The Mississippi State baseball team is climbing the rankings after a near-perfect week that included a midweek win over Ole Miss and taking two of three from Alabama.
The latest rankings from D1Baseball have the Bulldogs (32-16, 14-10 SEC) at No. 14 while Baseball America moved Chris Lemonis’ squad up 11 spots from No. 23 to No. 12 with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season.
“Fresh off a thrilling series win at Vanderbilt last weekend, Mississippi State this week kept its momentum rolling,” Baseball America’s Teddy Cahill and Peter Flaherty wrote. “Mississippi State has won 10 of its last 12 games but now faces its biggest test since March: a series against Arkansas at Baum-Walker Stadium.”
That’s true – Mississippi State will be going to Fayetteville this weekend with a tall task ahead. But the good news is that Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball believes if the Bulldogs can take just one game from the No. 3/5 Razorbacks and then win at least two against Missouri next weekend, they’re in a prime spot to host a regional.
“I think they’ll win two out of three against Missouri,” Rogers said during a recent appearance on SportsTalk Mississippi. “I tell you what. If they can win one at Arkansas and play decent in Hoover, again I think this team is hosting if they do that.”
As for Southern Miss, the Golden Eagles did not crack any of the latest rankings. However, a sweep over Coastal Carolina put them in a good spot to be a two-seed come regional time. Ole Miss, on the other hand, did get two of three from Auburn but is still on the outside looking in as the Rebels battle for one of the final spots in the SEC Tournament.
