Diamond Dogs Open Home SEC Slate Against No. 20 Auburn
The series continues with games Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Stadium gates and ticket windows open two hours prior to scheduled game time. The radio broadcast of all three games will be carried on the 18-station MSU Baseball Radio while live audio and video streaming will also be available on the internet (www.MStateAthletics.com/m2mlive) to Maroon to the Max subscribers.
Third-year Bulldog skipper John Cohen will send junior right-hander Devin Jones (2-3, 3.03) to the hill Friday while AU coach John Pawlowski will counter with junior lefty Cory Luckie (1-1, 4.50).
In their last outing, the Bulldogs erased a 6-1 Vanderbilt lead and went on to record a 9-8 series-ending win over the Commodores last weekend in Nashville. It was the most runs allowed this season by Vanderbilt, which entered the series first in the NCBWA poll. Senior third baseman Jarrod Parks cracked his second home run and recorded his second three-hit game of the campaign to pace the Diamond Dogs at the plate. Freshman Taylor Stark singled in a run to launch a five-run, eighth-inning rally. He later took the hill to register the last five outs of the game and earn his first career save. The first career hit by freshman infielder Tim Frazier, a two-run pinch hit single, tied the game, while rookie outfielder C.T. Bradford, who made his debut as a starting pitcher in the game, singled in the go-ahead run moments later. The Commodores pitched 10-0 and 4-0 shutouts at the Bulldogs in the first two games of the series.
Auburn dropped an 11-inning, 6-5 decision to visiting Arkansas in the Tigers' SEC opener before rebounding to clinch the series at Plainsman Park with 8-5 and 8-7 verdicts over the ninth-ranked Razorbacks. Junior shortstop Casey McElroy belted a pair of home runs and piled up six runs en route to SEC player of the Week honors. He has hit safely in 16 games, second-longest active hitting streak in the SEC.
MSU holds an 89-83-1 all-time series lead against Auburn in a rivalry that dates back to 1907. State's lead in the series has narrowed in recent years, with the Tigers having claimed seven of the last eight meetings and four of the last five series, including last year's sweep (9-6, 16-14, 11-8) at Auburn. The Bulldogs' last series win over the Tigers was a 2007 sweep in Starkville during MSU's run to its eighth College World Series appearance.
Senior Jarrod Parks (.412) leads the Bulldogs in hits (28), extra-base hits (10) and RBI (20), while senior infielder Nick Vickerson (.267) paces the SEC in both runs scored (29) and stolen bases (17).
State closes out its March schedule next Tuesday with a 6:30 p.m. game against first-time opponent Alabama A&M.