GAME NOTES--SAMFORD VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team will step out of SoCon play to host 17th-ranked Mississippi State Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game can be seen live on ESPN+.
 
Samford will start right-handed pitcher Jacob Newman on the mound in Tuesday's game. Newman has a 2-0 record and an 11.57 ERA this season. Mississippi State has named left-hander Pico Kohn (0-0, 9.00 ERA) as its starter on the mound.
 
Samford and Mississippi State have met 50 previous times, with MSU holding a 39-11 series lead. The teams met last year in Starkville, Miss., with Mississippi State taking a 9-4 win over Samford.
 
Samford has a record of 16-7 overall and 3-0 in SoCon play. Last weekend, Samford swept a three-game series with VMI, winning the games by scores of 14-4, 16-9 and 5-4.
 
So far this season, Samford has been led at the plate by Garrett Howe, batting .464 (39-of-84) with nine doubles, four home runs and 20 RBI. John Anderson is hitting .432 (32-of-74) with six doubles, six home runs and 26 RBI. Andrew Bennett was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week on Monday. In four games last week, he batted .643 with two doubles, a home run and four RBI. Bennett had at least one hit in all four games in the week, at least two hits in three of the games and he posted two three-hit contests.
 
As a team, Samford currently leads the Southern Conference in home runs with 40 and ranks second in batting average at .324. Individually, Garrett Howe leads the SoCon in batting average (.464), hits (39) and runs scored (34) and ranks second in the SoCon in doubles (9) and on-base percentage (.578). John Anderson is second in the league in batting average (.432) and third in both slugging percentage (.784) and on-base percentage (.551).
 
Mississippi State enters the game with a record of 17-8 overall and 3-3 in SEC play. The visiting Bulldogs dropped two-of-three games at Texas A&M over the weekend.
 
MSU has been led at the plate by Dakota Jordan, batting .380 with seven doubles, 11 home runs and 35 RBI. David Mershon is hitting .361 with eight doubles, two triples, one home run and 17 RBI.
 
The game can be seen live online via ESPN+. Fans can also follow the game online via live stats. For links to follow all of Samford's games this season, click on the following link: BASEBALL SCHEDULE.
 
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For the latest news and information on Samford baseball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordBaseball (Facebook), @SamfordBaseball (Instagram) and @SamfordBaseball (Twitter).