Diamond Dogs Open Challenging Three-Game Series At No. 9 Arizona
May 25, 2016 | Baseball
MSU sends senior righty Alan Johnson (1-0, 2.77) against UA righthander John Meloan (2-0, 3.51) in Friday's 8 p.m. (CST) series-opener at Jerry Kindall Field at Frank Sancet Stadium in Tucson.
Arizona is ranked ninth in the latest Sports Weekly/ESPN coaches poll while the Bulldogs climbed to No. 16 in the latest NCBWA writers poll.
The Bulldogs, making their first trip to Arizona since 1981, closed out their home stand Wednesday with a 14-2 win over Jackson State at Dudy Noble Field. Seven Bulldog pitchers combined for a staff season-high 15 strikeouts and All-American Brad Corley launched his first home run of the season against JSU.
Friday's series-opener at Arizona marks Ron Polk's 1,500th game in 26 seasons as head coach at Mississippi State. Polk launched his collegiate coaching career in 1976 at Arizona as a graduate assistant coach under the legendary Frank Sancet.
The series also reunites a pair of SEC coaching rivals. Arizona is coached by Andy Lopez, who served for seven seasons as head coach at Florida, where he posted a 17-6 record against MSU. Polk and Lopez are two of only three coaches in NCAA history to have guided three different schools to appearances in the NCAA College World Series. Polk led Georgia Southern, Mississippi State and Georgia to the national championship event while Lopez successfully directed Pepperdine, Florida and Arizona to Omaha.
The Bulldogs sport a .329 team batting average, led by freshman shortstop Bunky Kateon (.408). Junior outfielder Jeff Butts (.375) leads MSU with 12 hits and 11 RBI, while junior first baseman Brad Jones (.345) enters the series riding a team-best hitting that spans all eight games.
The Wildcats are hitting a sizzling .342 as a team. Rightfielder Jeff Van Houten (.420) begins the weekend riding a two-season 23-game hitting streak and leading a trio of .400 hitters for Arizona.
The radio broadcast of all three games at Arizona will be carried on the state-wide MSU Baseball Radio Network. Saturday's game is set for 5 p.m. (CST) while Sunday's series finale begins at 1 p.m. (CST).
