Bulldogs Open Weekend Series With Rebels Friday At Dudy Noble
May 25, 2016 | Baseball
MSU knocked off top-ranked Louisiana State 7-3 in Baton Rouge, La., last Friday night and notched non-conference wins over UAB (6-5) and Louisiana-Monroe (8-4) in midweek home contests.
Sophomore right-hander Jamie Gant (3-2, 3.00) draws the start for the Bulldogs in friday's series-opener. The Rebels, who took two of three at Alabama last weekend and swept Southeastern Louisiana in the midweek, will open with sophomore righty Mark Holliman (4-0, 3.03). As a freshman Gant came out of the bullpen to earn a pair of wins in relief over Mississippi and earned all-tournament team honors at last year's SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.
Bulldog senior infielder Steve Gendron (.343) enters the weekend riding a team-best 15-game hitting streak. The Tampa, Fla., product leads the team with 36 hits and 12 extra-base hits. In the past week Gendron climbed past former MSU and current Major League great Rafael Palmeiro into seventh place among MSU's career hits leaders (272).
Freshman second baseman Jeffrey Rea leads the club with a .345 batting average, while sophomore outfielder Brad Corley (.327) paces the club with 20 RBI.
Friday's series-opener marks the debut of the new scoreboard/message center at Dudy Noble Field. The stadium addition, made possible by the Henry Mize Foundation of Tupelo, Miss., and installed over the past two weeks, includes a 15-by-22-foot video screen.
Mississippi State owns a 226-173-5 all-time series lead over Mississippi, sweeping the last two series in winning eight of the last nine meetings. The Bulldogs claimed all three wins in the 2003 series at Oxford (2-0, 7-0, 8-4), dropped a 5-1 decision in the Mayor's Trophy Game in Jackson, and then added a pair of wins over UM in the SEC Tournament (5-4, 4-1).
Mississippi State Vs. Mississippi
Dudy Noble Field -- Starkville, Miss.
Friday -- April 2 -- 6:30 p.m. CST
Jamie Gant (3-2, 3.00) vs. Mark Holliman (4-0, 3.03)
Saturday -- April 3 -- 2:00 p.m. CST
Alan Johnson (0-1, 5.48) vs. Brae Wright (5-0, 1.43)
Sunday -- April 4 -- 1:30 p.m. CDT
Jeff Lacher (2-3, 5.33) vs. Stephen Head (3-0, 3.21)
