Whenever Ole Miss and Mississippi State meet, the stakes and emotions are high. Each side wants to beat the other, if only to give its fans bragging rights. Records and rankings tend to fade into the background because anything can happen in this series. That feeling only grows when both teams enter the weekend with questions in their starting rotations.
Mississippi State at least has a plan. The Bulldogs announced their starters, and the biggest question is how Charlie Foster will handle a Friday role. It won’t be his first start of the season, but his previous outings have been mixed.
On opening weekend against Hofstra, Foster allowed three runs on three hits with a walk and five strikeouts in three innings. His next start against Delaware lasted only two innings after he gave up two unearned runs on four hits and two walks, though he again struck out five. His most recent start came against Tulane, where he worked 2.1 innings and gave up two runs on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
Those aren’t typical Friday night numbers, but at least Mississippi State knows what it’s doing. Ole Miss doesn’t have that luxury.
The Rebels announced only one starter for the weekend: Hunter Elliott on Friday. Saturday and Sunday are both listed as TBA, which is a little surprising.
Cade Townsend is the usual Saturday starter and was listed as questionable in the initial Student-Athlete Availability Report. Still, it would be surprising if he isn’t on the mound for Game 2. He missed last weekend’s series against Kentucky, and if that absence was truly precautionary, he should be available against Mississippi State.
Sunday is where things get murky.
Missouri transfer Wil Libbert has started every series finale this season, but he wasn’t listed as Sunday’s starter. He also wasn’t listed on the availability report. That likely means Ole Miss is preparing to go in a different direction.
Who that will be is unclear. Mike Bianco may not even know yet. The decision could depend on which relievers are used Friday and Saturday.
Owen Kelly has the most starts outside of Elliott, Townsend and Libbert, but he started Tuesday’s game against Memphis. Hudson Calhoun has one start and Terry Hayes Jr. has two, though Hayes is unlikely to get the ball against a Mississippi State lineup that leads the SEC in batting average.
Calhoun is an option. He started last Saturday’s game. But there may be a better one.
Taylor Rabe has just one start this season, but it was a strong one: 2.2 innings of hitless baseball against then-No. 7 Southern Miss. It was a midweek game, so he was never going to pitch deep, but he handled the moment well.
Maybe he gets more time Sunday. We’ll find out soon enough.
Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss Baseball Team Stats
| Mississippi State | Stat | Ole Miss |
|---|---|---|
| .347 | Batting Average | .270 |
| .571 | Slugging % | .487 |
| 1.023 | OPS | .884 |
| 66 | Doubles | 38 |
| 39 | Home Runs | 46 |
| 236 | RBI | 177 |
| 144 | Walks | 149 |
| 179 | Strikeouts | 238 |
| 41 | Stolen Bases | 26 |
| 3.39 | ERA | 3.63 |
| 280 | Strikeouts | 298 |
| 21 | HR Allowed | 20 |
| 76 | Walks | 93 |
| .212 | Opponent BA | .230 |
Ole Miss Starting Pitchers
Friday: Hunter Elliott, LHP
- Season Stats: 3-0, 3.48 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 31 IP, 21 H, 13 R, 12 ER, 20 BB, 44 SO, 4 2B, 6 HR, .194 Opp. BA, 1 WP, 7 HBP
Saturday: TBA
Projected: Cade Townsend, RHP
- Season Stats: 2-0, 0.92 ERA, 0.97 wHIP, 19.2 IP, 12 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 7 BB, 32 SO, 3 2B, 1 HR, .169 Opp. BA, 1 HBP
Sunday: TBA
Notable Relief Pitchers
- Wil Libbert: 2-2, 6.41 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 26.2 IP, 29 H, 20 R, 19 ER, 12 BB, 32 SO, 4 2B, 4 HR, .287 Opp. BA, 3 HBP, 1 BK
- Landon Waters: 0-1, 0.00 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 9 app., 1 SV, 9.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 15 SO, 1 2B, .188 Opp. BA, 2 WP
- JP Robertson: 2-1, 2.93 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 9 app. 15.1 IP, 13 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 22 SO, 3 2B, .232 Opp.BA, 1 HBP
- Landon Koenig: 1-0, 4.35 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 8 app., 2 SV, 10.1 IP, 16 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 17 SO, 3 2B, 1 HR, .348 Opp. BA
- Taylor Rabe: 3-0, 2.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 6 app., 2 SV, 18 IP, 12 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 24 SO, 1 2B, 1 HR, .188 Opp. BA, 2 WP, 2 HBP
- Grayson Gibson: 1-1, 2.25 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 6 app. 12 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 11 SO, 2 2B, .132 Opp. BA, 4 HBP
Mississippi State Starting Pitchers
Charlie Foster, LHP
- Season Stats: 0-0, 5.11 ERA, 2.03 WHIP, 8 app, 3 GS, 12.1 IP, 13 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 12 BB, 16 SO, 2 2B, 1 HR, .265 Opp. BA, 1 HBP
Tomas Valincius, LHP
- Season Stats: 5-0, 1.04 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 34.2 IP, 21 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 9 BB, 47 SO, 1 3B, 1 HR, .174 Opp. BA, 1 WP, 3 HBP
Duke Stone, RHP
- Season Stats: 4-0, 4.10 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 26.1 IP, 21 H, 15 R, 12 ER, 5 BB, 37 SO, 3 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, .216 Opp. BA, 1 WP, 6 HBP
This weekend on the bump pic.twitter.com/76sHVCWZbZ
— Mississippi State Baseball (@HailStateBB) March 26, 2026
Notable Relief Pitchers
- Dane Burns: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, .71 WHIP, 10 app., 5.2 IP, 4 BB, 7 SO, .000 Opp. BA, 1 WP, 1 HBP
- Maddox Webb: 0-0, 1.93 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 10 app., 1 SV, 9.1 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 13 SO, .250 Opp. BA, 1 HBP
- Jack Gleason: 2-0, 1.93 ERA, .93 WHIP, 11 app. 14 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 25 SO, 2 2B, 2 HR, .180 Opp. BA, 4 HBP, 1 BK
- Ben Davis: 0-1, 4.91 ERA, .82 WHIP, 7 app., 3 SV, 14.2 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 18 SO, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, .189 Opp. BA, 5 HBP
- Brendan Sweeney: 0-0, 4.85 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 8 app., 1 SV, 13 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 15 SO, 4 2B, 2 HR, .229 Opp. BA
