STARKVILLE– The Mississippi State Diamond Dawgs head to Charlottesville, Va., for the 2024 Charlottesville Regional. This is the Diamond Dawgs' 40th trip to the NCAA Tournament. Play in the Charlottesville Regional starts on Friday afternoon.
Friday's game will be aired on ESPN+ and will also be carried on the Bulldog Sports Network powered by LEARFIELD, along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/OnDemand.
Charlottesville Regional Schedule (All times CT)
Friday, May 31
Game 1- UVA vs Penn - 11 a.m. (ESPN+)
Game 2- MississippiState vs St John's - 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
Probable Starters
MSU: Khal Stephen, (8-3, 3.38 ERA), RHP, Jr.
St. John's: Xavier Kolhosser, (9-2, 3.61 ERA), RHP, R-So.
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Saturday, June 1
Game 3- Loser of G1 vs Loser of G2 - 11 a.m. (Broadcast TBD)
Game 4- Winner of G1 vs Winner of G2 - 5 p.m. (Broadcast TBD)
Sunday, June 2
Game 5- Winner of G3 vs Loser of G4 - 11 a.m. (Broadcast TBD)
Game 6- Winner of G4 vs Winner of G5 - 5 p.m. (Broadcast TBD)
Monday, June 3
Game 7- If necessary (Time and broadcast TBD)
Quick Hitters
- The Diamond Dawgs are in the national rankings. They were ranked No. 15 by Baseball America, No. 17 by D1 Baseball, No. 19 by USA Today, No. 20 by NCBWA, and No. 23 by Perfect Game.
- Mississippi State baseball is officially headed to the NCAA Tournament for the 40th time in program history and the first time since 2021. The Diamond Dawgs have claimed 16 regional titles since 1975 and will be looking for their 17th title in the Charlottesville Regional. The Diamond Dawgs own a 125-90 record all-time in the NCAA Tournament and an 87-43 mark in NCAA Regionals. Mississippi State has had 128 players earn NCAA All-Regional honors and had 17 players earn NCAA Regional MVP honors. This the first regional to be played away from Dudy Noble Field Starkville since 2018 for the Diamond Dawgs. The Diamond Dawgs advanced to the College World Series after winning the Tallahassee Regional and Nashville Super Regional in 2018. The Diamond Dawgs played in the 2013 Charlottesville Super Regional, where the Maroon and White won the Super Regional over the Cavaliers. Mississippi State has never played in NCAA Regional action in Virginia, St. John's, or Pennsylvania. The winner of the Charlottesville Regional will play the winner of the Fayetteville Regional in the Super Regionals.
- For the first time since 2021, the Ferriss Trophy, presented by the Mississippi band of Choctaw Indians and Pearl River Resort, is returning to StarkVegas after Dakota Jordan won the award. With Jordan earning the 2024 award, the Dawgs have won the most Ferriss trophies since the award began in 2004. Jordan is the eighth Mississippi State player to earn the award and the ninth time an MSU player has won the honor. Thomas Berkery and Edward Easley went back-to-back in 2006 and 2007, Chris Stratton and Hunter Renfroe claimed the 2012 and 2013 awards and Jake Mangum and Brent Rooker won consecutive awards in 2016-17. Mangum and Tanner Allen went back-to-back in 2019 and 2021. Mangum is the only player ever to win the award twice.
- The Diamond Dawgs had three players earn All-SEC honors, the conference offense announced Monday. Shortstop David Mershon and pitcher Khal Stephen were named first-team All-SEC by the league's coaches, while outfielder Dakota Jordan was tabbed second-team All-SEC. Mershon leads the team in stolen bases with 23, the tenth most in a single season for an MSU player. The 23 stolen bases are the third most in the SEC this season and only four behind the SEC stolen base leader. Mershon has 63 hits and 36 RBIs at the plate in 193 plate appearances with a .326 batting average. He finished second on the team with 18 multi-hit games. Stephen pitched 83 innings, the most in the by an SEC pitcher this season. He had a team-high eight wins for the Dawgs. Stephen's eight wins are the fourth most by a pitcher this season and his 93 strikeouts are the eighth most by a pitcher. During conference play, Stephen led the team with six wins and ten starts. He has posted a 3.21 ERA with 67 punchouts through 232 batters faced in 61.2 innings of SEC-only games. Jordan has shined for the Diamond Dawgs and led the team in home runs (17) and RBIs (61). Jordan has the seventh-best batting average in the SEC hitting .363.
- David Mershon has been swiping bases at will this season. He is 25-for-28 in stolen bases. He stole his 25th base of the season against Tennessee in the SEC tournament. With his 25th stolen base, he is tied for sixth-most stolen bases in program history. He is only one base away from joining the top five and four away from joining the top two in program history in a single season.
