Mississippi State baseball vs Virginia prediction, odds for NCAA tournament regionals
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Friday's NCAA tournament action was thrilling, and the Charlottesville Regional was at the heart of it.
Play opened in the afternoon with No. 1 seed and host Virginia picking up a 4-2 win against No. 4 seed Penn. The nightcap took the drama to another level.
Behind a three-run walkoff homer from Dakota Jordan, No. 2 seed Mississippi State defeated No. 3 seed St. John's by a final score of 5-2 in the 10th.
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The victory sets up a winner's bracket meeting between the top two seeds in the regional. MSU (39-21) and Virginia (42-15) have not met since the 2021 College World Series.
The last meeting between the programs featured a 6-5 win to advance the Bulldogs to the winner's bracket in Omaha, Nebraska. MSU trailed 4-0 before flipping the game with six runs in the eighth inning.
Mississippi State is expected to start ambidextrous sophomore pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje on Saturday (5 p.m. CT, ACC Network). The Cavaliers are throwing left-handed pitcher Evan Blanco.
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Mississippi State baseball vs. Virginia prediction in NCAA regional bracket
Mississippi State beats Virginia 4-3: Typically, the first day of action features the best pitching. However, UVA has saved its ace for the second day, while Mississippi State has the luxury of having a strong second option. Between Cijntje and Blanco, I expect a low-scoring contest. However, with Jordan getting hot, he could be the difference against a left-handed pitcher.
Mississippi State vs. Virginia odds in 2024 NCAA tournament
Mississippi State baseball is a slight underdog (+120) to beat Virginia on Saturday, according to BetMGM.
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Mississippi State baseball odds to win 2024 College World Series
Mississippi State is a long shot to win the College World Series (+4000), according to BetMGM.
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State vs Virginia prediction for NCAA baseball regional
