Diamond Dogs Head To Knoxville To Test UT Vols
MSU sophomore right-hander Chad Crosswhite (3-1) makes his second start of the season in Friday night's opener, matching up with Tennessee junior ace lefty James Adkins (4-4). The Brandon, Miss., native notched his third win of the campaign last weekend in Fayetteville, Ark., working a career-longest six innings in State's series-opening 11-9 win over the third-ranked Razorbacks.
The Bulldogs have claimed series wins in three of their first four SEC weekend series, including 2-1 road series wins at Florida and Arkansas.
MSU is in the middle of a rain-abbreviated nine-game, four-state road run. That string of games away from Dudy Noble Field concludes next Tuesday night in Pearl, Miss., when State takes on instate SEC rival Mississippi in the first annual Governor's Cup game. An overflow crowd is anticipated for the 7 p.m. contest at Trustmark Park, the home of the Class AA Mississippi Braves.
A native Tennesseean leads the Bulldogs at the plate entering this weekend's SEC series in Knoxville. Freshman shortstop Brandon Turner, from Cleveland, Tenn., begins the weekend with a .426 batting average, second-highest batting average in the Southeastern Conference. One other Bulldog, junior catcher Edward Easley (.413) of Olive Branch, Miss., is also hitting above the .400 mark and leads the club with eight home runs while sharing the team RBI lead (37) with junior first baseman Mitch Moreland of Amory, Miss.