Friday, March 10
Starkville
6:30 PM
Mississippi State
vs
South Alabama
All four of MSU's games this weekend will air LIVE on SEC Network+ via Watch ESPN and the Watch ESPN app.
State Opens Four-Game Weekend At Dudy Noble On Friday
March 09, 2017 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – With their last five games having been decided by one run, Mississippi State will retake the field this weekend for four games in three days at Dudy Noble Field.
In the midst of a six-game homestand before opening Southeastern Conference play, the Diamond Dawgs (7-6) will host South Alabama (7-5) and Columbia (0-3) for a round-robin weekend series.
The Bulldogs open with South Alabama, Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT, followed by a Saturday doubleheader against Columbia (1 p.m.) and South Alabama (4 p.m.), before the weekend concludes Sunday with another matchup with Columbia at 2 p.m.
MSU leads the all-time series with South Alabama 46-21 and holds a 28-11 advantage in Starkville. The two sides last met almost one year ago to the day as State defeated the Jaguars 7-3 on March 8, 2016 at Dudy Noble in a midweek matchup. The Bulldogs will meet with USA once more this season when MSU travels to Mobile for a single game on Tuesday, April 18.
The Saturday and Sunday meetings between MSU and Columbia will mark the first ever meetings between the two programs. This is the first time MSU has hosted a team from the Ivy League, and only the second meeting between the Bulldogs and a team from that league (Yale, 1967 in Riverside, California). MSU's meeting with Columbia will mark just the second team MSU has hosted from the state of New York, hosting Marist twice in 2006 and in 2017.
VIDEO: Andy Cannizaro previews the upcoming weekend
WEEKEND SCHEDULE (All times Central)
Friday, March 10, 2017
G1 – 2 p.m. – South Alabama vs. Columbia (originally scheduled for 3 p.m.)
G2 – 6:30 p.m. – South Alabama vs. Mississippi State
Saturday, March 11, 2017
G3 - 1 p.m. – Columbia vs. Mississippi State
G4 – 40 Minutes After G3 – South Alabama vs. Mississippi State
Sunday, March 12, 2017
G5 - 11 a.m. – Columbia vs. South Alabama
G6 - 2 p.m. – Columbia vs. Mississippi State
* Home Team Listed Second
Game Notes | Live Stats
NEED TO KNOW
WEEKEND WEATHER FORECAST
Friday Forecast: High 58, Low 40 – AM Clouds / PM Sun – 20% Chance of Rain
Saturday Forecast: High 58, Low 48 – Showers – 70% Chance of Rain
Sunday Forecast: High 64, Low 44 – AM Clouds / PM Sun – 2% Chance of Rain
LIVE VIDEO & TELEVISION
All four of MSU's games this weekend will be streamed live on SEC Network + via the WatchESPN app and WatchESPN.com.
Watch Friday's Game | Watch Saturday's Game One
Watch Saturday's Game Two | Watch Sunday's Game
LIVE AUDIO & RADIO
All four State games will air live on the Mississippi State Baseball Radio Network. They will also be audio streamed live online at HailState.com/Plus (requires subscription), as well as on TuneIn Radio.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday – G1 – USA RHP Randy Bell vs. COL RHP Ethan Abrams
Friday – G2 – USA LHP Thomas Huston vs. MSU LHP Konnor Pilkington
Saturday – G3 – COL LHP Josh Simpson vs. MSU TBA
Saturday – G4 – USA RHP Harrison Spruiell vs. MSU RHP Peyton Plumlee
Sunday – G5 – COL RHP Ty Wiest or LHP Ben Wereski vs. USA TBA
Sunday – G6 – COL RHP Ty Wiest or LHP Ben Wereski vs. MSU TBA
TICKETS
Tickets are still available and can be purchased at HailState.com/tickets or at the MSU ticket office behind home plate, which opens two hours prior to first pitch of every game.
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
Bully's Kids Club members and MSU students get in free with MSU ID for all regular season home games
Saturday – The third of seven State to the Show poster giveaways will take place, with the first 1,000 fans able to get a Kendall Graveman poster.
Sunday – "Kids' Day at the Park" featuring inflatables and kids running the bases postgame.
