No. 4 MSU Baseball travels to Tuscaloosa to Battle Crimson Tide
April 28, 2016 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Riding high after taking down another Top-10 opponent in No. 7 LSU last weekend in Baton Rouge, the No. 4 Mississippi State baseball team now travels to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to take on the Crimson Tide in a Thursday-Saturday three-game slate at the newly constructed Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The Diamond Dawgs hope to continue their success this weekend after winning five of their first six conference series for the first time since winning six of their first seven in 1997. The Bulldogs and Tide will kickoff the series with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch Thursday night that will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
Game two of the series is set for 7 p.m. Friday night and will be available for streaming on SEC Network +. The final matchup between the two teams will also be available on SEC Network + at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The Diamond Dawgs capped off a 3-1 regular season record against in-state rival No. 12 Ole Miss Tuesday night with a thrilling 2-0 victory in front of a Trustmark Park record 8,542 fans. It was the first-ever shutout in the 10-year history of the annual Governor's Cup and the Bulldog's first shutout against Ole Miss since 2012. Sophomore righty Jacob Billingsley earned game MVP honors and picked up his first-career save after tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bulldogs also knocked off No. 7 LSU in Alex Box Stadium last weekend (12-8, 2-1, 8-11) for the first time since 2006. The series victory was MSU's fifth against a team ranked inside the Top-11 in six tries so far in 2016. The Diamond Dawgs now own a 10-7 record against the Top-10 and a 13-8 record against the Top-25, both more than any other team in the Southeastern Conference.
Sitting at 10-4 in the conference, the Bulldogs are two games back of SEC Western Division leader Texas A&M (12-6) and are four games back of overall leader South Carolina (14-4). The Maroon and White's remaining four conference opponents have a combined SEC record of 24-48.
The Tide enter the weekend having lost four of their last five games and three of their last four conference series after winning their first two of the 2016 campaign.
Alabama owns the overall series record against the Bulldogs 212-188-4, with a 124-77-2 record in Tuscaloosa. The Tide took two of three from the Diamond Dawgs in Starkville last season. Junior RHP Austin Sexton tossed his first-career complete game against Alabama last season, lasting 9 innings while only allowing one run. He struck out seven in the 4-1 victory.
For more information on head coach John Cohen's ballclub, 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.”
Need To Know
· In the latest rankings released Monday, MSU was voted 4th in the Coaches Poll, 3rd by Baseball America, 4th by D1 Baseball, 3rd by Perfect Game, 3rd by the NCBWA and 8th by Collegiate Baseball.
· As of April 27, Mississippi State's offense ranks ninth in the country in doubles (93, 1st in SEC), 10th in hits (458, 2nd in SEC), 24th in batting average (.307, 3rd in SEC) and 28th in on base percentage (.396, 3rd in SEC).
· The Maroon and White pitching staff is sixth in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings (9.1, 5th in SEC).
· The Bulldogs have six shutouts in 2016 (10th in NCAA, 1st in SEC) after not recording any in 2015.
· Individually, junior outfielder Reid Humphreys is 36th in the country with 15 doubles (T-1st in SEC) and is also 8th in the conference with 5 saves.
· After hitting .243 with two outs in 2015, the Bulldogs are terrorizing opposing pitching with a .311 clip (1st in SEC) with two down this season.
· Bulldog pinch hitters are raking at a .428 mark in 2016 (1st in SEC), 52 points higher than the next closest opponent.
Thursday's Forecast (April 28) – High 86, Low 61 – Scattered Thunderstorms (30%)
Friday's Forecast (April 29) – High 86, Low 65 – Sunny (10%)
Saturday's Forecast (April 30) – High 85, Low 67 – PM Thunderstorms (50%)
Live Video and Television
Thursday's game will be available on nationally on ESPNU
Friday's game will be available nationally on SECN +
Saturday's game will be available nationally on SECN +
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).
Tickets are still available and can be purchased at rolltide.com/tickets and at the Alabama Ticket Office.
- HailState.com -
