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Bulldogs Meet Rebels In Weekend Series At Dudy Noble Field
All three games of the series will be televised. SportSouth, with Dave Neal and Larry Conley describing the action, will televise both the 7:05 p.m. Friday game and the 2:05 p.m. Saturday game. Former MSU and Major League pitcher Jay Powell will team with Paul Crane for the call of Sunday's 1:35 p.m. game for Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS). The weekend telecasts will also be available online at ESPN3.com.
The radio broadcast of the MSU-UM series featuring Jim Ellis and Bart Gregory will be carried on the statewide MSU Baseball Radio Network. Live audio will also be available online on a subscription basis (www.HailState.com/hstvlive). Due to the television broadcasts of all three games, HSTV will not carry live video of the contests, but as mentioned above, ESPN3 will carry live video of all three affairs.
A fireworks display staged near Chadwick Lake beyond the centerfield fence at Dudy Noble Field will follow Friday night's game.
Friday's opener could have plenty of sparkle on the mound as two finalists for the College Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher of the Year Award square off. Bulldog junior right-hander Chris Stratton (7-0, 2.71), who shares the SEC lead in wins and is tied for third in the NCAA with 88 strikeouts, will be matched with Rebel sophomore righty Bobby Wahl (5-0, 2.15), third in the SEC in earned run average. Both have been accorded national pitcher of the week honors during the 2012 campaign.
MSU opens the series riding a four-game win streak and having won seven of its last eight home games. Four of the Bulldogs' last five home wins have been walk-off victories, including a pair of extra-inning wins in last weekend's season-first SEC series sweep of Tennessee.
Sophomore shortstop Adam Frazier (.350) continues to pace the Bulldogs at the plate. In addition to sporting the team's top batting average, State's leadoff hitter also leads the club in runs (31), hits (56) and on-base percentage (.467) and leads the SEC in walks (35).
Junior right-hander Kendall Graveman (3-2, 2.92), accorded SEC Pitcher of the Week honors following his league-leading second complete-game pitching performance last weekend against Tennessee, will open on the hill Saturday. State has not announced a Sunday starter.
MSU brings a 238-196-5 overall lead into the series, with Ole Miss having claimed a 6-3 win in last week's sixth renewal of the Governor's Cup played at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss.
General admission tickets ($10) will be sold at the stadium ticket office and Dudy Noble Field gates will open two hours prior to first pitch each day.
