Bulldogs Host McMahon-Led Gators In Key SEC Series At Dudy Noble Field
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- More than 20 years ago Mississippi State skipper Ron Polk gave Pat McMahon his first collegiate coaching position, adding McMahon to the MSU baseball staff as a graduate assistant coach for the 1980-81 season. In three stints in Starkville McMahon spent 15 years on the State coaching staff, the last four as the Bulldogs' head coach.
Friday night Mississippi State welcomes McMahon back to Dudy Noble Field, this time as a visiting head coach, when the Bulldogs (27-16-1, 11-9 SEC) open a three-game Southeastern Conference weekend series against the 10th-ranked Florida Gators (32-13, 13-8). First pitch Friday is set for 6:37 p.m., with the game televised by the Florida-based Sunshine Network.
The series continues with games Saturday (3 p.m.) and Sunday (1:37 p.m.).
A pair of left-handers are expected to draw starts in Friday's series-opener sophomore Paul Maholm (8-1, 3.39) for State and senior Jimmy Ramshaw (4-3, 4.39) for the Gators. Maholm is third in the league in wins, including an SEC-best six in conference competition. Ramshaw leads the Gator pitching staff with 60 strikeouts
Sophomore right-fielder Steve Gendron, one of five Floridians on the Mississippi State club, enters the weekend with a team-best .360 batting average. Another MSU sophomore, first baseman Matthew Brinson (.341), is riding a career-best eight-game hitting streak and leads the Bulldogs in both home runs (12) and RBI (58).
Florida opens the series with an SEC-leading .365 team batting average. Senior shortstop Mark Kiger paces the high-powered Gator offense with an SEC-leading .424 batting average. Senior first baseman Ryan Shealy contributes a hefty portion of the Florida power this spring. He opened the week atop the conference charts in both home runs (19) and RBI (60).
Both teams are in the thick of divisional races and jockeying for berths and seedings in the upcoming SEC Baseball Tournament May 22-26 in Hoover, Ala. With three weekends of league play remaining, Mississippi State trails SEC Western Division and conference overall leader Alabama (39-7, 16-5 SEC) by 4-1/2 games, while Florida trails South Carolina (35-10, 14-6 SEC) by 1-1/2 games in the SEC Eastern Division.
The teams with the top eight SEC winning percentages advance to this year's double-elimination tournament at the Hoover Met, with the divisional= champions earning top seeding in their respective tournament brackets.
Florida is the first of three top 10-ranked SEC opponents on the Bulldogs' schedule in the final three weekends of the 10-weekend conference season. MSU visits league-leading and third-ranked Alabama next weekend (May 10-12) before wrapping up league competition against instate SEC rival Mississippi (May 17-19).
MSU-FLORIDA GAME TIMES
Friday 6:37 p.m. (Sunshine Network)
Saturday 3 p.m.
Sunday 1:37 p.m. (Sunshine Network)