Baseball Begins Conference Play At No. 2 Vanderbilt Friday
March 17, 2016 | Baseball
State is coming off a three-game sweep against then No. 10 Oregon at Dudy Noble Field this past weekend (10-4, 9-3, 5-2), followed by midweek losses to Eastern Kentucky (16-12 in 10 innings) and Oral Roberts (3-1). The Commodores swept Xavier this past weekend (7-0, 14-3, 5-2) before picking up a 9-2 victory against Northern Illinois March 15.
The Maroon and White are 67-44-2 all-time against Vandy, including a 2-1 series win in their last meeting together (March 21-23, 2014). State is 26-22 all-time in Nashville against the Black and Gold.
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Need To Know
- Sophomore slugger Brent Rooker enters the weekend as the reigning SEC Player of the Week and is hitting .444 the last five games with eight hits, six runs, five RBIs and two home runs.
- Mississippi State's offense enters the weekend ranked fourth in the NCAA in doubles (45), 12th in on-base percentage (.419), 17th in hits (194), 18th in walks (91), 24th in batting average (.317) and 28th in slugging percentage (.474).
- This weekend is a matchup between teams which both rank in the top-10 nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (Vanderbilt is first with 11.2, MSU is seventh with 10.1).
- Outfielder Jacob Robson has reached base safely in a career-long 18 straight games dating back to 2015 and enters the weekend riding a career-best 13 game hitting streak.
- Robson, MSU's leadoff hitter, ranks in the top-20 nationally in walks (8th, 19), runs (18th, 22) and stolen bases (20th, 10).
- The MSU defense ranks 19th in the country with a .981 fielding percentage and owns the fourth-best combined fielding percentage in college baseball the past three seasons.
- MSU has cranked out 64 extra-base hits (45 doubles, 6 triples, 13 home runs) in just 18 games after hitting recording just 117 XBH in 54 games last season (87 doubles, 8 triples, 22 home runs).
- In the latest rankings released March 14, MSU was voted 15th by the Coaches, D1 Baseball, Baseball America and Perfect Game, as well as 13th by Collegiate Baseball and 14th by the NCBWA.
- Junior designated hitter Jack Kruger has reached base safely in all 18 games this spring.
- After hitting .243 with two outs in 2015, the 2016 Diamond Dawgs are raking at a .332 clip with two outs this spring.
- Mississippi State's starting pitching has recorded a 1.35 ERA the past six games.
- The Diamond Dawgs have outscored their opponents 41-9 in the first two innings combined so far this spring.
- The Maroon and White are a perfect 5 for 5 in save opportunities this season after going 9 for 15 last year.
Friday's Forecast (March 18) – High 69, Low 46 – Mostly Sunny (0%)
Saturday's Forecast (March 19) – High 55, Low 38 – Cloudy (20%)
Sunday's Forecast (March 20) – High 51, Lowe 34 – PM Showers (40%)
Live Video and Television
SEC Network presents a Bases Loaded special Friday, March 18, the opening night of Southeastern Conference baseball, featuring every baseball team in the SEC, eight of which are ranked in the Top 25. The show is a live compilation of seven games – all 14 teams – taking place that evening across the southeast. Kyle Peterson and Chris Burke, will join Dari Nowkhah to provide analysis and play by play for the Bases Loaded presentation.
Saturday's contest will be on SEC Network.
Sunday's entire game will be broadcast on SEC Network +.
Watch Saturday's Game | Watch Sunday's Game
Live Audio and Radio
All three games will be broadcast live on the MSU Baseball Radio Network (WKBB 100.9 FM in Starkville). The contest will also be audio streamed live online at HailState.com/Plus (requires subscription).
Live Stats
Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Tickets
Tickets can be bought here.
