Diamond Dogs Battle East-Leading Gamecocks In Columbia
May 25, 2016 | Baseball
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Mississippi State takes aim at a strong finish to whathas been a difficult month of baseball competition this weekend in Columbia,S.C., as the 17th-ranked Bulldogs (29-13, 8-9 SEC) challenge No. 12 SouthCarolina (30-11, 11-7 SEC) in a three-game weekend series at Sarge FryeField.
The Bulldogs have shaken up their pitching rotation for the weekend, withfreshman right-hander Aaron Weatherford (4-0, 1.33 ERA) getting the nod forhis first collegiate start in Friday's 6 p.m. CDT series-opener. TheGamecocks will counter with sophomore righty Wynn Pelzer (3-1, 1.39 ERA),making his 13th appearance but only his third start this season.
Friday's series-opener along with the 3 p.m. (CDT) Saturday game andSunday's 12:30p.m. (CDT) series finale can be heard on the state-wideMississippi State University Baseball Radio Network and on the internet(www.MStateAthletics.com) by subscribers to "Maroon to the Max".
Including this weekend's series at South Carolina, Mississippi State willhave played 16 of its 22 April games away from Dudy Noble Field. Following aschool-best 18-0 start to the season and a two-week stay atop one of thenational collegiate polls, Mississippi State has posted an 8-11 mark anddropped its last four conference weekend series.
Weatherford, who prepped at Fairhope (Ala.) High School, has allowed fourearned runs with 31 strikeouts in 27 innings. He notched a save in hiscollegiate debut against Marist College Feb. 26, earned wins in reliefagainst Arizona, Birmingham-Southern, Louisiana-Monroe and, in aseason-longest 5-1/3 inning relief effort, at Auburn. he also picked up asave in MSU's 5-3 win at Memphis Apr. 19.
MSU has not declared its starting pitching plans for the second and thirdgames of the weekend series.
State senior shortstop Thomas Berkery, named to the 64-player watch list forthe 2006 Dick Howser Trophy, continues to lead the SEC in hitting with a.397 batting average and .492 on-base percentage. The Sarasota, Fla.,product ranks fifth in the SEC with 60 hits. Teammate Jeffrey Rea (.347) isfourth with 61 while junior designated hitter Brian LaNinfa is hitting at a.431 clip in league play, tops in the conference.
The Bulldog pitching staff faces a stiff challenge in the weekend series.South Carolina, which shares the SEC Eastern Division lead with Kentucky,sports the conference's top overall team batting average (.313) and ranksfirst in the league in defense with a .983 fielding percentage.
MSU and South Carolina have evenly split their 40 baseball meetings datingback to the 1981 NCAA College World Series. State captured the last meeting,a 6-2 decision in the second round of the 2005 SEC Baseball Tournament inHoover, Ala. The teams have not met in a regular-season series since 2003when South Carolina claimed two of three one-run games played at Sarge FryeField.
