Memphis Rides Five-Game Winning Streak Into Clash at No. 15 Mississippi State

Tuesday, April 21

Starkville, Miss.

6:05 p.m.

University of Memphis

Mississippi State

Memphis Rides Five-Game Winning Streak Into Clash at No. 15 Mississippi State

Apr 20, 2026 | Baseball

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis (15-23, 7-8 American) baseball team will ride their five-game winning streak into Starkville, Mississippi for a midweek clash against the No. 15 Mississippi State Bulldogs (30-10, 10-8 SEC).

Mississippi State holds a 40-13 advantage in the all-time series against Memphis. The upcoming matchup will represent the 54th meeting between the two programs. A season ago, the Tigers hosted the Bulldogs at FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field, dropping a close 5-3 decision on April 1. Memphis later traveled to Starkville on April 29, where it fell 18-5 in a seven-inning contest.

Memphis (15-23, 7-8 American) comes into Tuesday with the ninth longest active win streak in D1, winning their last five games, including a sweep of conference for Rice over the weekend. In the series opener, Memphis plated all four of its runs over the final four innings while limiting Rice to just one run on four hits, using timely at-bats and a defensive miscue to secure the win. In game two, the Tigers totaled 10 runs on 10 hits and used key multi-run innings to earn a 10-6 victory in a game suspended after seven innings Saturday and resumed Sunday, adding three insurance runs in the ninth after play resumed. Memphis capped the weekend with a comeback in the finale, erasing a three-run deficit and pushing across the go-ahead run in the 10th to claim a 6-5 win and complete the sweep.

Memphis has consistently applied pressure on the basepaths this season, tallying 89 stolen bases to lead the American Conference and rank among the nation's top 30. Senior Freddy Rodriguez has spearheaded that effort, going 31-for-35 on stolen base attempts, a mark that leads the league and sits fourth nationally.

A total of 13 Tigers have gone deep this season, combining for 43 home runs as a team. Senior center fielder Michael Gupton added to his total on Sunday and leads the club with 11 homers, ranking third in the conference, while his .602 slugging percentage is good for fifth in the American.

A pair of Tigers earned American Conference Player of the Week honorable mentions for their performances last week.

Michael Gupton, a senior from Raleigh, N.C., turned in a strong week at the plate, going 6-for-15 (.400) with a double, two home runs and five RBIs while posting an .867 slugging percentage. He highlighted the stretch with a two-run homer against Mississippi Valley State and added a 395-foot blast in the series finale at Rice to help seal the sweep.

Logan Rushing, a graduate student from Brighton, Tenn., delivered a dominant week on the mound for Memphis. Across two appearances, he logged six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out eight. He opened the week with three shutout frames in the midweek win over Mississippi Valley State, then closed out the Rice series with three innings of one-hit relief and three strikeouts in the finale.

No. 15 Mississippi State (30-10, 10-8 SEC) comes into Tuesday on a four-game winning streak of their own, run-ruling Samford 11-1 last Tuesday and sweeping South Carolina over the weekend. Mississippi State opened the series with a 5-3 win behind a power surge at the plate and a strong start from Tomas Valincius. In game two, the Bulldogs turned to Duke Stone, who delivered a dominant outing on the mound, while a big fourth inning propelled them to a 9-0 victory. Mississippi State capped off a historic weekend in the finale, outlasting South Carolina 4-3 in 11 innings on Sunday to secure the program's first-ever three-game sweep of the Gamecocks.

On the mound, the Tigers will send out RHP Seth Impson (1-2, 8.80 ERA) who will make his 10^th appearance and fourth start this season. The Bulldogs will counter with South Carolina transfer RHP Tyler Pitzer (2-2, 3.07 ERA), making his second start of the year.

At the plate, Mississippi State has been led by Golden Spikes Award watch list nominee Ace Reese (12 HR / 17 2B / 47 RBI), Bryce Chance (.368 AVG / 46 H / 14 2B) and Noah Sullivan (1.044 OPS / 7 HR / 31 RBI). As a team, the Bulldogs rank seventh in ERA and WHIP (3.45 and 1.19), eighth in doubles (93), 12^th in hits (431), 13^th in batting average and slugging percentage (.317 and .540) and 16^th in runs scored and homers (342 and 67).

HOW TO FOLLOW THE TIGERS: For complete information on Memphis Tiger Baseball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.