Why Mississippi State baseball pitching is struggling heading into SEC Tournament

Despite scoring 33 runs in its final three-game series, Mississippi State baseball didn’t leave College Station, Texas, with a series victory.

No. 10 Texas A&M beat the visiting No. 12 Bulldogs 7-6 on May 16. It was the rubber match of the three-game series. MSU (39-16, 16-14 SEC) won the first game 18-11 and Texas A&M (39-13, 18-11) took the second game 11-9.

The Bulldogs are still entering the postseason in good position. MSU will be anywhere between the No. 8 and No. 10 seed in the SEC Tournament and has a case to be awarded a top-16 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

MSU can hit and does it well. The Bulldogs entered May 16 with the No. 2 batting average in the SEC (.314) and the third-most runs (471). Pitching was more hit-or-miss.

Here’s what stood out regarding MSU’s pitching in the regular season finale as the Bulldogs head into the postseason.

Ryan McPherson is back, but can he find peak form?

Getting star sophomore Ryan McPherson back in any capacity is big for MSU, but the Bulldogs need him to look like his old self to have their best chance at a deep postseason run.

McPherson started Game 3 against Alabama. He pitched 2⅓ innings, allowing one earned run on 44 pitches. He got into some trouble in the third inning and was pulled.

McPherson has only pitched one other time since March 20, when he suffered a forearm strain against Vanderbilt. That was on May 9 vs Auburn, but he only threw 1⅓ innings before he injured his ankle after tripping behind home plate while backing up a potential throw in the second inning.

At his best, McPherson has lights-out stuff that can win a postseason game. He was 5-1 with a 2.45 ERA before getting injured.

Ben Davis quietly shined in bullpen

The MSU bullpen got plenty of action against Texas A&M. Senior reliever Ben Davis pitched all three days.

Davis threw one inning in the first game, 2⅓ in the second game and 1⅓ in the finale. Across the 4⅔-inning span, Davis allowed four hits and no earned runs. He struck out three.

It’s the first time this season Davis pitched three consecutive days.

Walks, not hits, cost Mississippi State the series

The Bulldogs outhit the Aggies 11-7 in Game 3, but the discrepancy in walks was too much to overcome.

MSU walked 13 batters and drew just one.

Four of the walks went on McPherson’s ledger, but the bullpen struggled with control as well. Five of the six relievers who pitched after McPherson walked at least one batter. Only 96 of the 176 pitches MSU threw were in the strike zone.

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_