Bulldogs Continue SEC West Road Competition Against Rebels In Oxford
May 25, 2016 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Ninth-ranked Mississippi State (19-3-1, 5-1 SEC) resumes rugged Southeastern Conference competition this weekend with its second consecutive Western Division road trip when the Bulldogs take on No. 29 Mississippi (17-7, 5-1 SEC) at Oxford/University Stadium. Game times are set for 4 p.m. Friday and 1:30 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday, and all the games are broadcast on the statewide MSU Baseball Radio Network.
Including next week's Mayor's Trophy matchup in Jackson, three of MSU's next four games are against UM.
State registered its first three-game road series sweep of No. 16 Arkansas last weekend in Fayetteville, Ark., (4-3 in 10 inn., 8-3, 5-1) and topped first-time foe Morehead State (10-4, 10-3) in a pair of midweek games at Dudy Noble Field. The Bulldogs have now won 13 of their last 15.
In the longest-running and most frequently-contested baseball rivalries, Mississippi State has battled to a 221-172-5 lead in its baseball series with the University of Mississippi. The Bulldogs have won eight of the last 10 games and five of the last six series in a rivalry that dates back to 1893. Last year, UM claimed an 8-4 win over State in the 23rd annual Mayor's Trophy Game in Jackson. But on the final weekend of the regular season, the Bulldogs registered an impressive three-game series sweep of the Rebels in Starkville (12-2, 14-5, 10-5) to earn their 16th consecutive berth in the SEC Tournament.
Mississippi holds an 88-84-3 series lead in games played in Oxford, though State took two of three games in 2001 (6-3, 7-6, 3-6), the last time the teams met at O/U Stadium. Including a 3-3 mark in two seasons at Georgia, Bulldog skipper Ron Polk is 79-43 lifetime vs. Mississippi.
This weekend's series at UM closes out what has to this point been one of Mississippi State's more productive Marches. State is 15-2-1 during the span, including a 7-1 record away from Dudy Noble Field. Both of the losses came in one-run games -- one in extra innings on the road -- while a heavy onslaught of rain produced a 5-5 tie in a six-inning Mar. 5 home game with Louisiana Tech.
Over the last five games MSU is hitting .342, out-scoring opponents 37-14 while hitting nine of this year's 25 home runs. Sophomore left fielder Jon Mungle (.288) has paced the Bulldogs' plate attack. In his last five games the Germantown, Tenn., product has hit .611 (11x18) with four doubles, two home runs, three walks, seven runs scored, a 1.167 slugging percentage and a .636 on-base percentage. He now shares the team lead of four home runs with freshman center fielder Joseph Hunter and junior first baseman Matthew Brinson.
The Bulldog pitching corps has also enjoyed great early-season success. Over the last five games MSU has compiled a 2.15 staff ERA, registered 42 strikeouts and limited opponents to .190 hitting. Weekend starters Paul Maholm (3-1, 1.80) and Todd Nicholas (3-0, 1.65) registered the pitching staff's first two complete games in last weekend's sweep at Arkansas. It was the second straight 10-inning outing and seventh career complete game for Maholm, State's starter in Friday afternoon's series opener in Oxford.
Brinson has been MSU's most productive hitter on the road this season, hitting .325 (13x30) with two doubles, three home runs, eight walks and eight RBI in eight games away from Dudy Noble Field.
MSU's 20-game record (16-3-1) stands as the third-best in Ron Polk's 24 seasons as head baseball coach at Mississippi State. And that early-season success is reflected in college baseball's latest national rankings. Following last week's 4-1 showing on the road, Mississippi State maintained its No. 9 position in this week's Collegiate Baseball magazine poll. But the Bulldogs did some poll-climbing in the other three rankings -- up two to No. 10 in the Sports Weekly/ ESPN coaches poll, up one place to No. 10 in the NCBWA writers poll, and up one spot to No. 11 in the Baseball America rankings.
