Dogs Host Golden Eagles In Midweek Series At Dudy Noble Field
The Bulldogs (25-10, 9-7 SEC) open the five-game run Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. when MSU meets USM (25-16) at Dudy Noble Field. Freshman Tyler Whitney (4-1, 7.47) is set to draw his eighth start of the campaign and will pitch opposite USM freshman right-hander Jared Cavenaugh (2-0, 6.25).
State will be looking to break back into the win column after dropping back-to-back games against LSU, marking only the first time this season MSU has fallen in consecutive games. MSU will also be out to end a three-game series win streak by Southern Miss., which captured both games played (13-6, 6-3) last year in Hattiesburg. State holds a 69-31 all-time series lead over Southern Miss.
The Bulldogs are led at the plate by freshman shortstop Brandon Turner (.444), who on Monday earned Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week honors for the second time this season. Turner collected 11 hits and drove in 10 runs in four games the past week and enters the Southern Miss series riding a team season-longest 16-game hitting streak.
Junior second baseman Jeffrey Rea (.326) enters the week with 297 career hits, fourth-most in school history and three shy of becoming the 18th player in the SEC's storied baseball history to reach the 300-hit milestone in a career.
MSU returns to SEC competition this weekend in Oxford, Miss., taking on the 18th-ranked Mississippi Rebels (27-15, 10-8) in a three-game series that begins Friday at 6:30 p.m.