Fans can also visit HailState.com/memories for incredible fan experiences such as:
GAME MANAGEMENT POLICY CHANGES
Ice Chest / Cooler check at all DNF gates
In adherence to Southeastern Conference and MSU Game Management Policy, all ice chests and ice coolers, regardless of size, will be checked at all gates prior to entry into Dudy Noble Field-Polk Dement Stadium this season. Individuals with prohibited items will be denied entry. Stadium gates will open two hours prior to first pitch, with servicing of suites and outfield rigs permitted on game day until 30 minutes prior to the gate opening time. All individuals must exit the stadium 30 minutes prior to gate opening and may reenter at gate opening after their tickets have been scanned.
Rightfield deck no standing / Safety lane
To provide for the safe management of the newly created deck space in right field, a 4' wide "No Standing / Safety Lane" has been marked on the right field deck. This visible, safe walkway will provide an unobstructed, free moving means for individuals and emergency personnel full access to travel along the right field deck length. At no time is it permissible to block, restrict or prevent individual movement or pedestrian traffic within and along the marked lane. Pedestrians are not permitted to stop or stand at any time within the marked lane.
FOLLOW THE DIAMOND DAWGS
For more information on the Diamond Dawg 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."
In the midst of a six-game homestand before opening Southeastern Conference play, the Diamond Dawgs (7-6) will host South Alabama (7-5) and Columbia (0-3) for a round-robin weekend series.
The Bulldogs open with South Alabama, Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT, followed by a Saturday doubleheader against Columbia (1 p.m.) and South Alabama (4 p.m.), before the weekend concludes Sunday with another matchup with Columbia at 2 p.m.
MSU leads the all-time series with South Alabama 46-21 and holds a 28-11 advantage in Starkville. The two sides last met almost one year ago to the day as State defeated the Jaguars 7-3 on March 8, 2016 at Dudy Noble in a midweek matchup. The Bulldogs will meet with USA once more this season when MSU travels to Mobile for a single game on Tuesday, April 18.
The Saturday and Sunday meetings between MSU and Columbia will mark the first ever meetings between the two programs. This is the first time MSU has hosted a team from the Ivy League, and only the second meeting between the Bulldogs and a team from that league (Yale, 1967 in Riverside, California). MSU's meeting with Columbia will mark just the second team MSU has hosted from the state of New York, hosting Marist twice in 2006 and in 2017.
VIDEO: Andy Cannizaro previews the upcoming weekend
WEEKEND SCHEDULE (All times Central)
Friday, March 10, 2017
G1 – 2 p.m. – South Alabama vs. Columbia (originally scheduled for 3 p.m.)
G2 – 6:30 p.m. – South Alabama vs. Mississippi State
Saturday, March 11, 2017
G3 - 1 p.m. – Columbia vs. Mississippi State
G4 – 40 Minutes After G3 – South Alabama vs. Mississippi State
Sunday, March 12, 2017
G5 - 11 a.m. – Columbia vs. South Alabama
G6 - 2 p.m. – Columbia vs. Mississippi State
* Home Team Listed Second
Game Notes | Live Stats
NEED TO KNOW
- MSU is 4-0 this season when scoring in the first inning & 3-1 when scoring first.
- Four of State's seven wins this season have come in comeback fashion.
- MSU has outscored opponents 58-10 in the fifth through eighth innings in 2017.
- Each of the last five games for State have been decided by just one run.
- The four Bulldogs that have started all 12 games this season for MSU (Jake Mangum, Luke Alexander, Ryan Gridley and Brent Rooker) are batting a combined .401 (85-for-212) with 19 doubles, six home runs, 47 RBIs, 20 steals and 52 runs scored.
- The Diamond Dawgs rank second in the SEC in home runs (13), stolen bases (23), hit by pitch (18), along with being fifth in hits (136), doubles (26) and total bases (207).
- Three Bulldogs rank in the top 11 in the SEC in batting average: Jake Mangum (5th, .456), Ryan Gridley (8th, .415) and Brent Rooker (11th, .396).
- On the year, Mangum averages an SEC-best 2.00 hits per game, Gridley averages 1.69 hits per game (4th in the SEC) and Rooker averages 1.46 hits per game.
