No. 8 Bulldogs Host Delta Devils
May 25, 2016 | Baseball
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STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Eager to rebound from a pair of hard-fought weekend losses to No. 5 Auburn, Mississippi State's Baseball Bulldogs (25-7-1) steps away from conference play Tuesday night to tackle the SWAC Eastern Division-leading Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils (21-21) in a 6:30 p.m. matchup at Dudy Noble Field. The game marks the third return this season of the popular Tuesday "25-cent hot dog night" at the stadium, jointly sponsored by Bryan Foods and the Custom Food Group.
State claimed one of three games played against Auburn over the weekend, and the two setbacks cost the Bulldogs their top spot in the Southeastern Conference standings and in the national rankings. State stands third in the SEC behind LSU (24-11-1, 11-3-1 SEC) and Auburn (29-8, 11-4 SEC)and is ranked eighth by Baseball America and No. 11 in the Collegiate Baseball magazine poll.
Junior righthander Jeff Lacher (4-0, 3.21), a winner in all four of his starts this season, will open on the mound for Mississippi State. The Delta Devils, riding a 10-game winning streak, are expected to start senior lefty Trey Wall (3-2, 6.69) of Starkville.
The left side of the Bulldog infield continues to set the pace at the plate for Mississippi State, junior third baseman Steve Gendron (.370) nudging out senior shortstop Matthew Maniscalco (.369) for team hitting honors. Maniscalco, Matthew Brinson (.315) and team RBI leader Jon Mungle (.283, 26-RBI) share the team lead with five home runs each.
Bulldog ace lefty Paul Maholm (6-1, 1.45) now leads the SEC in earned run average and batting average allowed (.181) after picking up the win in Friday's series-opener against Auburn. The win was the 24th of Maholm's career, moving the Holly Springs, Miss., product into a tie for seventh with Don Robinson (1975-78) on State's career wins list.
MVSU enters the week with a .303 team batting average, with senior outfielder Adrian Brown leading the way at the plate with a .415 batting average. Junior catcher Stephen Bilokur (.346) has hit a team-leading 16 doubles and paced the club with 34 RBI.
In addition to Wall, one other Starkville native, senior shortstop Tee Thomas (.342), will be starting for the Delta Devils.
Mississippi State closes out its season-longest seven-game homestand Wednesday night, playing host to Samford University at 6:30 p.m. The SU Bulldogs are coached by former Mississippi State player and coaching staff member Tim Parenton.
MSU travels to Columbia, S.C., Thursday and begins a three-game series Friday against defending SEC champion South Carolina (22-14, 7-8), currently leading the SEC's Eastern Division.
| BASEBALL AMERICA TOP 25 | ||
| Team | Overall? ? | Prev |
| 1. Rice | 35-3 | 1 |
| 2. Cal State Fullerton | 30-8 | 2 |
| 3. Florida State | 33-6 | 3 |
| 4. Stanford | 23-10 | 4 |
| 5. Auburn | 29-8 | 5 |
| 6. Arizona State | 38-7 | 7 |
| 7. Texas | 29-11 | 9 |
| 8. Mississippi State | 25-7 | 6 |
| 9. Long Beach State | 23-12 | 10 |
| 10. Louisiana State | 24-11 | 11 |
| 11. Nebraska | 25-9 | 8 |
| 12. Miami | 27-7 | 12 |
| 13. Georgia Tech | 28-6 | 13 |
| 14. North Carolina State? ? | 30-8 | 14 |
| 15. Florida Atlantic | 32-9 | 15 |
| 16. Baylor | 25-14 | 16 |
| 17. Notre Dame | 25-6 | 17 |
| 18. Texas A&M | 29-11 | 19 |
| 19. Clemson | 25-9 | 18 |
| 20. Richmond | 27-6 | 20 |
| 21. Nevada-Las Vegas | 28-11 | 21 |
| 22. Southern Mississippi | 26-10 | 23 |
| 23. Arkansas | 27-7 | NR |
| 24. Oklahoma State | 23-11 | 22 |
| 25. Missouri | 25-10 | 25 |
