No. 6 Bulldogs Make Road Debut Tuesday At UAB
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State hits the road this week for season-first games away from Dudy Noble Field as the sixth-ranked baseball Bulldogs (11-0) visit neighboring Alabama Tuesday and Wednesday for weeknight games at UAB (12-4) and Jacksonville State (7-8).
MSU takes on the UAB Blazers Tuesday in a 6 p.m. contest at Jerry D. Young Memorial Field in Birmingham before venturing on to Jacksonville State Wednesday for a 6:30 p.m. contest at Rudy Abbott Field.
The Bulldogs rallied late to erase a 4-1 deficit and nip Arizona 5-4 Sunday in the final game of the sixth annual Cadence Bank Classic. The win extended MSU's season-opening win streak to 11 games, second-longest in school history, and left Mississippi State as the last of the unbeatens in NCAA Division I baseball.
The series sweep of Arizona helped boost the Bulldogs in the latest college baseball national rankings. State is ranked sixth by Baseball America but climbed to No. 8 in the NCBWA writers poll, No. 12 in both the Collegiate Baseball newspaper and the USA TODAY/ESPN coaches poll. The Rosenblatt Report ranked the Bulldogs at No. 10.
Junior right-hander Jon Crosby (1-0,1.29) will open on the hill for the Bulldogs Tuesday. UAB has not announced its Tuesday starter though it is expected to open with one of its midweek starters, either senior righty Randy Mills (0-0, 5.40) or freshman right-hander Kyle Roberson (0-0, 3.38).
The Blazers, in the midst of a 12-game homestand, enter the week riding a seven-game win streak. Three of UAB's four losses came in extra innings and the fourth loss was a one-run setback.
Bulldog senior shortstop Thomas Berkery (.432) takes a personal-best and team season-longest eight-game hitting into Tuesday's game at UAB. Senior outfielder Jeff Butts (.313) leads the club with 10 RBI and six extra-base hits.
MSU and UAB did not meet on the diamond in 2005, but the Bulldogs have claimed wins in the last eight meetings and hold a 24-9 series lead.
Mississippi State makes its first baseball visit to Jacksonville, Ala., for Wednesday's 6:30 p.m. meeting with the Gamecocks, coached by former Mississippi State assistant coach Jim Case. State has claimed wins in all eight previous meetings, including a narrow 7-6 win in the 2004 NCAA Atlanta Regional.
Freshman right-hander Matt Lea (1-0, 3.60) will make his second career start for MSU Wednesday. JSU will open with sophomore ace right-hander Donovan Hand (2-2, 3.43) on the hill. Hand was honored as the 2005 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year.
MSU returns to Dudy Noble Field to open 2006 Southeastern Conference competition this weekend against the fifth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (13-2). Friday's series-opener is set for 6:30 p.m.