Preseason All-American Brent Rooker is also SEC Player of the Week and was named a National Player of the Week by Baseball America.
Rooker Named National Hitter of the Week, Cannizaro Previews Oregon Series
February 28, 2017 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – In advance of the first road trip of the young season, Mississippi State outfielder Brent Rooker was named National Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and head coach Andy Cannizaro met with the media to preview the upcoming three-game series at Oregon.
On Monday, Rooker was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week and a National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball, following a three home run, 14 RBI week that included a 4-for-4, eight RBI game on Friday vs. Indiana State and a 4-for-4, six RBI encore vs. Marist on Saturday.
With a .474 batting average on the week (9-for-19), Rooker also posted a .583 on-base percentage on the week and a 1.158 slugging percentage. On the year, Rooker leads the SEC in RBIs (17), total bases (27) and stolen bases (8), while ranking second in doubles (5).
Rooker is also nominated for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Gold Standard Performance of the Week. Fans can vote for Rooker here and the winner will be announced on Thursday.
Cannizaro, along with outfielder Jake Mangum, infielder Luke Alexander and pitcher Peyton Plumlee met with the media on Tuesday to talk about State's upcoming three-game weekend series at Oregon. The series marks the first games away from Dudy Noble Field for the Bulldogs this season.
It was announced that Plumlee (2-0, 0.64 ERA) will get the start vs. the Ducks on Saturday, while LHP Konnor Pilkington (1-1, 3.18 ERA) will remain the Friday starter. Sunday's starting pitcher is to be announced.
The three-game series against Oregon will open Friday, March 3 at 8 p.m. CT at PK Park in Eugene.
For more information on the MSU program, follow the program on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateBB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."
Head Coach Andy Cannnizaro (FULL VIDEO)
Opening Statement
"Obviously, it's an important week of practice for us, and we're going to get back after it today. We'll leave tomorrow to go to the University of Oregon -- we'll have a Friday, Saturday, Sunday series against those guys, and it's going to be an extremely competitive series. It's going to be an opportunity for us to get out on the road and go see what we're made of, and kind of take our show on the road a little bit and go get in a hotel, get a practice in out there, and go get three games this weekend against outstanding competition. The University of Oregon, we know, is going to pitch extremely well, they're going to defend at a high level. They're kind of your traditional west coast baseball team, where they're going to bunt, they're going to run, they're going to put pressure on the defense, they're going to do all those kinds of things where they're going to try to create runs, make you handle the baseball, put pressure on you. Obviously it will be a tremendous challenge for us on the infield, it will be a tremendous challenge for us on the mound and behind the plate and we're excited to get out there and go play and go see what we're made of outside of Dudy Noble Field. It's going to be a great trip for us, outstanding competition, and one we're really looking forward to the challenge in playing those guys."
On Monday, Rooker was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week and a National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball, following a three home run, 14 RBI week that included a 4-for-4, eight RBI game on Friday vs. Indiana State and a 4-for-4, six RBI encore vs. Marist on Saturday.
With a .474 batting average on the week (9-for-19), Rooker also posted a .583 on-base percentage on the week and a 1.158 slugging percentage. On the year, Rooker leads the SEC in RBIs (17), total bases (27) and stolen bases (8), while ranking second in doubles (5).
Rooker is also nominated for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Gold Standard Performance of the Week. Fans can vote for Rooker here and the winner will be announced on Thursday.
Cannizaro, along with outfielder Jake Mangum, infielder Luke Alexander and pitcher Peyton Plumlee met with the media on Tuesday to talk about State's upcoming three-game weekend series at Oregon. The series marks the first games away from Dudy Noble Field for the Bulldogs this season.
It was announced that Plumlee (2-0, 0.64 ERA) will get the start vs. the Ducks on Saturday, while LHP Konnor Pilkington (1-1, 3.18 ERA) will remain the Friday starter. Sunday's starting pitcher is to be announced.
The three-game series against Oregon will open Friday, March 3 at 8 p.m. CT at PK Park in Eugene.
For more information on the MSU program, follow the program on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateBB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."
Head Coach Andy Cannnizaro (FULL VIDEO)
Opening Statement
"Obviously, it's an important week of practice for us, and we're going to get back after it today. We'll leave tomorrow to go to the University of Oregon -- we'll have a Friday, Saturday, Sunday series against those guys, and it's going to be an extremely competitive series. It's going to be an opportunity for us to get out on the road and go see what we're made of, and kind of take our show on the road a little bit and go get in a hotel, get a practice in out there, and go get three games this weekend against outstanding competition. The University of Oregon, we know, is going to pitch extremely well, they're going to defend at a high level. They're kind of your traditional west coast baseball team, where they're going to bunt, they're going to run, they're going to put pressure on the defense, they're going to do all those kinds of things where they're going to try to create runs, make you handle the baseball, put pressure on you. Obviously it will be a tremendous challenge for us on the infield, it will be a tremendous challenge for us on the mound and behind the plate and we're excited to get out there and go play and go see what we're made of outside of Dudy Noble Field. It's going to be a great trip for us, outstanding competition, and one we're really looking forward to the challenge in playing those guys."
Players Mentioned
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