Fifth-Seeded State Opens SEC Tournament Play Tuesday With Georgia

Wednesday, May 24

Hoover, Ala. (Hoover Metropolitan Stadium)

9:30 AM

Mississippi State

Georgia

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The winner of Tuesday night’s matchup will earn the right on take on fourth-seeded Arkansas.

Fifth-Seeded State Opens SEC Tournament Play Tuesday With Georgia

May 22, 2017 | Baseball

Game Notes (PDF)

STARKVILLE, Miss. – With the regular season complete, Mississippi State shifts its focus to postseason play, beginning with the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament, which begins for the Diamond Dawgs on Tuesday night at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium against Georgia.

First pitch of the battle of the Bulldogs is set for 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network with MSU (34-22, 17-13 SEC) holding the five-seed and Georgia (25-31, 11-19 SEC) holding the tournament's 12-seed.

Georgia enters the tournament on a hot streak, having won its last three SEC series, including a series win over State (May 12-14) in Athens. On the other side, MSU is looking to get hot with the NCAA Tournament on the horizon as the Maroon and White Bulldogs have dropped two of their last three SEC series.

The winner of Tuesday night's matchup will earn the right on take on fourth-seeded Arkansas, who earned a bye after finishing second in the SEC West, on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. CT.

Having won the regular-season series by taking games two and three, Georgia now lead the all-time series between the two sides, 48-46, while MSU holds a 7-5 advantage in neutral-site contests. State is also 3-1 vs. Georgia at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in the SEC Tournament, with the most recent meeting having come in 2014, a 5-4 win in 10 innings for MSU.

VIDEO: Andy Cannizaro discussed the postseason following the LSU series

Game Notes | Live Stats

NEED TO KNOW

21 of MSU's 34 wins this season have come in comeback fashion, with 12 of those having come in Southeastern Conference play.
State is now 26-2 this season when leading after six innings, 21-10 when hitting a home run, 30-5 when holding opponents to four or fewer runs and 30-7 when outhitting opponents.
The Bulldogs are 8-0 in their last eight games decided by one run and 11-5 in one-run games on the year.
MSU is 8-4 vs. teams from the SEC Eastern Division this season.
MSU won 15 SEC series over the last two seasons (six in 2017 and nine in 2016), the most SEC series wins by a Bulldog team in consecutive seasons since 1988-89 (15).
Andy Cannizaro is just the second MSU coach to achieve 30 or more victories in his very first season at the helm. (Pat McMahon won 42 games in 1998)
In Year One of the Andy Cannizaro Era, the Diamond Dawg offense is putting up numbers that are far ahead of the 2016 offense. Last season, State hit 47 home runs and recorded 51 steals over the course of the 63-game season. Through 56 games this season, MSU has hit 49 home runs and stolen 68 bases.
Brent Rooker is the first MSU player to ever be named SEC Player of the Year, while he is the second Diamond Dawg first baseman in as many seasons to be named First Team All-SEC. (Nathaniel Lowe, 2016)
Ryan Gridley became the first Bulldog shortstop since Thomas Berkery in 2006 to be named First Team All-SEC and the third First Team SS under Andy Cannnizaro in as many seasons.
Jake Mangum has now been named All-SEC for the second time in as many seasons (First Team in 2016), along with being the first Diamond Dawg named to the SEC All-Defensive Team since 2014 and the first MSU outfielder since 2013 (Hunter Renfroe).
MSU ranks third in the SEC in hits (543), doubles (103), triples (13), hit by pitch (63) and stolen bases (68), along with ranking fourth in batting average (.284), slugging percentage (.428) and total bases (819).
Since becoming the leadoff hitter vs. Troy on May 16, Ryan Gridley is hitting .368 (7-for-19) with a home run, five runs and four RBIs.
Since moving to the third slot in the batting order on May 16, Jake Mangum is also hitting .368 (7-for-19), with six RBIs and two runs scored.
Three-time SEC Player of the Week Brent Rooker leads the SEC in nine offensive categories – batting average (.415), slugging (.873), on-base percentage (.519), hits (85), RBIs (73), doubles (28), home runs (20), total bases (179) and stolen bases (18).
In all of Division I baseball, Rooker ranks first in doubles (28), slugging (.873) and total bases (179), along with sitting second in batting average (.415), third in RBIs (71), fourth in home runs (20), fourth in on-base percentage (.519) and seventh in hits (85).
Rooker is the first Diamond Dawg to reach 20+ home runs, 25+ doubles, 70+ RBIs in a single season and the first SEC hitter since Auburn's Todd Faulkner in 2000.
Through 56 games this season, Brent Rooker is putting up offensive numbers in certain categories that haven't been seen from Golden Spikes Award Winners in years (Highest batting average and slugging percentage since Bryce Harper in 2010, most total bases since Kris Bryan in 2013 and most doubles since Khalil Greene in 2002).
With a double in the 6th inning vs. LSU on Saturday, Brent Rooker broke the MSU record for doubles in a season with his 28th. (Previously 27 by Paul Young in 1989)
Rooker's 20 homers are the most by an MSU batter since Tommy Raffo hit 22 in 1989. Rooker is tied for sixth in the MSU record books for home runs in a single season with 20.
Freshman Riley Self is 5-0 on the year, the most victories by an MSU freshman since Evan Mitchell won six contests in 2011.
This season, State has received five wins on the mound from three of its position players in OF Brant Blaylock (1-0), 1B Cole Gordon (2-0) and OF Jake Mangum (2-1).

LAST TIME OUT

Ryan Gridley, Brent Rooker and Cody Brown have all reached base in their last seven games.
Gridley, Jake Mangum and Hunter Stovall, collected multi-RBI performances on Saturday night, while Rooker and Hunter Vansau had multi-hit performances.
On the weekend, Rooker went 7-for-13 (.538) with two doubles, two walks and two RBIs.
On Saturday, the Bulldog first baseman collected his sixth three-hit game of the season and his fourth consecutive multi-hit game.
Hunter Stovall blasted his first career home run in his 190th career at-bat in the third inning Saturday, tying the game at 4-4. It was the second straight night that Stovall tied the game at 4-4 with a two-RBI hit.
On Friday, freshman starter Denver McQuary pitched a career-high 5.2 innings. Between the first inning and the start of the fifth inning, McQuary retired eleven straight batters.

HOOVER WEATHER FORECAST
Tuesday Forecast: High 77, Low 63 – Scattered Thunderstorms – 60% Chance of Rain

LIVE VIDEO & TELEVISION
Tuesday's game will air on the SEC Network, as will every other SEC Tournament game, except Sunday's SEC Championship Game, which will air on ESPN2. All of the week's games can also be streamed on mobile devices through the WatchESPN app, ESPN app and WatchESPN.com.

LIVE AUDIO & RADIO
All of MSU's games in the SEC Tournament will air live on the Mississippi State Baseball Radio Network. They will also be on TuneIn Radio and will be audio streamed live online at HailState.com/Plus (requires subscription).

PROBABLE STARTERS
Tuesday – MSU TBA vs. UGA Jr. RHP Chase Adkins (6-6, 3.79 ERA)

TICKETS
Weekly books, general admission tickets, reserved single session tickets, hospitality packages and parking are all available for purchase.

SEC PLANS FOR ENHANCED SECURITY AT SEC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
Fans attending the 2017 SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover will be asked to enter the event with clear bags and should be prepared to arrive early and to see a law enforcement presence in and around Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. For more information on the security measures, read the full release here.

FOLLOW THE DIAMOND DAWGS
For more information on the Diamond Dawg program, follow the program on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateBB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."