No. 15 Dogs Open Weekend Series With No. 12 Hogs Friday At Dudy Noble Field
May 25, 2016 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - No. 15 Mississippi State opens the second half of its 2006 Southeastern Conference season this weekend, playing host to No. 12 Arkansas in a three-game series that begins Friday at 6:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs (28-9, 7-7 SEC) closed out a six-game road run with a pair of midweek wins at Memphis. MSU hit three home runs - two by first baseman Brad Jones (.248) ?€? in a 12-8 win over the Memphis Tuesday night at Nat Buring Field. State completed the series sweep of the Tigers with a 5-3 win Wednesday night at Memphis' AutoZone Park, with designated hitter Brian LaNinfa (.347) launching a pair of blasts and Memphis native Joseph Hunter (.271) delivering a game-winning two-run seventh inning double. Jones and LaNinfa share the team home run lead with five each while Jeff Butts (.313) lead the team with 29 RBI.
SEC hitting leader Thomas Berkery (.411) is expected to rejoin the team for the weekend series after missing the two midweek games due to a death in his family in Florida.
Friday's series-opener at Dudy Noble Field matches two of the SEC's top left-handers - State senior Brooks Dunn (6-2, 3.96) and Razorbacks sophomore Nick Schmidt (6-2, 2.27).
Arkansas (28-11, 8-7 SEC) is the fourth ranked opponent faced by MSU this season and the second to visit Dudy Noble Field. The Razorbacks, after opening SEC play with a 2-4 mark, have claimed their last three SEC series, taking two of three from Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Arkansas is two games behind division-leading Alabama and a half-game ahead of Mississippi State in the SEC West.
The weekend series closes out the home portion of a road-heavy April schedule for the Diamond Dogs. State plays just six of 22 games at Dudy Noble Field this month.
MSU has won eight of the last 10 meetings and the last five series with Arkansas.
All three MSU-Arkansas games will be broadcast on the statewide MSU Baseball Radio Network, with live video streaming available to subscribers of "Maroon to the Max", MSU's premium extension on its official web site www. MStateAthletics.com. Saturday and Sunday's games will also be available on channel 119 to subscribers of SIRIUS Satellite Radio.
2006 SEC STANDINGS (4-21)
Team SEC Pct. Overall Pct. South Carolina 11-4 .733 30-8 .789Alabama 10-5 .667 28-12 .700 Vanderbilt 10-5 .667 25-132 .658 Kentucky 8-7 .533 27-10 .730Arkansas 8-7 .533 28-11 .718Mississippi State 7-7 .500 28-9 .757Mississippi 7-8 .467 23-15 .605Auburn 6-9 .400 18-22 .405 Georgia 6-9 .400 22-13 .629Louisiana State 6-9 .400 26-13 .667 Tennessee 5-9 .357 22-15 .595 Florida 5-10 .333 23-18 .561SEC West teams flush left;
Teams listed alphabetically by SEC winning percentages