- 2016 SEC Batting Champ Jake Mangum is riding a career-high 26-game hit streak that dates back to last season. (Brett Pirtle holds the longest hitting streak in program history with a 34-game streak in 2013. He also reached base safely 43 straight games that season.)
- On Sunday, Mangum recorded his first four-hit game of the season to bring his team-leading total of multi-hit games this season to nine.
- After hitting .190 (4-for-21) through the first five games of the season, Gridley has since hit a team-best .563 (18-for-32) with 10 runs nine RBI, a .719 slugging percentage and .622 on-base percentage.
- In five appearances this season (2.2 IP), Trysten Barlow has allowed just one hit and no runs, along with having struck out four. His .125 batting average against is a team-best.
WEEKEND WEATHER FORECAST
Friday Forecast: High 58, Low 40 – AM Clouds / PM Sun – 20% Chance of Rain
Saturday Forecast: High 58, Low 48 – Showers – 70% Chance of Rain
Sunday Forecast: High 64, Low 44 – AM Clouds / PM Sun – 2% Chance of Rain
LIVE VIDEO & TELEVISION
All four of MSU's games this weekend will be streamed live on SEC Network + via the WatchESPN app and WatchESPN.com.
Watch Friday's Game | Watch Saturday's Game One
Watch Saturday's Game Two | Watch Sunday's Game
LIVE AUDIO & RADIO
All four State games will air live on the Mississippi State Baseball Radio Network. They will also be audio streamed live online at HailState.com/Plus (requires subscription), as well as on TuneIn Radio.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday – G1 – USA RHP Randy Bell vs. COL RHP Ethan Abrams
Friday – G2 – USA LHP Thomas Huston vs. MSU LHP Konnor Pilkington
Saturday – G3 – COL LHP Josh Simpson vs. MSU TBA
Saturday – G4 – USA RHP Harrison Spruiell vs. MSU RHP Peyton Plumlee
Sunday – G5 – COL RHP Ty Wiest or LHP Ben Wereski vs. USA TBA
Sunday – G6 – COL RHP Ty Wiest or LHP Ben Wereski vs. MSU TBA
TICKETS
Tickets are still available and can be purchased at HailState.com/tickets or at the MSU ticket office behind home plate, which opens two hours prior to first pitch of every game.
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
Bully's Kids Club members and MSU students get in free with MSU ID for all regular season home games
Saturday – The third of seven State to the Show poster giveaways will take place, with the first 1,000 fans able to get a Kendall Graveman poster.
Sunday – "Kids' Day at the Park" featuring inflatables and kids running the bases postgame.
Fans can also visit HailState.com/memories for incredible fan experiences such as:
- Videoboard Message ($35)
- Diamond Girl for a Day ($29)
- Jr. Public Address Announcer ($10)
- "Play Ball" Announcer ($10)
- Deliver the Rosin Bag to Pitcher ($10)
- Second Base Delivery ($10)
GAME MANAGEMENT POLICY CHANGES
Ice Chest / Cooler check at all DNF gates
In adherence to Southeastern Conference and MSU Game Management Policy, all ice chests and ice coolers, regardless of size, will be checked at all gates prior to entry into Dudy Noble Field-Polk Dement Stadium this season. Individuals with prohibited items will be denied entry. Stadium gates will open two hours prior to first pitch, with servicing of suites and outfield rigs permitted on game day until 30 minutes prior to the gate opening time. All individuals must exit the stadium 30 minutes prior to gate opening and may reenter at gate opening after their tickets have been scanned.
Rightfield deck no standing / Safety lane
To provide for the safe management of the newly created deck space in right field, a 4' wide "No Standing / Safety Lane" has been marked on the right field deck. This visible, safe walkway will provide an unobstructed, free moving means for individuals and emergency personnel full access to travel along the right field deck length. At no time is it permissible to block, restrict or prevent individual movement or pedestrian traffic within and along the marked lane. Pedestrians are not permitted to stop or stand at any time within the marked lane.
FOLLOW THE DIAMOND DAWGS
For more information on the Diamond Dawg 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."
Players Mentioned
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/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF/LHP
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LHP
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RHP
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OF
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