Diamond Dogs Open 2011 Campaign Friday Against Akron
The Bulldogs, who return nine of the position players that drew starts last year and nine of the 14 pitchers that took the mound for MSU in 2010, play four games during this weekend’s three-day, double round-robin baseball competition. Saturday MSU takes on Lamar at 11:30 a.m. and Akron at 3:30 p.m. and closes out opening weekend Sunday with a 2:30 p.m. matchup with the Lamar Cardinals. This weekend’s meetings with both Akron and Lamar will be program-firsts for Mississippi State.
Akron and Lamar square will play the first game of the new season Friday at 12:30 p.m. and then meet again Sunday at 11 a.m. Tickets are $5 for general admission and, if available, $10 for chairback seating and are good for admission to both games of each day’s doubleheader. The stadium ticket office opens two hours prior to the start of each day’s competition.
Junior right-hander Devin Jones (Eupora, Miss.) will open on the mound for the Bulldogs, making his eighth career start and 33rd career appearance as MSU’s opening day starting pitcher. Jones notched a pair of wins and a save last year. Junior lefty Alex Loftin, second on the Akron staff in innings pitched and strikeouts last spring, will open on the mound for the Zips.
State has designated sophomore righty and 2010 SEC All-Freshman team pick Chris Stratton (Tupelo, Miss.) for starting duties in the 11:30 a.m. Saturday matchup with Lamar and sophomore southpaw Chad Girodo (Hartselle, Ala.) as the Saturday afternoon starting pitcher against Akron. Junior lefty Tim Statz (St. Louis, Mo.), will make his MSU pitching debut as the starter in Sunday’s 2:30 p.m. weekend finale against Lamar.
Senior infielder Nick Vickerson (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), who led the team with 58 runs scored and 10 stolen bases, sports the top batting average (.328) among returning players. Vickerson started 40 games at third base in 2010.
Friday’s season-opener marks the first of 14 consecutive home games for the Bulldogs, who are scheduled to play 18 of their first 19 contests at Dudy Noble Field. The Bulldogs are riding a seven-game win streak in both season and home-openers. Head coach John Cohen, beginning his third season as Diamond Dogs skipper, is 5-0 in season-openers wearing a Mississippi State uniform --- 3-0 as a player (1988-90) and 2-0 as a coach (2009-10).
Akron, picked to finish fifth in the MAC this year, returns four position starters and its entire pitching staff from last year’s 21-34 edition. The Zips are led at the plate by junior centerfielder Drew Turocy, who paced the club with a .358 batting average and established a school record with 95 hits. Akron plays 19 games in four states before opening its home schedule Mar. 25 with its conference opener against Western Michigan,
Lamar returns six position starts and seven pitchers from its 2010 club that posted a 35-26 worksheet, captured the Southland Conference Tournament title and advanced to the school’s 13th NCAA Tournament berth. The Cardinals are coached by veteran skipper Jim Gilligan, who enters his 34th years as Lamar coach and ranks sixth in wins among NCAA’s active Division I coaches with 1,177.
The radio broadcast of the two MSU-Akron games will be carried on French Camp’s WFCA-FM (107.9) while the broadcast of the two MSU-Lamar games will be available free of charge on the internet www.mstateathletics.com/m2mlive.