Opening Day is Here for the Diamond Dawgs

Mississippi State is set to face Air Force on opening weekend.

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State Bulldogs open the 2024 baseball season by welcoming Air Force to Dudy Noble Field. Baseball season is a special time in Starkville as thousands of fans fill the stadium weekly, creating a spectacle like no other in college baseball. 

However, after two disappointing seasons, MSU is looking to right some wrongs. The Bulldogs have all the pieces to earn another postseason bid. 

Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis hired former South Carolina pitching coach Justin Parker this offseason to help his pitching staff, who sported an ERA of over seven last season. Parker arrived in July and has been making connections and building trust with his pitchers.

"He's built a great relationship with those guys. So, I think there's a lot of trust going on right now," Lemonis said.

The last remaining player from the Bulldog's national championship team on campus is relief pitcher Stone Simmons, who missed the 2023 season and is working his way back for his last season. He said the issues for the MSU staff last season go beyond the mound. However, on the mound, Parker teaches MSU hurlers new things.

A Breakdown Of Mississippi State Bulldog Pitchers

 

"Last year, we had probably more of a confidence problem than a talent problem," Simmons said. "He (Parker) has really opened our eyes about moving better, making sure we're getting the best efficiency out of our bodies that we possibly can.

Lemonis named Nate Dohm, Khal Stephen, and Jurrangelo Cijntje as his opening weekend rotation. Dohm will jump to the Bulldog ace after working primarily out of the bullpen a season ago and only making two starts.

"Nate has been the most consistent all year," Lemonis said. "He has added a really good changeup, he has added a curveball, and you got a slider."

The Bulldogs will go with Stephen on Saturday, and he was named last year to the All-Big Ten third team at Purdue. The 6-4 215-pound righty has pitched well in pre-season scrimmages.

"Khal Stevens has been real impressive coming back," Lemonis said.

A familiar name will get the start on Sunday for MSU. Cijntje was one of the unique stories in college baseball last year, but the Florida native showed the actual substance to the hype as, at times, the young freshman dazzled but struggled with consistency.  

"Jurrangelo has not pitched as much as most guys, and suddenly, he gets thrown into this world," Lemonis said. "There was a lot of maturity last year just from pure experience and figuring out how to train himself as an ambidextrous pitcher."

The strength of this Bulldog team will likely be their lineup as they return four significant contributors from last year's squad: Amani Larry, Ross Highfill, Dakota Jordan, and Hunter Hines. This group will need to lead the way for the Bulldogs, especially early as Parker fine-tunes this pitching staff. 

"Position player-wise, man, that groups got a chance to be pretty special," Lemonis said.

At a program like Mississippi State, expectations will always be high, which can pressure players if unprepared. Bulldog players understand these expectations, and they embrace the challenge. 

"Whatever it takes like that's my goal this year is to get to Omaha," Jordan said.

"I didn't come here just to be average," Larry said.

These players must flush the last two years because they will inevitably face hard times, and it will be easy to call it quit then. However, the players' welcoming expectations are a good sign because mediocrity will and should not be accepted.

MSU will face Air Force, which is coming off a 28-31 season. Game times for this weekend are 4 p.m. CT on Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. CT for the series finale on Sunday. All games will be broadcast on the SEC Network+. 

A Breakdown of Mississippi State Bulldog Hitters and Position Players