Mississippi State baseball came away with only one win this weekend in the Astros Foundation College Classic. 

The No. 16 Bulldogs (7-4) crushed Rice on Friday in a run-rule win but lost to Arizona on Saturday and No. 25 Oklahoma State on Sunday. The two losses came by a combined three runs.

Here’s what we learned about Mississippi State.

Mississippi State is losing to its best opponents

Mississippi State has seven wins this season, but they’ve all been against its easiest opponents. MSU swept series vs. Manhattan and Missouri State and got its seventh win against Rice. All three of those teams are below .500 and have a combined record of 10-20. 

All four of the Bulldogs’ losses are to teams above .500: Southern Miss, Troy, Arizona and Oklahoma State.

MSU has another tough challenge this week hosting No. 23 Southern Miss (9-3) on Tuesday (4 p.m., SEC Network+). The Golden Eagles won two of three games this weekend at No. 22 TCU.

Hunter Hines benched by Mississippi State

Senior first baseman Hunter Hines played in the first two games of the weekend. He’s started in 180 of 183 games in his Mississippi State career.

Hines has been a plus defender this season but has struggled at the plate. It bottomed out Tuesday, when he left nine runners on base in the loss to Troy.

North Alabama transfer Gehrig Frei started at first base against Rice and Campbell transfer Reed Stallman started versus Arizona. 

Hines, who’s fourth in program history with 56 home runs, returned to the lineup Sunday but went 0-for-4. He’s now batting .200 with two home runs and six RBIs.

Does Mississippi State need to adjust its starting pitching rotation?

Pico Kohn had another strong start against Rice, allowing three runs in 6⅓ innings. There’s no need to alter what he’s brought this season. 

However, Karson Ligon and Stone Simmons both struggled in their starts this weekend. Ligon lasted only two innings, allowing five runs, one of them unearned, to Arizona. His ERA is now 7.36. Simmons was roughed up for six runs in 2⅔ innings by Oklahoma State, though three of them were unearned. 

If Mississippi State were to change its weekend rotation, Indiana State transfer Jacob Pruitt could be an option. Pruitt did not have a good debut, allowing three runs in one relief inning against Manhattan. But he started Tuesday against Troy in his next appearance and threw four brilliant innings with nine strikeouts and no walks. The Trojans’ only hit was a solo home run.

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Ace Reese beginning to break out

A return to where Ace Reese starred as a freshman last season may have been just what he needed. 

The starting third baseman had a slow start to the season at the plate, but played his best series this weekend. Across the three games, Reese batted 6-for-12 with three home runs, six RBIs, four runs and one walk.

Reese was on the All-Big 12 Freshman Team last season at Houston, the same city where the showcase was played. 

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.