Diamond Dogs Open SEC Play Wednesday Morning Against LSU
May 25, 2016 | Baseball
The Diamond Dogs (36-20, 13-16 SEC), seeded seventh in the double-elimination, five-day event, tangle with the sixth-ranked and second-seeded LSU Tigers (38-18, 18-12 SEC) in Wednesday's 10 a.m. tourney opener. The winner advances to a 5 p.m. game Thursday while the loser faces a 10 a.m. elimination game against the winner or loser of the 1 p.m. Tennessee-South Carolina game.
Arkansas tests top-seeded SEC champ Florida and Alabama tangles with Mississippi in the other opening day tournament matchups.
Wednesday's tourney opener marks the fourth straight game between the longtime SEC Western Division rivals. The Tigers won two of three games against the Bulldogs in a closely-contested three-game series last weekend at Dudy Noble Field.
Bulldog senior righty Alan Johnson (3-6, 4.54 ERA) squares off against LSU senior lefty Lane Mestepey (6-7, 4.71 ERA), repeating the pitching matchup of last Friday's series opener in Starkville. Both pitchers gave up four runs in that contest but neither figured into a decision in the 7-5 LSU win.
The game will be televised regionally on Comcast cable systems and the radio broadcast heard onthe statewide MSU Baseball Radio Network.
MSU's appearance in the 2005 SEC Tournament is the school's 25th in 29 league tournaments dating back to 1977. The Bulldogs' 17-game string of consecutive SEC Tournament appearances came to an end last year.
