The Mississippi State Men’s baseball team will look to get back on track this weekend against Florida, who will come to Starkville ranked 7th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. 
Losing  their last four out of five games, The Bulldog’s haven’t been able to get their offense flowing on a consistent enough basis to string a series of consecutive victories together within conference play. The team is on pace to finish with one of the lowest offensive efficiency ratings in the program’s history and there have been rumblings from people around the program concerning the lack of changes to the lineup that could help stimulate some more offensive prowess. 
With  that being said,  head coach John Cohen shifted the blame towards inconsistent pitching following their 13-5 loss on Sunday at Texas A&M.
“In the first two games, we pitched it well and that kept us in the game,”    Cohen said. “In this game, we didn’t pitch it well at all. 
Realistically, we had two out of eight innings where you feel like pitchers went out and did a really great job. Personally, I feel we have the best defensive infield in the league but we are struggling to put them in a position to make plays.” 
At one point during the season, the offense failed to score a run in 29 straight innings, before finally breaking out of the slump in a win at home against Auburn in late March. 
At the same time though, the Bulldogs were able to put together a long run of holding their opponents to two runs or fewer in nine straight games earlier in the season. 
Currently, Mississippi State has seen their collective team batting average slip to .278 as well as the staffs overall ERA to .399, which when coupled with the challenge of facing one of college baseball’s premier programs in the Florida Gators, could make for a very difficult weekend for Cohen. 
One factor that the Bulldogs may have working in their favor is the recent news that the Gators will be without two of their pitchers this weekend.
That is because sophomores A.J. Puk and Kirby Snead were charged with a third-degree felony for allegedly climbing a crane at a construction site on campus, according to The Orlando Sentinel.
Regarding the incident, Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan has yet to release any comment but the players’ lawyer Huntley Johnson did choose to address the matter following his clients actions. 
“This is a learning experience for the two young men,” Johnson said.  
These events may prove to help the Bulldog offense, who will take any breaks they can get. The Florida pitching staff have been particularly formable this season, posting a team ERA below 3.50 and combining to help position the Gators for a postseason push. 
The Gators will come to Starkville on the heels of losing a 4-3 12 inning thriller to in-state rivals Florida State on Tuesday night. A game that their head coach would describe afterward as one they just couldn’t get a hold of. 
“We didn’t quite do enough to win the ballgame. Looking back, JJ (Schwarz) leads off the ninth with a ball off the wall and a couple of more inches to the left it’s a home run”, said O’Sullivan. “But, the ball doesn’t go out and we don’t get a bunt down. We needed to get the runner to third base and drive him in there.”
While the Gators do enough to get things done on the mound, the true strength of the team comes on offense, where the team ranks high in most of the major categories. To be more specific, they are 8th in both batting average and home runs, as well as 6th in runs, scored this season. 
One player on the Gators who has been scorching  as of late, would be freshman catcher/designated hitter JJ Schwarz. It was announced on Wednesday that he had been selected as the national hitter of the week after he was able to produce some eye-opening numbers the week before.
Schwarz batted .529 (9-for-17) with 15 RBI, 12 runs scored and seven home runs as Florida captured all four games last week, including a sweep of No. 21 South Carolina. His seven-homer barrage surpassed the six homers Taylor Gushue had in 63 games last year to lead the Gators.
The Bulldog pitching staff will need to stay focused against a very high octane Gator lineup, as mistakes can quickly turn into home runs. 
If the Bulldogs have any remaining hopes of capturing a regional birth come May, they will need to start putting together some impressive victories.
Winning the series against Florida this weekend will certainly help their cause. The weekend series gets underway on Friday night at 6:30 p.m.  at Duty Noble Field.
The series will continue at 2  p.m. Saturday and Sunday.