Bulldogs, Tide Battle In Tuscaloosa
May 25, 2016 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Top-ranked Mississippi State hits the road this weekend for its second consecutive SEC Western Division series when the Bulldogs (21-1, 4-1 SEC) test the 15th-ranked and SEC West-leading Alabama Crimson Tide (20-8, 5-1 SEC) at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The series begins Friday at 6:30 p.m. Saturday's 3 p.m. game is the seasonal debut of SEC-TV's Game of the Week series on FOX Sports Net, while Sunday's 2 p.m. series finale Sunday has been added to the TV lineup and will be televised by the Alabama Cable Network and Jumbo Sports of Louisiana.
Friday's series opener matches two of the league's five-game winners - Mississippi State senior lefty Brooks Dunn (5-0, 2.12 ERA) and Alabama junior lefty Wade LeBlanc (5-0, 1.71 ERA). MSU opens the weekend with an SEC-leading 2.41 staff earned run average. Bulldog starters have worked at least five innings in all 22 games and State starters have registered 15 quality starters (six or more innings pitched and three or less earned runs allowed).
MSU carries a .315 team batting average into the series, led by senior shortstop Thomas Berkery (.417). The Bulldog co-captain went 4-for-7 in the midweek and enters the weekend riding a career-best and SEC-leading 19-game hitting streak, the longest hitting streak in the SEC this year.
Mississippi State has claimed the last two series, including a season-ending three-game series sweep in Tuscaloosa two years. State has won six of the last seven meetings though Alabama holds a 190-178-4 lead in the series that got its start in 1896.
Saturday and Sunday's games will be available to customers of SIRIUS Satellite Radio. The MSU Radio Network broadcast will be available on SIRIUS channel 155 both days.
