Friday, April 14
Columbia, S.C.
6:00 PM
Mississippi State
at
#13 South Carolina
State looks to remain hot in SEC play, having won eight of the last nine games and three straight series.
No. 13 MSU Travels To South Carolina For Top 25 Tilt
April 13, 2017 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Having won its last three Southeastern Conference series and eight of its last nine league games, No. 13 Mississippi State will hit the road to continue SEC play with a three-game series vs. No. 17 South Carolina at Founders Park.
The Bulldogs (23-13, 8-4 SEC) enter the weekend tied atop the league's standings as one of the hottest teams in the SEC, while No. 17 South Carolina (21-11, 7-5 SEC) has struggled as of late, but still finds itself ranked in all six top 25 polls, as does State.
The action will begin on Friday at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+, with Saturday's 3 p.m. game also airing on SEC Network+. The series will conclude with a nationally televised tilt, Sunday at 3 p.m.
MSU has had success on the mound and at the plate as of late, led offensively by Midseason All-American Brent Rooker as the junior is coming off a career week that helped him capture SEC Player of the Week and numerous National Player of the Week honors.
The Gamecocks lead the all-time series 37-32 and hold a 20-7 advantage in games played in Columbia. This weekend's series will mark the first time the Diamond Dawgs have played USC in Columbia since 2012. MSU is aiming for its first series win in Columbia since 1998 and first series win over USC since 2015.
VIDEO: On Wednesday, head coach Andy Cannizaro previewed the matchup with the Gamecocks
Game Notes | Live Stats
NEED TO KNOW
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday – MSU So. LHP Konnor Pilkington (2-3, 3.00 ERA) vs. USC Jr. RHP Clarke Schmidt (4-0, 1.15 ERA)
Saturday – MSU TBA vs. USC Jr. RHP Wil Crowe (3-2, 3.33 ERA)
Sunday – MSU TBA vs. USC So. RHP Adam Hill (2-3, 2.23 ERA)
WEEKEND WEATHER FORECAST
Friday Forecast: High 83, Low 58 – Mostly Sunny – 10% Chance of Rain
Saturday Forecast: High 84, Low 59 – Partly Cloudy – 10% Chance of Rain
Sunday Forecast: High 84, Low 61 – Mostly Sunny – 10% Chance of Rain
LIVE VIDEO & TELEVISION
The first two games of the series will only air on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app, while Sunday's finale will air nationally on the SEC Network.
Watch Friday's Game | Watch Saturday's Game | Watch Sunday's Game
LIVE AUDIO & RADIO
All three games will air live on the Mississippi State Baseball Radio Network and WKBB 100.9 in Starkville. The entire series will be audio streamed live online at HailState.com/Plus (requires subscription and will also air on TuneIn Radio.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets for each of this weekend's games in Columbia here.
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."
The Bulldogs (23-13, 8-4 SEC) enter the weekend tied atop the league's standings as one of the hottest teams in the SEC, while No. 17 South Carolina (21-11, 7-5 SEC) has struggled as of late, but still finds itself ranked in all six top 25 polls, as does State.
The action will begin on Friday at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+, with Saturday's 3 p.m. game also airing on SEC Network+. The series will conclude with a nationally televised tilt, Sunday at 3 p.m.
MSU has had success on the mound and at the plate as of late, led offensively by Midseason All-American Brent Rooker as the junior is coming off a career week that helped him capture SEC Player of the Week and numerous National Player of the Week honors.
The Gamecocks lead the all-time series 37-32 and hold a 20-7 advantage in games played in Columbia. This weekend's series will mark the first time the Diamond Dawgs have played USC in Columbia since 2012. MSU is aiming for its first series win in Columbia since 1998 and first series win over USC since 2015.
VIDEO: On Wednesday, head coach Andy Cannizaro previewed the matchup with the Gamecocks
Game Notes | Live Stats
NEED TO KNOW
- 16 of MSU's 23 wins this season have come in comeback fashion.
