Another super regional with a pair of SEC squaring off as Vanderbilt hosts Mississippi State in the Nashville Super Regional this weekend.
Neither team really lived up to their normal expectations this year with both clubs jumping in-and-out of the top 25 through the season.
But, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and both teams are playing good baseball right now.
The two teams did meet earlier in the year with Vanderbilt sweeping the Bulldogs in Starkville 5-0, 10-1, and 4-3. That was the first weekend of SEC play, and Mississippi State is a much better team now as they finished SEC play with a sweep over Florida.
After giving up 20 runs in their opening game of the Tallahassee Regional to Oklahoma, the Bulldogs won four straight, including back-to-back games over the Sooners, to advance.
Vanderbilt went to Clemson for the second straight year and sent the Tigers home with a clean sweep.
Pitchers to Watch:
Vanderbilt – Drake Fellows is the clear number one on this team with 102 strikeouts in 92 innings pitched. Patrick Raby has had his moments, but only pitched 1.2 innings in the Clemson Regional. Chandler Day has become a weapon out of the bullpen for the Commodores. Zach King is another arm that could start this weekend.
Mississippi State – Konnor Pilkington had a terrible start against Oklahoma, but has a deep resume as a college pitcher. Ethan Small is probably their best starting pitching, in my opinion. Riley Self and JP France were huge in the regionals and are their two best arms out of the bullpen.
Hitters to Watch:
Vanderbilt – The youngsters for Vanderbilt are starting to figure it out at the plate as JJ Bleday, Austin Martin, and Phillip Clarke are their top three hitters and are under-classman. Juniors Connor Kaiser, Stephen Scott and Ethan Paul are supply that veteran leadership and power. Kaiser cranked out three home runs against Clemson, and Scott leads the team with 14 home runs.
Mississippi State – Jake Mangum is one of the best hitters in the country and leads this team with a .354 average. Elijah MacNamee had a big regional with a walk-off, 3-run home run against Florida State. Rowdey Jordan, Tanner Allen, and Hunter Stovall fill out the middle of the order. Like I said in the regionals, this isn’t a lineup that will wow you with their numbers, but they get the job done top-to-bottom.
Final Thoughts and Prediction:
I’m not really sure why this super regional is being hosted in Nashville, but it’s a big advantage for Vanderbilt not having to play in Starkville.
This may be the hardest one for me to pick as I think these two teams are very even, and both are playing exceptionally well right now. I actually think Mississippi State has the better arms, which is weird to say for someone facing Vanderbilt. But it’s hard to go against the bats of Vanderbilt right now as they are scorching hot.
Winner: Vanderbilt
