MGM Park To Play Host To Bulldogs, Lions Midweek Matchup

The Diamond Dawgs are 7-1 in March, with a 1.40 team ERA.

MGM Park To Play Host To Bulldogs, Lions Midweek Matchup

March 13, 2018 | Baseball

STARKVILLE, Miss. – In its final tune up before beginning Southeastern Conference play, Mississippi State (10-6) will make a day trip to Biloxi for a midweek matchup with Southeastern Louisiana (12-6), Wednesday at MGM Park.

First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. CT at the home of the Biloxi Shuckers, Minor League Baseball's Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. This will mark the second time the Diamond Dawgs have played at MGM Park, with the first time having been a 1-0 win over ULM in 14 innings on April 20, 2016.

State will occupy the first base dugout on Wednesday with tickets available for purchase through HailState.com/tickets.

After a 4-1 performance last week, State jumped up two spots in D1 Baseball's rankings to No. 19, improved five spots to No. 21 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll and from receiving votes to No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

MSU holds a 9-5 advantage over SLU in the all-time series between the two programs, with State currently on a five-game losing streak against the Lions. MSU is seeking its first win against SLU since 2003. Wednesday's matchup will be the first meeting since the Lions swept a pair of midweek games in Hammond, La. in 2012.

Game Notes | Live Stats

NEED TO KNOW

In all 10 of State's wins thus far, opponents have been held to four runs or less.
State is 10-3 since 29-year coaching veteran Gary Henderson took over the reins of the MSU program, with the Diamond Dawgs having posted a 2.10 team ERA in those games.
The Diamond Dawgs have five comeback wins on the year, all of which have come in the month of March. In 2017, 25 of State's 40 wins were come-from-behind victories.
MSU is 10-2 when holding opponents to five or less runs and 0-4 when allowing six or more runs. State is also 7-1 when scoring first and 6-0 when having scored in the first inning.
While Jake Mangum leads MSU in multi-hit games (8), Tanner Allen (7), Hunter Stovall (6) and Josh Hatcher (6) aren't far behind their junior center fielder.
Henderson has the Diamond Dawgs 7-1 over their last eight games with a 1.40 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 77.0 innings pitched.
Freshman Tanner Allen has become a staple in the starting lineup and has had an impact at the plate especially, currently hitting .469 (15-for-32) with runners on base and .389 (7-for-18) with runners in scoring position.
MSU leads the SEC in batters struck out looking (60), while Konnor Pilkington leads the league in strikeouts looking (18) and Ethan Small ranks tied for third (11).
Pilkington also leads all of Division I baseball with a 35.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
With a hand in 11 double plays on the year, Hunter Stovall is tied for second in the SEC in fielding double plays by a second baseman.
39 strikeouts over the three-game stretch that was the Shriner's College Classic (March 2-4) at Minute Maid Park made for the most in a three-game weekend series by a Diamond Dawg pitching staff since 45 on March 2-3, 2002 against Jacksonville State (doubleheader on March 2).
MSU opened the season on a 12-game span away from Dudy Noble Field, it was the longest stretch without a home game to begin a season for State since the 1982 season (14 games) and the longest span without a home game since 1982 (14 games).
The Diamond Dawgs are coming off an unprecedented road trip that had MSU away from home for 12-straight days, including eight games and spanning six cities. Originally scheduled to include nine games, a Feb. 26 meeting between State and UT-Rio Grande Valley was canceled in the bottom of the fourth inning due to heavy amounts of fog (State led 4-0).
The Diamond Dawgs got off to an 0-3 start for the first time since 1996, a year that saw State go on to finish 38-24 (17-13 SEC) and make one of its 36 all-time NCAA Tournament appearances.
A total of 12 newcomers have made their MSU debut through the early part of the season (Tanner Allen, Jordan Anderson, JP France, Justin Foscue, Marshall Gilbert, Josh Hatcher, Rowdey Jordan, Jared Liebelt, Cole Marsh, Zach Neff, Alex Pener and Jordan Westburg), eight of those have also recorded a start in 2018.

PROBABLE STARTERS
Wednesday: MSU RHP Cole Marsh (1-0, 1.42 ERA) vs. SLU RHP Corey Gaconi (0-0, 6.14 ERA)

WEATHER FORECAST
Wednesday Forecast: High 65, Low 39 – Sunny – 0% Chance of Rain

LIVE VIDEO/TELEVISION
Wednesday's matchup between the Bulldogs and Lions will not be available for any form of live viewing or streaming.

LIVE STATS
All season long, fans can follow the action with pitch-by-pitch updates through live stats. Visit the Diamond Dawgs' schedule page and click on the "Live Stats" link associated with the appropriate game.

LIVE AUDIO & RADIO
With men's basketball competing in the NIT, Wednesday's game will be a "local only" broadcast, meaning it can only be heard through WKBB-FM (100.9) or WLZA-FM (96.1) in the Starkville area. With Jim Ellis on the call, the broadcast will also be audio streamed live online at HailState.com/Plus and on TuneIn Radio.

TICKETS
Tickets for Wednesday's game, along with all of MSU's home games and some road games, can be purchased through HailState.com/tickets.

UP NEXT FOR STATE
Following Wednesday's non-conference contest, MSU will return home to open another five-game homestand that will begin with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch on Friday against Vanderbilt to open SEC play. The Bulldogs and Commodores will continue and conclude their three-game series Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m., respectively.

FOLLOW THE DIAMOND DAWGS
For more information on the Diamond Dawg program, follow the program on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateBB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."