Diamond Dogs Test No. 24 Auburn On The Road
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State (17-9, 2-4 SEC) puts the finishing touches on its March schedule and resumes Southeastern Conference baseball competition on the road with this weekend's three-game SEC Western Division at 24th-ranked Auburn.
Friday's series-opener, pitting MSU right-hander Chris Stratton (5-0, 2.21) against Auburn sophomore righty Derek Varnadore (1-2, 4.23), is set for a 6 p.m. (CDT) start at Samford Stadium-Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park. The teams square off against Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. The radio broadcast of this weekend's games will be carried on the MSU Baseball Radio Network and offered online as a subscription-based audio streaming (www.HailState.com/hstvlive).
Auburn, ranked as high as 24th nationally after taking two of three games from LSU last weekend, becomes the third consecutive ranked SEC opponent in as many weekends of league play for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs opened league play at then-No. 10 LSU and last weekend hosted No. 3 Arkansas.
This weekend's series also marks MSU's second road trip of the 2012 campaign. The Bulldogs return to Dudy Noble Field to host Mississippi Valley State Apr. 3 (6:30 p.m.) before welcoming defending SEC tri-champion Vanderbilt in a three-game Easter Weekend series (Apr. 6-8).
Mississippi State pitching and defense have grabbed the midseason headlines for the Diamond Dogs. MSU leads the Southeastern Conference rand ranks second behind Miami, Ohio with 33 double plays. State's pitching staff takes top honors in the league this week with 244 strikeouts, fourth-most in the NCAA to open the week. MSU's Friday night starter, Chris Stratton, leads the league with 53 punchouts, also the fourth-best mark in the NCAA.
The Bulldogs and the Tigers have evenly split their 30 games over the last 10 years, with Mississippi State earning a three-game sweep of the 2011 series at Dudy Noble Field, 7-6, 15-8, 5-0). State's last series win at Auburn was a two-of-three MSU showing in 2004.