When the NCAA baseball tournament begins, the first games come down to who has the better ace on the mound leading their team. The ace becomes even more important when the two teams are as evenly matched as the 12 p.m. matchup in the Tallahassee Region, Mississippi State and Oklahoma.
Game Odds
BetDSI Sportsbook has released odds, which you can view below, for this matchup.
Oklahoma Sooners -190
Mississippi State Bulldogs +150
Spread -1.5
Over/Under 10
Game Preview
Neither team has the edge when it comes to their work at the plate. Mississippi State’s .278 batting average is only slightly better than the Sooners’ .273.
Both teams missed their conference finals, but the Bulldogs did finish the regular season with an impressive sweep of Florida. The Sooners are 3-4 in the last seven games including a pair of losses to Baylor in the Big 12 tournament.
The difference comes on the mound with Oklahoma sending Jake Irvin (6-2, 2.85 ERA) and his 109 strikeouts, which is No. 31 in the nation. Mississippi State will likely send Konnor Pilkington (2-6, 4.28 ERA) to the mound.
The Bulldogs have five batters who hit above .300 including Jack Mangum (.353) and Hunter Stovall (.329), but once pitches work their way through the power of the lineup there is a bit off a drop off.
Oklahoma on the other hand has three above .300 including Steele Walker and his .352 average, 53 RBIs and 13 home runs. Behind the Sooners’ big hitters are guys hitting in the .290s, .270s and .260s.
The Sooners also have an interesting storyline in center fielder Kyler Murray. Murray bats .296 with 10 home runs and 47 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and he also plays quarterback.
However Murray has been battling the injury bug, but all signs point to the injury not being serious enough to keep him out of the lineup moving forward in the tournament.
Prediction
When you look at the battle on the mound, the numbers point to Oklahoma and if Irvin can keep the likes of Mangum, Stovall, Elijah MacNamee, Rowdey Jordan and Tanner Allen then look for the Sooners to take the opener in the series.
If Mississippi State can get to Irvin however and Pilkington can get into the seventh inning on the mound, things shift in favor of the Bulldogs.
Blake Smith is 4-0 with 2.18 ERA and will be waiting in the bullpen for Mississippi State to hand him the ball with a late lead so he can close the door and give the Dawgs the Game 1 victory.
The same can be said of the Sooners however. If Irvin gets through six or seven innings, Oklahoma will turn to the likes of Connor Berry (1.47 ERA, .203 opponent average), Braidyn Fink (1.80, .179) and Austin Hansen (2.39, .199).
