Dogs Open Tourney Title Defense Against Bama Wednesday In Hoover
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Mississippi State launches defense of its Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, taking on longtime SEC Western Division rival Alabama in the opening round of the 2002 SEC Baseball Tournament. The Bulldogs enter the double-elimination riding a five-game, their longest since winning seven straight during the first two weeks of the season.
Senior right-hander Tanner Brock (7-4, 4.38) will draw starting duty for the seventh-seeded Bulldogs (33-22-1, 14-15 SEC), who extended their run of consecutive berths in the league tournament to 16 with a three-game sweep of instate rival Mississippi last weekend at Dudy Noble Field. SEC Western Division champ Alabama (44-12, 20-10 SEC) is expected to start righty Jared Woodard (6-1, 3.90).
The winner advances to a 5 p.m. match Thursday against the winner of Wednesday's early game, Florida vs. Georgia. The losers of Wednesday's opening round games meet Thursday at 10 a.m. in an elimination game.
Alabama claimed all three games (9-5, 9-7, 11-4) in a regular-season series with Mississippi State in Tuscaloosa May 10-12. that UA sweep of MSU was its first since 1976 and extended State's losing skid in league competition to seven games.
A year ago the Bulldogs posted a 4-1 record at the Hoover Met en route to winning the 2001 SEC Baseball Tournament.
All of Mississippi State's SEC Tournament games can be heard on the statewide MSU Baseball Radio Network.