No. 11 MSU Heads To Mobile For Midweek At South Alabama

STARKVILLE, Miss. – After a hot close to March, Mississippi State has continued its successful stretch with a strong start to April, as No. 11 MSU will close its four-game road trip at South Alabama on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CT from Stanky Field.

The Diamond Dawgs (25-13) will look to win yet another non-conference game as they have won one in each of the last three weeks and have posted a 13-3 record over their last 16 games. The Jaguars (21-15) are 9-3 this season at home and fresh off a walk-off win over No. 26 Coastal Carolina on Saturday.

MSU leads the all-time series 46-25 and holds a 17-12 advantage in games played in Mobile. The two sides met twice earlier this season with State having won both contests, 2-0 (March 10) and 8-6 (March 12). The Bulldogs are seeking their first win over USA in Mobile since 2013.

Game Notes | Live Stats

NEED TO KNOW

17 of MSU's 25 wins this season have been in comeback fashion.
The Diamond Dawgs are 13-3 in their last 16 games and during that span have outscored opponents 61-30 during the first four innings.
State has won 10 of their last 12 SEC games and four-straight SEC series (Tennessee, at Ole Miss, Kentucky, at South Carolina).
By taking the series at South Carolina this weekend, MSU achieved its first series victory in Columbia since 1998 and the first series win vs. the Gamecocks since 2015.
Since March 13, 2016, the Diamond Dawgs are 31-13 in SEC regular season play. State has also won 13 of its last 15 SEC regular season series dating back to 2016.
MSU is 13-3 when scoring in the first inning this season, 21-4 when having out-hit their opponents, 19-2 when leading after six innings and 16-3 when holding opponents to four or fewer runs.
State ranks second in the SEC in steals (54), triples (11) and home runs (39), while also ranking third in slugging percentage (.453), hits (376) and total bases (582).
On the weekend, Spencer Price notched a pair of saves, bringing his 2017 total to 13, which leads the SEC and all of Division I.
Three-time SEC Player of the Week Brent Rooker leads the SEC in batting average (.432), slugging (.957), on-base percentage (.532), hits (60), RBIs (57), doubles (19), home runs (16), total bases (133) and stolen bases (15).
On the season, Rooker averages 1.58 hits per game, 1.50 RBIs per game and 3.50 total bases per game, as well as .42 home runs per game and .50 doubles per game. (All figures lead the SEC)
Jake Mangum is tied for second in the league in hits (55), while Ryan Gridley is fourth (53).
Rooker has 23 two-out RBIs this season and is a staggering 5-for-9 (.566) with the bases loaded.
Over the last 10 games, Rooker is hitting .471 (16-for-34) with three doubles and seven home runs for 15 RBIs and 40 total bases. His success at the plate has led to a 1.176 slugging percentage during that span and a .591 on-base percentage, which has been aided by drawing seven walks and being hit by pitch three times.
Konnor Pilkington (3-3, 3.00 ERA) made his ninth start of the season on Friday and earned his sixth quality start, striking out seven over 6.0 innings and allowing only 2 earned runs for the win.
In all nine starts this season, Pilkington has thrown at least five strikeouts (72 total). His 72 strikeouts rank second in the SEC, as does the number of batters he has struck out looking (26).
Pilkington has also recorded a first-inning strikeout in all of his starts this season (16 total).
On Sunday, Gridley recorded two doubles, marking the second multi-double game of the season (March 25 vs. Tennessee).
Having pitched for the first time since March 13, Jacob Billingsley made two starts on the week (Tuesday and Sunday) for 0.00 ERA after having allowed no runs, earned or unearned, in 10.0 IP and struck out 12, along with having allowed just five hits and walked three for a .139 opponent batting average.
This week, Rooker extended his career-high reached-base streak to 25 games.
Ryan Gridley is currently riding an eight-game hit streak, which ties his career-long hit streak that came during his freshman season in 2015.
Hunter Vansau is in the midst of a career-long reached base streak of six games.

PROBABLE STARTERS
Tuesday – MSU RHP Peyton Plumlee (4-1, 3.32) vs. USA RHP Sean Trimble (1-0, 3.14)

WEEKEND WEATHER FORECAST
Tuesday Forecast: High 83, Low 60 – Mostly Sunny – 20% Chance of Rain

LIVE VIDEO & TELEVISION
Tuesday's game will air free of charge live on JagNationTV.com through South Alabama's website.

Watch Tuesday's Game

LIVE AUDIO & RADIO
The contest will air live on the Mississippi State Baseball Radio Network and WKBB 100.9 in Starkville. The game 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 game 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."

No. 11 MSU Heads To Mobile For Midweek At South Alabama

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jacob Billingsley

Ryan Gridley

Jake Mangum

Konnor Pilkington

Peyton Plumlee

Spencer Price

Brent Rooker

Hunter Vansau

Mississippi State University Athletics

No. 11 MSU Heads To Mobile For Midweek At South Alabama

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jacob Billingsley

Ryan Gridley

Jake Mangum

Konnor Pilkington

Peyton Plumlee

Spencer Price

Brent Rooker

Hunter Vansau

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