STARKVILLE, Miss. (May 12, 2025) – Fresh off a series win over Eastern Kentucky, the University of North Alabama baseball team will begin a four-game road swing to close the regular season this week. The first stop is in Starkville, Miss. for a date with Mississippi State on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
 
Tuesday's game will air on SEC Network + live from Dudy Noble Field.
 
This will mark the final midweek game of the regular season for both teams, as conference tournaments loom next week. The Lions have already clinched a spot in the 2025 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship set for May 20-25 in DeLand, Fla.
 
Following the Mississippi State game, UNA will travel to Central Arkansas for a three-game set on Thursday through Saturday.
 
North Alabama vs. Mississippi State
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
6 p.m.
Live Video | Live Stats | Tickets
 
NOTES
 
LAST TIME OUT: UNA took two of three from EKU this past weekend, winning 6-4 in the opener and 6-2 in the Saturday clincher, which due to rain did not start until 9 a.m. and went past midnight. In that win, UNA locked up a spot in the ASUN Championship for the first time in program history. However, the Colonels salvaged the series on Sunday with a tight 3-2 win.
 
SERIES HISTORY: UNA and Mississippi State will play for the 12th time in history on Tuesday. The Bulldogs have a 9-2 advantage in the series. UNA won road games in 1990 and 1992 against Mississippi State. In the 1990 win, UNA Hall of Famer Kent Sullivan pitched 7.2 innings with just one earned run allowed in a 10-3 win. Another UNA Hall of Famer, Greg Bowles, hit leadoff in both the 1990 and 1992 wins as the leadoff hitter with three hits combined. The 1992 Lions beat the Bulldogs 3-2. All 11 meetings have occurred in Starkville.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA owns a 20-29 record this season, marking the most wins in a single-season as a Division I member. The Lions are also own a respectable 13-14 record in league play, sitting third place in the ASUN Gold Division. UNA has won both of the last two midweek games, taking wins against UT Martin both in Florence and in Martin.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Mississippi State is 31-20 overall and 12-15 in SEC play this season, sitting No. 32 in the NCAA RPI Rankings. The Bulldogs are coming off a home series win over No. 24 Ole Miss, taking the final two games. Two weeks ago, MSU swept Kentucky at home. Former Lion Gehrig  Frei is in his first season at MSU and leads the lineup with a .355 batting average. Pico Kohn is the leading pitcher on staff with a 4.38 ERA and 100 strikeouts.
 
POSTSEASON PICTURE: The Lions will appear in the ASUN Championship tournament for the first time ever, joining the league in 2019. Austin Peay, Lipscomb and Central Arkansas will represent the Gold Division, while Stetson, Jacksonville, FGCU and North Florida will represent the Graphite Division. UNA leads Central Arkansas by one game entering the weekend and will battle for the third seed in the Gold Division this weekend.
 
CRASKA COUPLES: Redshirt freshman first baseman Petey Craska is batting .347 with 58 hits to lead the UNA offense. Craska has 17 doubles this season, which is one away from tying the Division I single-season record set by Andrew Knight in 2023. The last player to double 20 or more times in a single season at UNA was Dylan Boston in 2015 with 21 doubles.
 
MR. 200: Senior captain Jonathan Lane etched his name into the UNA record book last month, recording his 200th career hit against Bellarmine. Lane is the fifth UNA player to accomplish this feat — and the first at the Division I level — joining UNA Hall of Famers James Barksdale (261), Douglas Hargett (243) and Josh Willingham (205), as well as 2018 graduate Kyle Hubbach (215). He is six hits away from tying Hubbach for third all-time, as Lane has 209 career hits.
 
SENIOR STARS: North Alabama celebrated 11 seniors after the EKU game on Sunday: Jayden Sloan, Carson Howard, Jonathan Lane, Quinn Petty, Dylan Morrill, Kyle Lewis, Brycen Parrish, Anthony Pingeton, Zak Majer, Raleigh Claunch and Caleb Menina.  
 
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.