Bulldog World Series Begins Wednesday, New Class Ranked Third
October 13, 2015 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State baseball's annual Bulldog World Series begins Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Dudy Noble Field, head coach John Cohen announced Tuesday. With the Series being free and open to the public, Bulldog fans will be able to catch a glimpse of Cohen's new recruiting class, which Tuesday was ranked the fifth-best class in the nation by Baseball America.
2015 Bulldog World Series Schedule
|
Game |
Date |
Time |
Probable Starters (Home Team Listed Second) |
|
1 |
Oct. 14 |
5 p.m. |
Fr. LHP Trysten Barlow (G) vs. Fr. LHP Konnor Pilkington (M) |
|
2 |
Oct. 16 |
4 p.m. |
Fr. LHP Ethan Small (M) vs. Fr. RHP Noah Hughes (G) |
|
3 |
Oct. 17 |
3 p.m. |
Jr. LHP Daniel Brown (G) vs. Jr. RHP Dakota Hudson (M) |
|
4 |
Oct. 18 |
1 p.m. |
Jr. LHP Vance Tatum (M) vs. Jr. RHP Austin Sexton (G) |
|
5 |
Oct. 20 |
5 p.m. |
Fr. LHP Trysten Barlow (G) vs. Fr. LHP Konnor Pilkington (M) |
The best-of-five series between Maroon and Gray begins Wednesday at 5 p.m. with a matchup of freshmen left-handed pitchers Trysten Barlow (Gray) and Konnor Pilkington (Maroon). Freshman southpaw Ethan Small will then take the bump for Maroon against Gray freshman righty Noah Hughes in Game 2 Friday at 4 p.m.
Immediately following MSU football's game against Louisiana Tech Saturday, junior right-hander Dakota Hudson will battle junior lefty Daniel Brown in Game 3 at 3 p.m. at The Dude. The weekend wraps up Sunday at 1 p.m. with a duel between junior southpaw Vance Tatum and junior right-hander Austin Sexton.
The fall scrimmage schedule concludes with Game 5 (Oct. 20 at 5 p.m.) when Barlow and Pilkington square off against each another one final time.
All games in the Series will be played regardless of the outcome in the third or fourth game.
Playing in their first BWS will be Cohen's new incoming class, which last month was ranked third nationally by Collegiate Baseball and Tuesday was named the fifth-best class in the country by Baseball America. The ranking is MSU's highest by Baseball America since its inaugural rankings in 2000 had the Bulldogs third.
Officially becoming Bulldogs this past fall, the incoming class features three selections from the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft as well as three more players who were named player of the year in their respective states. Eighty-six percent of the group either earned high school or junior college All-America honors this past spring.
Left-handed pitchers Jared Padgrett and Kale Breaux highlight the pitchers who arrived in Starkville this past summer. Padgett was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 26th round of the 2015 MLB Draft, while Breaux was named the 2014-15 Gatorade Louisiana Baseball Player of the Year. In addition, Breaux was also a member of USA Baseball's 18U National Team which brought home the gold medal at the 2014 COPABE Pan American Championships.
Joining Breaux on that Team USA squad was Miami native Elih Marrero, considered one of the top incoming catchers in America. Marrero arrived at MSU with Breaux after being selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 29th round of this past summer's MLB Draft.
Infielder Delvin Zinn was chosen just before Marrero in the MLB Draft three months ago, being drafted by the Cubs in the 28th round. The Pontotoc, Mississippi, native earned Perfect Game All-America honors this past spring as an infielder with dynamic athleticism.
Named the 2014-15 Gatorade Alabama Baseball Player of the Year, Hunter Stovall joined the program after hitting .461 with 10 home runs and 28 stolen bases this past spring at Pelham High School. The middle infielder was named a 2015 Louisville Slugger, MaxPreps and Perfect Game All-American.
Junior college slugger Nathaniel Lowe transferred to MSU after being named a NJCAA First-Team All-American. The 2015 Florida Junior College Player of the Year, Lowe ranked second in the National Junior College Athletic Association in walks (54) and 12th in home runs (17), while hitting .372 with 53 RBIs in 56 games.
The bulk of the incoming class turned down opportunities to be significant draft picks this past summer in the 2015 MLB Draft.
For more information on Cohen's club, 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.”
