Bulldogs Ready For NCAA Lafayette Regional
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Looking for its 12th NCAA Regional championship, the 17th-ranked Mississippi State baseball team (37-22) will play No. 30 San Diego State (41-19) Friday at 1 p.m. in the first game of the 2014 NCAA Lafayette Regional. The opener will be televised live on ESPN3 from M.L. Tigue Moore Field in Lafayette, La.
The Aztecs were an automatic qualifier for the tournament after winning the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Friday's game will mark the first meeting between the two schools.
Following MSU's game, host Louisiana-Lafayette (53-7), the sixth seed nationally, will play Jackson State (31-23) at 6 p.m. C.T. The game will also be televised on ESPN3. The Bulldogs and Ragin' Cajuns have met just twice before, splitting a two-game set at Dudy Noble Field back in 1991 when ULL was known as Southwestern Louisiana University. Against Jackson State, MSU is 50-8 all-time. Both ULL (Sun Belt) and JSU (SWAC) were automatic qualifiers.
The Maroon and White are playing in their 34th NCAA Tournament, owning a 92-74 record all-time in the Big Dance. MSU holds a 68-39 mark in 28 NCAA Regionals. Last season, Cohen's club made it to the NCAA College World Series Championship Series, finishing as a finalist in the 64-team tournament.
Should the Bulldogs walk away winners in the Lafayette regional, it would be MSU's 12th NCAA Regional championship. Starkville's Team would then advance to its sixth NCAA Super Regional to face the winner of the NCAA Oxford Regional, which features host Ole Miss, Washington, Georgia Tech and Jacksonville State. For all-access coverage of the nationally-ranked Bulldogs in Lafayette, follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateBB.
VIDEO: John Cohen Previews the NCAA Lafayette Regional
Live Video and Television
Friday’s game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Live Stats
Live Audio and Radio
The tourney will be available on the Mississippi State Baseball Radio Network and at HailStateTV.com.
Probable Starters
Mississippi State Jr. RHP Trevor Fitts (4-3, 2.51 ERA) vs. TBA
Social Media
Fans can follow the tournament on social media by searching for “HailStateBB” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. All-Access coverage of the program can also be found on FanCred.
Rankings
Mississippi State – 17th in Baseball America, 21st in Collegiate Baseball, Perfect Game and USA Today Coaches’ Poll and 22nd in NCBWA
San Diego State – 30th in Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA
Mississippi State – 32
San Diego State – 41
NEED TO KNOW
Mississippi State is appearing in its 34th NCAA Tournament and its 28th NCAA Regional.
The Bulldogs have won 11 NCAA Regionals and are 68-39 (.636) all-time in regional action.
John Cohen’s ballclub is looking for its fourth-straight postseason championship, having won the NCAA Atlanta Regional in 2011, the SEC Tournament in 2012 and the NCAA Starkville Regional and NCAA Charlottesville Super Regional last season.
The Maroon and White are 49-8 all-time vs. Jackson State, 1-1 against Louisiana and have never played San Diego State.
MSU has won 12 of its last 15 games away from Dudy Noble Field, including a 10-game road winning streak April 8-May 16, the longest in 20 years (1994).
Mississippi State tied Florida with a league-high six All-SEC selections, placing three members on the All-SEC team, two on the All-Defensive squad and one on the All-Freshman team.
Redshirt junior first baseman Wes Rea is hitting .321 with 10 RBIs and six doubles in 14 career NCAA Tournament games.
All-SEC left-hander Ross Mitchell is 3-0 lifetime in the NCAA Tournament with a 1.89 ERA.
Junior shortstop Seth Heck has hit safely in a team season-best 19-straight games and has reached base safely in a career-long 26-consecutive games overall.
Senior outfielder C.T. Bradford is riding a career-long 13-game hitting streak and was named to the 2014 SEC Tournament All-Tournament Team after hitting .471 last week in Hoover, Ala.
Junior southpaw Jacob Lindgren has not allowed a run to score in his last 21.1 innings, 6.0 innings shy of the school record set by current All-American closer Jonathan Holder (27.1) in 2012.
Lindgren leads the country with 16.4 strikeouts per nine innings and is third in the SEC with 93 strikeouts, which is also tops among relief pitchers in college baseball.
NCAA Regional Ticket Info
Regional tickets not purchased by season ticket holders or RCAF donors by 5 p.m. Wednesday will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday. There will be a limit of four tickets per account. Individual-session tickets, if available, will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday. Individual session tickets are $20 (grandstand or patio box seats) and $10 (bleachers).
Based on availability, the host will sell $10 general admission tickets for non-Louisiana games during the Lafayette Regional. Tournament officials will make the determination on how many tickets can be sold 10 minutes before first pitch of each game in the regional
NCAA Regional Schedule
Lafayette, La.
M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field
All times Central and subject to change
Friday, May 30
Game 1 - 1 p.m. - #3 seed San Diego State vs. #2 seed Mississippi State
Game 2 - 6 p.m. - #4 seed Jackson State vs. #1 seed Louisiana
Saturday, May 31
Game 3 - 1 p.m. - Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
Game 4 - 6 p.m. - Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner
Sunday, June 1
Game 5 – 1 p.m. - Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser
Game 6 – 6 p.m. - Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner
Monday, June 2
Game 7 – 6 p.m. - Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser (if necessary)