Over the past month, Mississippi State has been on an offensive roll. The Bulldogs have averaged 6.5 runs over their last 20 games and climbed back into the race for a top-four seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

The Bulldogs (27-22, 11-13 SEC) will head to Kentucky (31-17, 11-13) Friday to begin a three-game series at notoriously hitter-friendly Cliff Hagan Stadium and its 310-foot right field wall.

The key to staying hot at the plate, MSU center fielder Jake Mangum said, is acting like they’re somewhere else.

“It’s definitely going to cross some kids’ minds, but the key is to act like right field is not even there,” Mangum said at a press conference earlier this week. “It’s a very shallow right field, but you’ve just got to act like it’s not even there and stick with your approach.”

Taking the right approach has been a big theme for the Bulldogs over the past month. Since scoring a total of five runs in a road series at LSU and finishing March with a 14-15 record, they’ve won 13 of 20 games and found a groove.

A 9-8 win over Troy on Wednesday was their 15th come-from-behind victory this season, and the ninth time in their last 20 games they’ve scored at least seven runs.

They’ve had 10 or more hits in five of the last six games.

“You keep hearing approach, but it really is. Early in the year the approach was set to look away and react inside. It’s really starting to click for the guys, myself included,” said Mangum, who was 3-for-4 with a double, RBI and three runs scored against Troy. “We all get pitched a certain way. You can have a scouting report, but if you don’t execute it it’s not going to go your way. It’s starting to come together really, really well.”

Although Mississippi State and Kentucky are both under .500 in conference play, they’re hardly out of the race for one of the top four seeds in the SEC Tournament and a first-round bye that would allow them to avoid an elimination game in the first round.

Eight teams are within two games of each other for fourth place with six to play in the regular season. That means the winner of the MSU-Kentucky series will still be in the hunt on the final weekend, while the loser falls by the wayside.

Winning the last two series could also solidify Mississippi State’s position as an NCAA Tournament team. The Bulldogs entered the week at No. 35 in the NCAA’s RPI rankings that are a big part of the formula used to determine the tournament field.

Kentucky, at No. 15, is one of six SEC teams in the top 15. So is No. 1 Florida, who the Bulldogs host next weekend. A strong finish against those two could push Mississippi State into the NCAA Tournament field.

Much like the right field wall at Kentucky, Mangum said the best way to attack that challenge is to pretend like it’s not even there.

“Win every game,” he said of the mindset coming into this series. “We take each game one by one.”