- Khal Stephen and Jurrangelo Cijntje have been aces for the Dawgs on the mound this season. Entering the Charlottesville Regional, the duo has eight wins and has pitched 70-plus innings each. Each has over 90 strikeouts on the season as well. The last time the Dawgs had two pitchers throw 70 or more innings, win seven or more games, and have 80 or more punchouts was during the 2019 season when Ethan Small and JT Ginn accomplished this feat. This season, Stephen and Cijntje have the fourth and sixth-best ERA (3.38, Stephen; 3.55, Cijntje) in the SEC. Both pitchers rank in the top 10 in strikeouts in the SEC. Cijntje has 108 Ks on the season, the third most, while Stephen has 97 punchouts this season, the seventh most. The 10th most Ks in a single season at MSU is 121.
- Just last year, Joe Powell was in EMT school training to be a firefighter, but a call from Mississippi State's staff turned things around and got him back on the diamond. After 18 months away from the diamond, Powell has put together a .289 batting average, five home runs, and 18 RBIs. He has appeared in 30 games, making 26 starts for the Dawgs. The six RBIs are the most he has had in a single game during his career. Against the Lions, Powell racked up 13 total bases and was the first Dawg to have ten or more total bases in a game since Hunter Hines accomplished this against Vanderbilt earlier this season. Besides having a career day, Powell has homered in back-to-back games and has five homers in the last seven games. Two weeks ago, Powell hit .727 and had four homers. He had the best batting average in the SEC and drove in the second most runs in the week with nine.
- Mississippi State is great at turning out major league talent, with 69 Diamond Dawgs reaching the highest level of the sport, but it is also great at keeping student-athletes on campus.
- Did you know that the Diamond Dawgs are one of four programs in NCAA History and the only Southeastern Conference program to play in the NCAA Men's College World Series in six-straight decades. The Dawgs join Arizona State, Texas, and Florida State as the only teams that have been to an MCWS for six decades. Mississippi State has advanced to Omaha 12 times in program history, with three appearances coming since 2018.
Scouting the Opponent – St. John's
- St. John's enters the regional with a 37-16-1 overall record. The Thunderbirds are currently on a three-game win streak.
- The Red Storm are 12-10 in away games and are 3-0 in neutral site games this season.
- Jimmy Keenan leads the team in batting average hitting .341 on the season. He also had the team lead in homers (11) and RBIs (55).
- Blake Mayberry follows with a .345 batting average. Through 181 plate appearances Mayberry has collected 58 hits and 33 RBIs.
- The pitching staff is led by Xavier Kolhosser. Kolhosser has made 14 appearances with 11 starts. In his 14 appearances he has punched out 44 batters and earned a 3.61 ERA. His ERA is the 4th best mark in the Big East.
- Kolhosser leads the team with nine victories this season, the most wins by a Big East pitcher this season.
- Mario Pesca, a right-handed pitcher, holds an ERA of 2.94 on the season, the second-best mark in the Big East. He has pitched 70 1/3 innings this year and is 6-1.
Series Notes
- This will be the first time the Diamond Dawgs have faced St. John's in program history.
Scouting the Opponent – Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania heads into Charlottesville with a 24-23 record. The Quakers are 11-16 in away games this season. They are currently on a three-game win streak.
- Wyatt Henseler has made 191 plate appearances and picked up 71 hits, 55 RBIs and 22 home runs to lead the team with a .372 batting average.
- Henseler led the Ivy League in homers with 22 and has hit the 25th most in college baseball this season. His batting average is the fourth-best in the Ivy League.
- Cole Zaffiro leads the Quakers' pitching staff in his 13 appearances and 12 starts. Zaffiro has 86 strikeouts on the season and a 5-4 record to earn a 4.98 ERA.
- Zaffiro is only allowing 8.00 hits per nine innings, which is the fifth-best mark in the Ivy League.
Series Notes
- The Diamond Dawgs and Pennsylvania will face off for the first time in program history.
Scouting the Opponent – Virginia
- Virginia holds a 41-15 record this season. The Cavaliers are 26-7 at home this season and are on a one game losing streak. The Cavaliers were defeated by Florida State in the ACC Tournament 12-7.
- In 144 plate appearances Bobby Whalen had 58 hits and 34 RBIs to put together a .403 batting average and lead the offense. He has the 13th-best batting average in the country.
- Griff O'Ferrall is the toughest to strike out in the ACC this season. O'Ferrall is hitting .336 on the season. He has only struck out 21 times this season.
- Virginia's offense has a batting average of .341 on the season and have hit 113 home runs. The .341 batting average is the second-best in the nation, and the 113 homers are the ninth most in the NCAA this season. Both lead the ACC.
- Evan Blanco heads up the Cavalier's pitching staff in his 15 starts. Blanco has 79 punchouts on the year in 79 2/3 innings of work to grab a 3.50 ERA. Opponents are hitting .261 off him.
- As a team, the Cavaliers have a team ERA of 5.60 on the season with 456 strikeouts.
- Virginia has tallied five shutouts with the last one coming on May 22nd with a 13-0 victory over Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament.
Series Notes
- Mississippi State and Virginia face off for the fourth time in program history.
- All meetings between the Diamond Dawgs and the Cavaliers have been in the postseason.
- The last meeting between the two teams was in 2021, when the Diamond Dawgs beat Virginia in Omaha and went on to win the 2021 National Championship.
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