis has allowed 12 hits and five runs over 10 innings of work while opponents have hit .293 against him.

Mississippi State's pitching staff enters this weekend having thrown 27 straight scoreless innings. The Bulldogs have shut out the opposition in the last three games, the first time MSU has hurled three shutouts in a row since 1976. Over the last 27 innings, State arms have surrendered no runs, just nine hits and only five walks. MSU has struck out 43 opposing hitters over this span.

It's noteworthy though that none of that work has come from State's Friday and Saturday starters – Christian MacLeod and Eric Cerantola. Both MacLeod and Cerantola have struggled for MSU so far this year and both could very well be pitching this weekend trying to maintain their starting rotation spots. That shouldn't be the case though for fantastic freshman Jackson Fristoe. MSU's Sunday starter is the defending SEC Freshman of the Week and boasts a 1.38 ERA over his first three starts. Opponents are mustering just a .119 batting average against Fristoe.

As a team, MSU carries a team ERA of 2.62 into Friday's series opener. Opponents are hitting only .188 total off of Bulldog arms.

At the plate

Despite boasting a winning record, Eastern Michigan has left plenty to be desired offensively so far this year. The Eagles are hitting only .236 as a team and have struck out in nearly a third of their at-bats. Of the eight Eastern Michigan players to play in five or more games this season, only three of them have a batting average over .182. 

So far this year, Mark Kattula has been the hottest Eagle bat. He's hitting .409. Five of his nine hits this year have gone for extra bases. Taylor Hopkins is also off to a strong start, hitting .318. However all but one of his hits have been singles. Jeff Timko leads Eastern Michigan in home runs. The Eagles only have four total homers all year, but Timko owns half of those. 

Mississippi State has had moments of offensive inconsistency this year, but the Bulldogs have certainly improved their numbers of late. MSU has scored 27 runs over the last three games and scored at least 10 runs in two of those three contests. 

On the heels of that, the Bulldogs are now hitting .278 as a group. Tanner Allen leads MSU with his .320 batting average, meanwhile Luke Hancock – while he has cooled off a bit since an early-season hot streak – still paces the team in on-base percentage with a .472 mark. 

Of MSU's seven lineup regulars this season (Scotty Dubrule, Rowdey Jordan, Allen, Kamren James, Hancock, Josh Hatcher and Logan Tanner) all are hitting .241 or better now with five of the seven batting at least .261. All that might not sound like much to celebrate, but less than a week ago, both Jordan and Hatcher were hitting under .200.

Keep up courtesy of Cowbell Corner

Cowbell Corner is providing live play-by-play updates of select games this season, including the MSU-Eastern Michigan showdowns on Friday and Saturday. So if you're unable to watch or listen, or are just looking for a place to keep up with the game in a simple format, check back right here on the site around game time. Then click on the LIVE BASEBALL UPDATES story at the top of the home page. Once on the updates page, you can come back frequently or refresh your browser for the latest on what's happening at Dudy Noble Field.

Mississippi State plays host to Eastern Michigan for games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. (File photo courtesy of Mississippi State athletics)

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