Diamond Dogs Open SEC Series At Ole Miss Thursday On ESPNU
The Bulldogs (30-18/11-13 SEC) and the Rebels (27-21/11-13 SEC) square off in a nationally-televised (ESPNU) 6:30 p.m. series-opener Thursday at UM's Oxford-University Stadium. With six league games remaining, MSU and UM enter the series with identical 11-13 conference records and tied with Auburn for third place in the SEC West, just one game behind divisional co-leaders Arkansas and Alabama. Eight SEC teams advance to the double-elimination SEC Baseball Tournament set May 25-29 at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala.
The radio broadcast of all three of this week's games will be carried on the 18-station MSU Baseball Radio Network and available online (www.MStateAthletics.com/m2mlive) to "Maroon to the Max" subscribers.
Sophomore lefty Luis Pollorena (6-3, 2.61), after earning his staff-leading sixth win of the campaign during a career-first start last Friday at Tennessee, will open on the mound for State. Ole Miss will counter with junior lefty Matt Crouse (6-4, 3.72).
The game is part of the Southeastern Conference's Thursday night game of the week television package broadcast by ESPNU. Kyle Peterson and Dave Neal will describe the action.
State has won all six of its games in May for a league-best six-game winning streak. Senior third baseman Jarrod Parks has been a catalyst for the Bulldogs' surge in the stretch run. The Madison, Miss., product leads the SEC with a .418 batting average, a .550 on-base percentage and a 21-game hitting streak.
The Bulldogs snapped a five-game series win streak by the Rebels last month in Pearl, Miss., with a 6-1 win in the fifth annual Governor's Cup game held at Trustmark Park.
This week's Bulldogs-Rebels baseball series continues Friday and Saturday in Oxford with 7:06 p.m. contests televised regionally by SportSouth.
Mississippi State closes out its regular season non-conference slate next Tuesday with a 6:30 p.m. game against the University of Memphis Tigers at AutoZone Park. MSU then closes out league play May 19-21 at Dudy Noble Field with another Thursday-through-Saturday series, this time against SEC West rival LSU.