Bulldogs Tabbed As Two-Seed In Tallahassee

May 28, 2018

STARKVILLE, Miss. (Miss. St. Athletics) – For the 37th time in program history, Mississippi State is headed to the NCAA Tournament and will begin its postseason run in the Tallahassee Regional, the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee announced Monday.

This marks the second time State reached the NCAA Tournament after starting the season 0-3, with the 1996 Diamond Dawgs having first accomplished the feat at 38-24, 17-13 SEC.

Two-seed MSU (31-25) will be joined in the four-team regional by host Florida State (41-17), three-seed Oklahoma (36-23) and four-seed and Southern Conference Tournament Champion Samford (36-24).

State will kick off its Tallahassee Regional schedule at Dick Howser Stadium on Friday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPNU against Oklahoma in the double-elimination regional format. Friday’s meeting between the Bulldogs and Sooners will be the fifth all-time meeting between the two sides, with the most recent matchup having been a 5-5 tie at Dodger Stadium on March 6, 2016 due to a travel curfew. MSU trails the all-time series 1-2-1.

MSU has not faced off against Florida State since the 2007 Tallahassee Regional which the Diamond Dawgs went 3-0 in and included two wins over the Seminoles. MSU also appeared in the 2012 Tallahassee Regional, but finished 1-2 and didn’t face the host. State hasn’t taken on Samford since 2015 and holds a 34-10 advantage in the all-time series.

The winner of the Tallahassee Regional will take on the winner of the Clemson Regional for a best-of-three Super Regional series with a trip to the College World Series at stake.

REGIONAL SCHEDULE (All times CT)
Friday, June 1, 2018
G1 – 11 a.m. – No. 2 Mississippi State vs. No. 3 Oklahoma (ESPNU)
G2 – 6 p.m. – No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 4 Samford (ESPNU)

Saturday, June 2, 2018
G3 – 11 a.m. – Loser of G1 vs. Loser of G2
G4 – 4 p.m. – Winner of G1 vs. Winner of G2

Sunday, June 3, 2018
G5 – 11 a.m. – Winner of G3 vs. Loser of G4
G6 – 5 p.m. – Winner of G4 vs. Winner of G5

Monday, June 4, 2018
* G7 – Noon – If Necessary