OMAHA, Neb. — There was no Mississippi State baseball Tuesday.
Official word came around 3:45 p.m. that No. 6 MSU’s winners bracket matchup against No. 2 seed Vanderbilt (55-11) had been moved to today at 2 p.m. at TD Ameritrade Park.
Frustrating as the rain-soaked weekday may have been, the extra rest could spell relief, especially for the Bulldogs’ bullpen.
Relief pitchers Jared Liebolt, Cole Gordon and Riley Self pitched a combined four innings Sunday in Mississippi State’s comeback win over Auburn.
When MSU (52-13) does finally take the field it will be on the arm of senior starter Peyton Plumlee. He enters the contest at 7-4 with a 3.67 ERA in 20 appearances this year.
Opposing him on the bump will be Vanderbilt freshman phenom Kumar Rocker. The son of former Auburn football player and Washington Redskin Tracy Rocker, he is 10-5 with a 3.50 ERA and ranks third on the team with 97 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings pitched.
Auburn and Louisville resumed play of the final five innings of their postponed game, starting at 11 a.m. Louisville led 4-1 when weather intervened on Tuesday.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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