- State has won eight of their last nine SEC games and their last three conference series.
- MSU is 12-3 when scoring in the first inning this season and 21-4 when having out-hit their opponent.
- In Year One of the Andy Cannizaro Era, the Diamond Dawg offense is putting up numbers that are far ahead of the 2016 offense. Last season, State hit 26 home runs, nine triples and recorded 29 steals through the first 35 games. Through 34 games this season, MSU has hit 37 home runs, 11 triples and stolen 54 bases.
- State ranks second in the SEC in batting average (.299), slugging percentage (.463), hits (355), triples (11), home runs (37), total bases (549) and stolen bases (54).
- In SEC play, MSU leads the league in batting average (.301), slugging percentage (.474), hits (120), triples (5) & total bases (189).
- Brent Rooker leads the SEC in batting average (.450), slugging (.992), on-base percentage (.547), hits (58), RBIs (56), doubles (19), home runs (15), total bases (128) and stolen bases (15). Rooker also leads the nation in hits, RBIs, slugging percentage and total bases, while ranking second in batting average, doubles, home runs and on-base percentage.
- Jake Mangum is first in the SEC in runs scored (40) and hit by pitch (12), along with ranking second in hits (52) and third in batting average (.347).
- On Tuesday, Spencer Price notched his SEC-best 11th save of the season, which also ranks second nationally.
- In all eight starts this season, Konnor Pilkington has notched at least five strikeouts for a total of 65 on the year, ranking second in the SEC. Five of his eight starts have been quality starts.
- Rooker (1.66), Mangum (1.53) and Ryan Gridley (1.40) rank in the SEC's top four for hits per game.
- Gridley also ranks fourth in the league in hits (49) and 10th in batting average (.348).
- After hitting .190 (4-for-21) through the first five games of the season, Gridley has since hit .375 (45-for-120) with 24 runs, 23 RBI, six doubles, one triple, five home runs, a .567 slugging percentage and .437 on-base percentage.
- Josh Lovelady got off to a 4-for-25 (.160) start to the season at the plate through his first eight games played of the season and in the last 13 games he is 13-for-41 (.317) at the plate with three doubles, a career-first triple, nine RBIs and four multi-hit games.
- Rooker's career-long reached-base streak is now at 22 games.
- Rooker hit three home runs on Saturday, April 8 vs. No. 8 Kentucky, including his first career grand slam. He became the first MSU player to hit as many since Ryan Duffy against Jackson State April 6, 2010. He did so in consecutive at-bats.
- Rooker also collected six RBIs for his fifth 5+ RBI game of the season on Saturday. He now has 56 RBIs for 2017, which eclipses his total from last season (54) that led the SEC Championship team.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday – MSU So. LHP Konnor Pilkington (2-3, 3.00 ERA) vs. USC Jr. RHP Clarke Schmidt (4-0, 1.15 ERA)
Saturday – MSU TBA vs. USC Jr. RHP Wil Crowe (3-2, 3.33 ERA)
Sunday – MSU TBA vs. USC So. RHP Adam Hill (2-3, 2.23 ERA)
WEEKEND WEATHER FORECAST
Friday Forecast: High 83, Low 58 – Mostly Sunny – 10% Chance of Rain
Saturday Forecast: High 84, Low 59 – Partly Cloudy – 10% Chance of Rain
Sunday Forecast: High 84, Low 61 – Mostly Sunny – 10% Chance of Rain
LIVE VIDEO & TELEVISION
The first two games of the series will only air on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app, while Sunday's finale will air nationally on the SEC Network.
Watch Friday's Game | Watch Saturday's Game | Watch Sunday's Game
LIVE AUDIO & RADIO
All three games will air live on the Mississippi State Baseball Radio Network and WKBB 100.9 in Starkville. The entire series will be audio streamed live online at HailState.com/Plus (requires subscription and will also air on TuneIn Radio.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets for each of this weekend's games in Columbia here.
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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