Biloxi, MS: Spring Home Away From Home for Mississippi State, South Mississippi Fans

By Colton Watson

Mississippi State travels tonight to MGM Park in Biloxi, MS—home of the Milwaukee Brewers’ AA affiliate the Biloxi Shuckers—for their last midweek contest of the season before SEC play.

The Hancock Whitney Coast Classic has involved Mississippi State and a sundry list of other teams in most years since 2016, with 2017, 2019 and 2021 being the exceptions.

Let’s take a look at Mississippi State’s history in Biloxi and preview the Tulane Green Wave. The 2016 Bulldogs, future SEC champions, turned away UL-Monroe in by a slim margin of 1-0 in their first ever game at MGM Park.

In 2018, Mississippi State faced the Southeastern Louisiana Lions in a 5-11 loss for the Bulldogs. In 2020, Mississippi State played a two-game set against Texas Tech, taking both games by scores of 6-3 and 3-2.

Many State fans thought that midweek sweep would be the launching pad that propelled State toward a stellar conference record, but those would be the last two college baseball games played in the state of Mississippi that season due to the Covid-19 pandemic. That wasn’t the last that the ‘Rona would have to say about Bulldog baseball in Biloxi, as the 2021 season saw a hiatus put on the Hancock Whitney Classic.

Back at it in 2022, Mississippi State again faced the Texas Tech Red Raiders. This time, they split a pair of games 11-5 and 2-7. These were the only Biloxi games so far that were not scheduled for the weekend before the conference play opener.

The Bulldogs swept the Hancock Whitney Classic again in 2023, beating Nicholls State 12-4 and Louisiana-Lafayette 4-2. This was the first time that more than 2 teams played in the event.

In 2024, Mississippi State got all it wanted as it lost a heartbreaker to South Alabama 5-6 and scraped past New Orleans 2-1 in 11 innings. Finally, State dispatched Old Dominion by a score of 9-4 and took care of Nicholls State again 2-1 ahead of a three-game set with Texas the following weekend.

This week’s game with Tulane will be only the third time, and first since 2018, that Mississippi State will play just the one game at MGM Park. Many fans felt that taxing the bullpen ahead of SEC play with two games during the midweek imparted a competitive disadvantage, and this season it appeared that Coach Brian O’Connor agrees.

Others say that the southern-most Bulldogs in the state deserve as many chances as they can get to see their team play closer to home, especially since the once-annual game in Pearl, MS, vs Southern Miss has moved to a home-and-home midweek series at their teams’ respective home venues.

The Tulane Green Wave come into the contest with a record of 9-7 and a 4-6 record away from their home at Greer Field. They have a team batting average of .250 and have hit just 9 home runs as a team. Just two qualified hitters have averages of .300 or more, Kaikea Harrison and Matthias Haas.

On the mound, the Green Wave has posted a team ERA of 5.11. They’ve struck out 138, walked 79, and allowed 17 home runs. Opponents bat just .246 against the Green Wave.

Mississippi State enters the game with a 14-2 record, including a 2-2 record away from home. The Bulldogs boast a .356 team batting average, a slugging percentage of .601 and has 27 home runs.

Thirteen Bulldogs have made at least 8 starts—all but two of those own batting averages of .333 or above. Their pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.55, with 186 strikeouts alongside 47 walks. Opponents bat .219 against the Bulldogs. Tuesday’s game will be at 6 pm and streamed on SEC Network+.