Know the Foe: Mount St. Mary's
Mississippi State welcomes the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers for a three game series beginning Thursday.
Mount St. Mary's, also known as "The Mount," is a private Roman Catholic university located in Emmitsburg, MD. The Mountaineers compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The baseball team is lead by head coach Frank Leoni who is in his third season with the program.
This will be the second time the two programs have squared off on the diamond. Mount St. Mary's came to Starkville for a two game midweek series in 2014. The Diamond Dawgs won those two matchups 13-1 and 10-1.
The Mountaineers are coming off a 25-27 campaign in 2023. 25 wins is tied for second most in a season in program history. Mount St. Mary's comes into the weekend posting a 1-6 overall record. They were able to salvage their lone win in a series against Norfolk State. Aside from that series loss, the Mountaineers have been swept by Richmond and dropped a midweek contest to Maryland.
The Mount is led by senior shortstop Tyler Long. He enters his fourth year with the program and has been a starter the last two seasons. Long, the Annville, PA, native was a second team all-MAAC selection in 2023. Through seven games, he leads the team in batting average (.323, min. 10 AB's), hits (10), and runs (7).
Another name to look out for is outfielder Aiden Tierney. The Longwood transfer enters his third year at The Mount. The Fredericksburg, VA native posted a .346 batting average with 22 RBI's and 15 extra base hits in 2023. So far this season Tierney is hitting .346 with an impressive 11 RBI's already.
On the mound for Mount St. Mary's keep an eye on left handed pitcher Kyle Speas. The lefty began the season coming out of the bullpen but after he tossed 4 innings of shutout ball to get the save against Norfolk State, he was elevated to the staring rotation. Speas comes into the weekend with a team best 3.12 ERA and has recorded 8 strikeouts in 8.2 innings of work.
The first of three matchups between the Bulldogs and Mountaineers is set for tomorrow at 3:00 at Dudy Noble Field.