Wednesday, April 18
Memphis, Tenn. (AutoZone Park)
6:30 PM
Mississippi State
vs
Memphis
Jake Mangum is batting .522 (12-for-23) over the last five games with a .560 on-base percentage.
Five-Game Road Trip Ends Wednesday At AutoZone Park
April 17, 2018 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – With two-thirds of the regular season complete, Mississippi State will look to get back in the win column with a non-conference matchup against Memphis on Wednesday night at AutoZone Park.
The Diamond Dawgs (19-18) will face off against the Tigers (12-25) with a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch from AutoZone Park, home of the St. Louis Cardinals Triple-A affiliate Memphis Redbirds. State is 14-8 in non-conference contests this season.
State went 2-2 last week during a road trip to The Yellowhammer State with a midweek win at Alabama State, before a game two win at No. 21 Auburn.
Wednesday's matchup will mark the ninth all-time meeting between the two sides at AutoZone Park, where MSU holds a 5-3 advantage. State leads the all-time series against the Tigers 51-25, with a 16-12 advantage in games played in Memphis.
Game Notes | Live Stats
NEED TO KNOW
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Off to a 12-25 start to the season, with a 1-8 mark in Conference USA play, Memphis is coming off a three-game series against Baylor in which the Tigers dropped two of three. Memphis is 0-4 this season against SEC opponents with losses to Arkansas, Auburn and two to Ole Miss.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Wednesday: MSU RHP Denver McQuary (1-1, 4.71 ERA) vs. MEM RHP Connor Alexander (1-2, 5.85 ERA)
WEATHER FORECAST
Wednesday Forecast: High 77, Low 44 – Partly Cloudy – 10% Chance of Rain
LIVE VIDEO/TELEVISION
Fans can watch Wednesday's game at AutoZone Park live through GoTigersGo.com/watch, which requires a paid subscription. A 24-hour pass can be purchased for $6.95.
LIVE STATS
All season long, fans can follow the action with pitch-by-pitch updates through live stats. Visit the Diamond Dawgs' schedule page and click on the "Live Stats" link associated with the appropriate game.
LIVE AUDIO & RADIO
Wednesday's game is scheduled to air live on the Mississippi State Baseball Radio Network and WKBB 100.9 in Starkville. With Jim Ellis on the call, the contest will also be audio streamed live online at HailState.com/Plus and on TuneIn Radio.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets for Wednesday's game for $10 each through the Memphis Athletics website.
NEXT UP FOR MSU
State will return home to Dudy Noble Field for a three-game SEC series against No. 3 Arkansas as part of MSU's annual Super Bulldog Weekend. For tickets and additional information, visit HailState.com/SBW.
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."
The Diamond Dawgs (19-18) will face off against the Tigers (12-25) with a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch from AutoZone Park, home of the St. Louis Cardinals Triple-A affiliate Memphis Redbirds. State is 14-8 in non-conference contests this season.
State went 2-2 last week during a road trip to The Yellowhammer State with a midweek win at Alabama State, before a game two win at No. 21 Auburn.
Wednesday's matchup will mark the ninth all-time meeting between the two sides at AutoZone Park, where MSU holds a 5-3 advantage. State leads the all-time series against the Tigers 51-25, with a 16-12 advantage in games played in Memphis.
Game Notes | Live Stats
NEED TO KNOW
- In 17 of State's 19 wins thus far, opponents have been held to four runs or less.
- The Diamond Dawgs have nine comeback wins on the year, seven of which came in the month of March with the other two having come in April against then-No. 3 Ole Miss. In 2017, 25 of State's 40 wins were come-from-behind victories.
- Having raised its RPI 32 spots over the last two weeks (from No. 91 to No. 59), State's rank should only continue to climb. The rise is expected to continue as seven of MSU's eight regular-season opponents (17 games) remaining have a top 47 RPI, with 10 of those games to come against teams with an RPI of 12 or better.
- Considering its cumulative opposition for the 2018 season, the Diamond Dawgs have the fourth-toughest schedule in all of Division I baseball.
