At first glance, Luke Hancock's numbers on the season don't look great, entering Saturday's matchup with Arkansas with just a .238 batting average, but a deeper look shows just how good a hitter he has been.

The senior first baseman is first on the team with 22 walks and leads all qualified Bulldogs (players with at least 70 at-bats) with a .420 on-base percentage. While those numbers are impressive, the most remarkable thing about Hancock is that he's struck out just nine times in 113 at-bats. A player that puts the ball in play that often would typically have a much higher batting average than .238, but for Hancock, it was just a matter of finding the holes.

"Even when I wasn't getting hits or getting on base, I felt like I was still seeing the ball good," said Hancock. "Right now, I'm still seeing it the same, and I'm just lucky enough to be finding holes or getting them out of the ballpark."

In the past three games, Hancock is indeed finding the holes, going 7-14 at the plate, including four home runs during that stretch. The native of Houston, MS, also came up big in the clutch with the game-saving catch in the top of the 11th, and driving in the go-ahead run on a single during the 12th inning in Sunday's win over Arkansas. The hot streak has raised Hancock's batting average up to .272 and gives him an OPS of .907.

Hancock getting on base has been a big part of the Bulldog offense as he's 2nd on the team with 30 runs scored, and the big Bats of Logan Tanner and Hunter Hines behind him, who have combined for 62 RBIs, have allowed for him to see more pitches to hit.

"Having him (Tanner) behind me is huge because I'm going to get pitches because they sometimes might not want to throw to him, " said Hancock.

With Mississippi State set to host the 19th ranked LSU this weekend, Hancock is picking it up at the right time, as the Bulldogs will need his bat to continue to produce to beat one of the top teams in the conference.