No. 15 Diamond Dogs Begin Stretch Run Hosting Auburn
The radio broadcast of all three games will be carried on the statewide MSU Baseball Radio Network and live video streaming will be available to Maroon to the Max subscribers on the MSU Athletics website (www.MStateAthletics.com).
Sophomore right-hander Chad Crosswhite (5-2, 4.70) will open on the hill for the Bulldogs while Auburn has designated sophomore left-hander Evan Crawford (4-4, 6.11) as its Friday starter.
State enters the weekend in fourth place in the SEC's overall standings, four games behind overall and divisional leaders Arkansas (35-12, 15-6 SEC) and Vanderbilt (39-8, 15-6 SEC), and a game behind rival Mississippi. MSU is in the thick of a logjam of eight teams separated by three games, all battling for a top eight SEC finish and a berth in the 2007 SEC Baseball Tournament May 23-27 in Hoover, Ala.
The status of two Mississippi State regulars, freshman shortstop Brandon Turner and sophomore outfielder Jeff Flagg, is uncertain heading into the weekend. Neither Turner, the SEC's second-leading hitter (.421) and a two-time SEC Freshman of the Week honoree, nor Flagg (.314), who hit his fifth home run of the year last Friday night in Oxford, played in State's series-ending 4-1 win over the Rebels. Flagg missed the final two games of the series with upper back spasms while Turner sustained a pulled hamstring early in Saturday's game in Oxford and did not play the remainder of the weekend.
Senior second baseman Jeffrey Rea (.319) notched six hits in last weekend's road series in Oxford and became the 19th player in the SEC's storied baseball history to reach the 300-hit milestone for a career. Rea, from Nettleton, Miss., enters the weekend with 304 career hits and tied for 17th with former Auburn standout Brandon Moore. Rea is 24 hits away from the MSU school-record career hits total of 328 set by former Bulldog first baseman Richard Lee (1995-98).
Mississippi State is two wins away from clinching its SEC-leading 25th consecutive 30-win season while MSU skipper Ron Polk, now with 1,340 career coaching wins in 34 seasons, is two wins away from tying the late Rod Dedeaux, legendary Southern Cal head coach, for seventh place among NCAA Division I baseball's all-time winningest coaches.
Auburn, coached by third-year Tiger skipper Tom Slater, is paced at the plate by sophomore outfielder Luke Greinke (.341). Senior centerfielder Bruce Edwards (.335) from Columbus, Miss., leads the Southeastern Conference with 26 stolen bases while junior third baseman/catcher Josh Donaldson (.335) leads the team with 45 RBI and sophomore leftfielder Mike Bianucci (.298) paces the club and ranks fifth in the SEC with 13 home runs. The Auburn pitching staff features sophomore ace right-hander Paul Burnside (7-1, 3.06), who missed his start in the Tigers' weekend rotation, and a pair of talented relief aces who have a combined nine saves to date, freshman Scott Shuman (4-1, 1.59) and senior Brett Butts (1-0, 2.06).
Fans are encouraged to allow extra time for travel to and from the Friday and Saturday games due to anticipated heavy congestion on the roadways and in the parking areas associated with Mississippi State University commencement ceremonies scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday in Humphrey Coliseum.