Diamond Dogs Take On Rebs In Sixth Governor's Cup Game
MSU is the designated home team for this year's game, set for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch and a live telecast by Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS). The radio broadcast of the game, featuring Jim Ellis and Bart Gregory, will be heard on the statewide MSU Baseball Radio Network and offered online (www.HailState.com/hstvlive) as a subscription-based audio stream.
Bulldog freshman righty Brandon Woodruff (0-0, 2.70) is set to make his second career pitching start in Tuesday's game, working opposite Rebel freshman right-hander Sam Smith (2-2, 3.60). Woodruff worked six scoreless innings and struck out eight of the 19 batters he faced in State's 12-inning 2-0 win over South Alabama.
The Bulldogs claimed a 6-1 win in last year's Bulldog-Rebel baseball battle at Trustmark Park and own a 3-2 edge in a series played at the home of the Class AA Southern League's Mississippi Braves. State later took two of three games in the SEC weekend series played in Oxford.
Tuesday's game comes in the middle of rugged stretch of seven games against SEC opponents over a nine-day span for the Bulldogs. MSU dropped three close battles at No. 7 South Carolina last weekend in Columbia, S.C., and are slated to host another SEC East foe, Tennessee, in a three-game Super Bulldog Weekend presented by Regions Bank series this week at Dudy Noble Field. The series opens Thursday with a 6:30 p.m. game televised nationally as part of the ESPNU/SEC Game of the Week series. The MSU-UT series-opener has been dubbed "white-out" night at Dudy Noble Field, with fans encouraged to wear white. MSU students, admitted free with valid student ID cards, and fans with general admission tickets are invited to sit in the chairback seating area of the main grandstand for Thursday's TV game. Season ticket holders, however, will retain first priority for their chairback seats.