Dogs Host Hogs In Final SEC Series
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State lowers the curtains on its 118th season of baseball this weekend when the Diamond Dogs (21-32, 7-20 SEC) host defending SEC Western Division champion Arkansas (32-20, 13-13 SEC) on the final weekend of regular season league competition.
Series game times are set for 6:30 p.m. CDT both Thursday and Friday and 3:12 p.m. CDT Saturday in a game regionally televised by FOX Sports Net South.
The series also closes out the remarkable coaching career of Mississippi State skipper Ron Polk, who on March 27 announced that this, his 29th season guiding the Baseball Bulldogs, would be his last. Polk, who has led State to 20 NCAA regional tournament berths and six advancements to the NCAA College World Series, has piled up 1,371 career coaching wins, seventh-most among NCAA Division I baseball’s all-time leaders in wins. Ceremonies involving Southeastern Conference and MSU officials along with former players and the public are scheduled prior to the start of Saturday’s series finale with Arkansas.
Mississippi State has altered its weekend pitching rotation for the Arkansas series. Sophomore Ricky Bowen (3-6, 7.66), who has drawn game-opening mound duty a staff-high 12 times this season, will pitch in Thursday night’s series opener opposite Razorback right-hander Justin Wells (3-1, 5.91). Senior right-hander John Lalor (3-3, 3.31), used in relief for all but one of his 20 mound appearances this season, will open on the hill Friday opposite UA lefty and former Baylor hurler Cliff Springston (5-2, 3.94). Senior southpaw Justin Pigott (2-3, 4.53), will pitch in Saturday’s season finale.
The Bulldogs, whose impressive 21-year run of consecutive SEC or NCAA postseason tournament berths has ended this year, can play a spoiler role against the Razorbacks this weekend. Arkansas begins the weekend in eighth place in the league standings, a half-game behind four teams --- Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Mississippi --- tied for fourth place and a half-game ahead of ninth-place South Carolina. The top eight teams advance to next week’s SEC Baseball Tournament at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala.
State enters the weekend on the heels of a 4-1 Tuesday night home win over the University of Memphis. Sophomore catcher Ryan Duffy singled in two runs in the third inning and registered his fourth multi-hit game in the past five to pace State at the plate. Junior Chad Crosswhite matched a career-best with eight strikeouts over five innings to earn the win, while junior relief ace Aaron Weatherford, the last of five MSU hurlers in the game, pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his seventh save. Junior outfielder Grant Hogue recorded his SEC-leading 25th stolen base in the game, tying former Bulldogs Mike Kelley (1977) and Brad Winkler (1981) for fourth on MSU’s single season stolen bases list.