Mississippi
Mississippi State baseball isn’t elite team and what else we learned in LSU series sweep
Mississippi State baseball has lost a third straight SEC series to begin the 2025 season.
The Bulldogs (16-12, 1-8 SEC) were swept at No. 6 LSU (26-3, 7-2) this weekend. They lost 8-6 on Thursday, 2-1 on Friday and 17-8 on Saturday. It is tied for the worst start to SEC play in coach Chris Lemonis’ seven seasons.
Here’s what we learned about MSU from the series.
Mississippi State baseball is not an elite SEC team
The Bulldogs have had three tests against top SEC teams and failed all of them. They were swept at home by No. 7 Texas, lost two of three games at No. 9 Oklahoma and now were swept again.
The expectation is for Mississippi State to compete at that level, but it hasn’t since the 2021 national championship. The Bulldogs are 1-11 in Quad 1 games this season with only three wins against opponents with a .500 or better record as of Sunday.
The schedule lightens up next weekend with unranked South Carolina (17-11, 1-7) visiting Dudy Noble Field. That will be a test of how low Mississippi State is in the SEC.
Pico Kohn can’t solve all of Mississippi State’s problems
Pico Kohn has been the bright spot for Mississippi State. He gives MSU a chance to win each game he pitches, but isn’t getting enough help.
The reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week was sharp again on Friday, pitching five innings with two earned runs, eight strikeouts, five hits and no walks. His 2.66 ERA ranks sixth in the SEC among qualifying pitchers, and he’s tied for the conference lead with 40.2 innings pitched.
Mississippi State is 12th in the SEC in runs scored, ninth in runs allowed and 14th in fielding percentage. Mississippi State doesn’t have a solid second starting pitcher.
On Thursday, MSU’s bullpen blew a 6-2 lead. MSU struck out 18 times in Friday’s game. On Saturday, starting pitcher Karson Ligon couldn’t make it out of the first inning as the Bulldogs fell behind 8-0.
Mississippi State is 4-10 in games decided by three runs or less.
Hunter Hines has improved since benching
Starting first baseman Hunter Hines was benched for two games of the Astros Foundation College Classic one month ago because of his cold bat. Since then, he’s been significantly better.
He’s on a team-best seven-game hitting streak. Hines batted 4-for-8 with five walks, two home runs, two RBIs and four runs against LSU. He’s now one home run away from tying Will Clark for the second most career home runs in program history.
Hines’ batting average has risen from .211 on March 2 to .306 after Saturday.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.