Diamond Dogs Open SEC West Series At LSU Friday

BATON ROUGE, La. -- After splitting a midweek series at home with the University of New Orleans, Mississippi State (13-8-1, 3-3 SEC) returns to Southeastern Conference action in Baton Rouge this weekend against Western Division rival Louisiana State (16-11, 2-4 SEC). The three-game series opens Friday at 6:30 p.m. at LSU's Aelx Box Stadium.

Sophomore lefty Paul Maholm (4-1, 2.52), with complete-game pitching performances in his first two conference starts this season, will take the hill as the Bulldogs' starting pitcher in the series-opener. LSU will counter with junior right-hander Bo Pettit (2-3, 3.69).

The games can be heard on the statewide MSU Baseball Radio Network.

Mississippi State topped UNO 7-1 Wednesday while LSU registered a 9-7 win at Southeastern Louisiana.

Sophomore rightfielder Steve Gendron (.375) paces the Bulldogs at the plate, while junior shortstop Matthew Maniscalco (.303) enters the series riding a season-best nine-game hitting streak.

MSU owns a 189-143-1 leads in its rivalry with LSU, including a 4-1 win over the Tigers in their last meeting, the championship game of the 2001 SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.

The series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. concludes Easter Sunday at 1 p.m.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Diamond Dogs Open SEC West Series At LSU Friday