Diamond Dogs Host No. 17 South Carolina To Open SEC Play
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State raises the curtains on its 75th season of Southeastern Conference baseball competition Friday when the Bulldogs (10-4) open a three-game league series against SEC East rival South Carolina (10-2) at Dudy Noble Field. First pitch for Friday’s series-opener is set for 6:30 p.m. CDT.
Junior left-hander Tyler Whitney (1-0, 0.82) will open on the mound for State, making his third start of the season and his second career start in league play for the Bulldogs. The Gamecocks have designated sophomore righty Sam Dyson (2-0, 0.49) for a Friday mound start.
The Bulldogs swept a Wednesday twinbill from Valparaiso, turning back the Crusaders 9-2 in the opener before rallying for a 5-4 win in the nightcap. Junior infielder Jet Butler collected a career-best four hits and lashed a school-record three doubles in State’s 9-2 win. Down 4-0 in game two, the Bulldogs struck for four runs in the eighth inning and rode junior outfielder Luke Adkins’ game-winning RBI groundout in the ninth to a 5-4 win, State’s ninth in 10 contests at Dudy Noble Field.
Adkins (.295) enters the weekend riding a team-leading six-game hitting streak, while Butler sports the club’s top batting average (.447).
The Gamecocks dropped their second game of the young season Wednesday night in Columbia, S.C., bowing 16-8 to instate rival Wofford. South Carolina has won the last four meetings, taken seven of the last 10 games in the series and has prevailed in the last five series.
Game two of the MSU-USC series is set for 2 p.m. Saturday with the Sunday finale scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Stadium gates open two hours prior to scheduled first pitch for each SEC game at Dudy Noble Field.