Baseball Update
Overall record: 18-12 (Home: 11-7, Away: 6-5, Neutral Site: 1-0)
SEC record: 9-6 (Home: 4-2, Away: 5-4)
Last week's results (2-2)
Apr. 3 UAB 4, MSU 2 (Starkville, Miss.)
Apr. 4 Rainout No. 8 --- MSU vs. Troy State (Starkville, Miss.)
Apr. 6 No. 11 Tennessee 9, MSU 8 (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Apr. 7 MSU 13, No. 11 Tennessee 5 (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Apr. 8 MSU 7, No. 11 Tennessee 2 (Knoxville, Tenn.)
This week's schedule
Apr. 10 MSU vs. South Alabama (Starkville, Miss. - 6:30 p.m. CDT)
Apr. 11 MSU vs. South Alabama (Starkville, Miss. - 3:00 p.m. CDT)
Apr. 10 MSU vs. South Carolina (Starkville, Miss. - 6:30 p.m. CDT) --- CSSE-TV
Apr. 10 MSU vs. South Carolina (Starkville, Miss. - 4:00 p.m. CDT)
Apr. 10 MSU vs. South Carolina (Starkville, Miss. - 1:30 p.m. CDT)
BACK AT HOME: The Bulldogs open a 10-game homestand with five games this week, testing South Alabama in a pair of midweek games and defending SEC Champion South Carolina in a three-game weekend series. The Jaguars were ranked 13th and the Gamecocks 7th in last week's rankings and likely will become the fourth and fifth ranked Bulldog foes to visit Dudy Noble Field this season.
DOGS BATTLE BACK INTO TIGHT SEC RACE: MSU's second consecutive SEC road series win has vaulted the Diamond Dogs back into the thick of the SEC race. MSU has carved a 9-6 SEC record at the midway point of the 2001 conference campaign, a game behind SEC and SEC Western Division-leading LSU and Mississippi (10-5). State is tied for third place in the SEC's overall standings with Alabama and Tennessee.
VS. RANKED OPPONENTS: With a 2-1 showing against No. 11 Tennessee in Knoxville, Mississippi State improved to 7-6 in games against top 25-ranked teams (4-3 vs. top 10). State has now won seven of its last eight games against Tennessee.
COMPLETE-GAME GEM: Bulldog junior right-hander TANNER BROCK (5-1, 2.73) tossed a dandy career-first complete game as Mississippi State clinched its second consecutive SEC road series with a 7-2 win over No. 11 Tennessee Sunday in Knoxville. Brock, who had already registered a pair of eight-inning outings, scattered five hits, fanned six and allowed just one earned run against the SEC East-leading Tennessee Vols. He retired SEC hitting leader Chris Burke five times to snap his hitting streak at 18 games. With the win Brock advanced his conference record to 4-0 with an impressive 1.43 ERA.
KNOTT KNOTES: Senior left fielder JON KNOTT lashed his fourth and fifth home runs of the year during a 4-for-5 plate performance in State's Saturday win at Tennessee. The round trippers raised his career total to 48, passing TRACY ECHOLS into fourth place among MSU career leaders. His 10 total bases and four hits matched his career-highs in both categories.
MB's MEAN BUSINESS: The right side of the MSU infield --- freshmen first baseman MATTHEW BRINSON (.388) and junior second baseman MICHAEL BROWN (.299) have welded the hot bats for the Diamond Dogs during the past four games. Brown hit at a .500 clip (7x14) with a double and two RBI. Brinson hit .467 (7x15) with a double, a home run, three walks and four RBI.
MSU TEAM TOTALS
Batting average: .283 (40 doubles, eight triples, 15 home runs, 162 RBI)Team ERA: 3.20 (267.1 IP, 239 hits, 93 walks, 254 strikeouts)Team fielding: .965 (802 putouts, 343 assists, 42 errors, 31 double plays)