STARKVILLE – Fifty-six games over four months await the Mississippi State baseball program and head coach Chris Lemonis when the 2020 season kicks off in February. The Diamond Dawgs will play 30 of those contests against programs that either won conference championships or advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2019.
The schedule features 31 games at Dudy Noble Field, along with four other games played across the state during the season. The Diamond Dawgs travel to the West Coast for the first time since 2017, with games in California for the first time since 2016.
“We feel like we have put together a competitive non-conference schedule,” said Lemonis. “We feel the quality of competition in the non-conference, both at home and on the road, will prepare us for the tough SEC schedule. Along with playing games across the state of Mississippi, we know our fans will be excited to see Oregon State visit Dudy Noble Field, along with a handful of other NCAA Tournament-caliber teams.
“Our fan base is the best in college baseball, and it is important for our program to play games in the central Mississippi region, along with getting down to the coast this spring for our fans in Biloxi. We are excited to spend two-straight nights on the coast and two different evenings in Pearl in front what we hope are four loud, cowbell-ringing crowds.”
State will open 2020 with nine straight home games – seven against conference champions or NCAA Tournament participants – beginning with reigning Horizon League champion Wright State from Feb. 14-16. A midweek meeting with Southern Conference champion Samford (Feb. 18) precedes a three-game series between two of college baseball’s premier programs when Oregon State travels to Dudy Noble Field on Feb. 21-23.
Midweek games with Texas Southern (Feb. 25) and Alcorn State (Feb. 26) will close the homestand, before the Diamond Dawgs travel nearly 2,000 miles to face Long Beach State (Feb. 28-March 1) in three games at Blair Field. The last trip to the Golden Gate State for MSU was in 2016 when they posted a 1-1-1 record at the Dodger Stadium Classic.
Three neutral site games bookend a home series with Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference champion Quinnipiac (March 6-8). The first neutral site game will be played at Trustmark Park in Pearl against Southern Miss on March 4, before MSU will travel to Biloxi to take on Louisiana Tech (March 10) and Nicholls State (March 11) at MGM Park.
State opens SEC play against its 2019 Western Division co-champion, Arkansas, on March 13-15 at Dudy Noble Field, before a season-long five-game road swing begins with four games in Louisiana. The Diamond Dawgs travel to Hammond to face off with Southeastern Louisiana (March 18) in a midweek tilt and will stay in the Bayou State to face off with LSU (March 20-22) in a three game set.
A quick ride to Birmingham to face UAB (March 24) at Regions Field comes in front of a three-game series with Kentucky (March 27-29) in Starkville, before the Dawgs play Memphis (March 31) at AutoZone Park and travel to Auburn (April 3-5). UT Martin (April 7) comes to town to kick off a five-game homestand, with Super Bulldog Weekend featuring three games versus Ole Miss on April 9-11. South Alabama (April 14) closes the stay at The Dude, before MSU kicks off a 10-game stretch versus SEC opponents on the road at South Carolina (April 17-19).
The Governor’s Cup meeting with Ole Miss will come on April 21 at Trustmark Park in Pearl, before MSU returns to Dudy Noble Field for a three-game set against Texas A&M (April 24-26).
Five-straight home games are sandwiched between SEC road trips in May, as MSU will start the month at Alabama (May 1-3) and close the month at Vanderbilt (May 14-16). In between, the Diamond Dawgs face SWAC champion Southern (May 5), host Missouri (May 8-10) in a three-game series and close the regular-season home schedule against North Alabama (May 12).
The SEC’s top 12 finishers in the regular season will descend on Hoover, Alabama, from May 19-24 for the SEC Tournament. NCAA Regional action begins at on-campus sites on May 29 with Super Regionals running from June 5-8. The 2020 season culminates with the College World Series from June 13-23 in Omaha, Nebraska.
