UC BB: Bearcats Starkville Regional Preview

The NCAA Baseball Regionals were announced this Monday, and the Bearcats' road to a

national title begins through Starkville, hosted by No. 17 Mississippi State (40-17). Competing

alongside them are Louisiana (39-23) and Lipscomb (29-24).

The Mississippi State Bulldogs put together a strong resume in the SEC, competing against the

likes of Texas, Texas A&M, Auburn, & Georgia. They’d face Virginia Tech and Arizona State

(both of which they won). Their most notable performance was against the #1 UCLA, where

they lost 8-7 in a 10th-inning duel. The Bulldogs are 9th in the nation in batting average off the

heels of Ace Reese (.327) and Noah Sullivan (.348). As a whole, they have 486 runs off 610 hits,

459 RBIs, and 106 HR. Pitching-wise, they’re 21st in ERA, leading the way is Tomas Valincius

with a 10-2 record and a 2.93 ERA.

The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns is an under-the-radar kind of squad. They made it to the Sun Belt

Championship but fell short against Southern Miss (Playing in the Hattiesburg Regional). Aside

from that, they string together quality wins against teams like Coastal Carolina and Texas State.

They’re averaging a .267 batting average, which is below average in the nation, but making up

for it with their defensive play, allowing a .247 batting average while also pitching a 4.88 ERA

led by Andrew Herrmann (7-5 & 4.43 ERA), Sawyer Pruitt (7-4 & 5.09 ERA) & Cody Brasch

(6-2 & 2.09 ERA).

The Lipscomb Bisons surprisingly have experience playing against Mississippi State (it didn’t

end well). They were outscored 43-8 during that series. However, they would go on to win the

ASUN Championship, going through Florida Gulf Coast & North Alabama. They’re at their best

when batting, averaging .292 in the nation, with a balanced group led by Cam Pruitt (.356),

Hutson Miles (.351), and Brady Miller (.318). However, the Bisons struggled pitching-wise,

allowing .281 at bat and a 6.22 ERA. They’ll need Alexander Llinas (6-4 & 5.40 ERA) and

Collin Bosley-Smith (4-2 & 4.69 ERA) at their A-game to turn the tide.

The Bearcats take on the Ragin Cajuns, Friday (7:30 PM) on ESPN+. They’re hoping to have

more success during the weekend then they did in the Big 12 Tourament. They were one-and-

done against Arizona State 10-2 who’ll be playing in the Lincoln Regional. We’ll see how far

Cincy makes it through their region. They’d been battled test before against the best the Big 12

could offer; West Virginia, Oklahoma State, UCF, & Kansas. The Bearcats are more prepared

for the bright lights in June.