- MSU is 18-8 when holding opponents to five or less runs, 12-2 when holding others to two or less runs and 1-10 when allowing six or more runs. State is also 11-0 when scoring six or more runs, 13-3 when scoring first and 10-2 when having scored in the first inning.
- The MSU pitching staff has combined for 10+ strikeouts in 12 games this season.
- State's staff has also collected 26 or more punch outs in five of its last seven weekend series, with four of those having been 29+ strikeout weekends.
- While Mangum leads MSU in multi-hit games (18), Hunter Stovall (13), Tanner Allen (12) and Josh Hatcher (11) are the next closest to their junior center fielder.
- MSU leads the SEC in batters struck out looking (112), while Konnor Pilkington leads the league in strikeouts looking (30) and Ethan Small ranks fifth (19).
- State's staff also ranks third in the league in batters struck out (349).
- Pilkington ranks 27th in all of Division I baseball and second in the SEC with a 7.11 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
- Stovall has recorded the second-most fielding double plays in the SEC (28), while Hatcher ranks fifth in the conference with 25 and Luke Alexander is ninth (22). No other SEC team has a trio ranking in the top 14.
- As a team, State is tied for second in the league and ranks 29th in the nation in fielding double plays (33).
- The MSU defense also leads the SEC in runners caught stealing with 16 and is third in the league in runners picked off with seven.
- 39 strikeouts over the three-game stretch that was the Shriner's College Classic (March 2-4) at Minute Maid Park made for the most in a three-game weekend series by a Diamond Dawg pitching staff since 45 on March 2-3, 2002 against Jacksonville State (doubleheader on March 2).
- The Diamond Dawgs began the year with an unprecedented road trip that had MSU away from home for 12-straight days, including eight games and spanning six cities. Originally scheduled to include nine games, a Feb. 26 meeting between State and UT-Rio Grande Valley was canceled in the bottom of the fourth inning due to heavy amounts of fog (State led 4-0). It was the longest stretch without a home game to begin a season for State since the 1982 season (14 games) and the longest span without a home game since 1982 (14 games).
- The Diamond Dawgs got off to an 0-3 start for the first time since 1996, a year that saw State go on to finish 38-24 (17-13 SEC) and make one of its 36 all-time NCAA Tournament appearances.
- A total of 12 newcomers have made their MSU thus far in 2018 (Tanner Allen, Jordan Anderson, JP France, Justin Foscue, Marshall Gilbert, Josh Hatcher, Rowdey Jordan, Jared Liebelt, Cole Marsh, Zach Neff, Alex Pener and Jordan Westburg), eight of those have also recorded a start this season.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Off to a 12-25 start to the season, with a 1-8 mark in Conference USA play, Memphis is coming off a three-game series against Baylor in which the Tigers dropped two of three. Memphis is 0-4 this season against SEC opponents with losses to Arkansas, Auburn and two to Ole Miss.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Wednesday: MSU RHP Denver McQuary (1-1, 4.71 ERA) vs. MEM RHP Connor Alexander (1-2, 5.85 ERA)
WEATHER FORECAST
Wednesday Forecast: High 77, Low 44 – Partly Cloudy – 10% Chance of Rain
LIVE VIDEO/TELEVISION
Fans can watch Wednesday's game at AutoZone Park live through GoTigersGo.com/watch, which requires a paid subscription. A 24-hour pass can be purchased for $6.95.
LIVE STATS
All season long, fans can follow the action with pitch-by-pitch updates through live stats. Visit the Diamond Dawgs' schedule page and click on the "Live Stats" link associated with the appropriate game.
LIVE AUDIO & RADIO
Wednesday's game is scheduled to air live on the Mississippi State Baseball Radio Network and WKBB 100.9 in Starkville. With Jim Ellis on the call, the contest will also be audio streamed live online at HailState.com/Plus and on TuneIn Radio.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets for Wednesday's game for $10 each through the Memphis Athletics website.
NEXT UP FOR MSU
State will return home to Dudy Noble Field for a three-game SEC series against No. 3 Arkansas as part of MSU's annual Super Bulldog Weekend. For tickets and additional information, visit HailState.com/SBW.
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."
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