Thursday, March 30
Oxford, Miss.
7:00 PM
Mississippi State
at
Ole Miss
MSU has scored in the first inning in every game of its current four-game winning streak.
State Travels North To Continue SEC Play At Ole Miss
March 29, 2017 | Baseball
OXFORD, Miss. – Having scored five or more runs in each of its last five games, Mississippi State (16-10, 3-3 SEC) takes a four-game winning streak into Southeastern Conference play for a three-game series against in-state rival Ole Miss (16-9, 3-3 SEC) at Swayze Field.
This weekend's series will square one of the SEC's top offenses in MSU against one of the league's strongest pitching staffs in the Rebels.
The action will begin on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT on ESPNU, with Friday's game to also be nationally-televised on the SEC Network at 6 p.m. The series finale is set for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The oldest-running SEC baseball series, MSU leads the all-time series 251-205-4, while Ole Miss holds a 99-94-2 advantage in Oxford. State is in search of its first series win in Oxford since 2011 and a series win would give the Bulldogs their first consecutive series wins vs. Ole Miss since the 2002 and 2003 seasons.
VIDEO: On Monday, head coach Andy Cannizaro previewed MSU's busy week
Game Notes | Live Stats
NEED TO KNOW
PROBABLE STARTERS
Thursday – MSU So. LHP Konnor Pilkington (2-3, 2.75 ERA) vs. UM So. RHP James McArthur (1-1, 1.77 ERA)
Friday – MSU TBA vs. UM Jr. LHP David Parkinson (4-1, 1.93 ERA)
Saturday – MSU TBA vs. UM Fr. LHP Ryan Rolison (3-0, 1.80 ERA)
WEEKEND WEATHER FORECAST
Thursday Forecast: High 72, Low 50 – Thunderstorms – 80% Chance of Rain
Friday Forecast: High 68, Low 47 – Partly Cloudy – 10% Chance of Rain
Saturday Forecast: High 76, Low 55 – Sunny – 10% Chance of Rain
LIVE VIDEO & TELEVISION
Thursday's and Friday's games will both be nationally-televised affairs on ESPNU and SEC Network, respectively. Saturday's finale will only air on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.
Watch Thursday's Game | Watch Friday's Game | Watch Saturday's Game
LIVE AUDIO & RADIO
Saturday and Sunday's games will air live on the Mississippi State Baseball Radio Network and WKBB 100.9 in Starkville. Friday's game will air only on WLZA 96.1 in the Starkville area with the women's basketball team in the Final Four. All three games will also be audio streamed live online at HailState.com/Plus (requires subscription), while Saturday's and Sunday's games will also air on TuneIn Radio.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets for each of this weekend's games in Oxford 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."
This weekend's series will square one of the SEC's top offenses in MSU against one of the league's strongest pitching staffs in the Rebels.
The action will begin on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT on ESPNU, with Friday's game to also be nationally-televised on the SEC Network at 6 p.m. The series finale is set for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The oldest-running SEC baseball series, MSU leads the all-time series 251-205-4, while Ole Miss holds a 99-94-2 advantage in Oxford. State is in search of its first series win in Oxford since 2011 and a series win would give the Bulldogs their first consecutive series wins vs. Ole Miss since the 2002 and 2003 seasons.
VIDEO: On Monday, head coach Andy Cannizaro previewed MSU's busy week
Game Notes | Live Stats
NEED TO KNOW
- Nine of MSU's 16 wins this season have come in comeback fashion.
- State is 12-4 this season when hitting a home run and 10-1 when scoring in the first inning.
- MSU leads the SEC in steals (47) and ranks second in home runs (25) and triples (9).
- State has scored five or more runs in each of their last five games and has scored in the first inning in four-straight games.
- The Diamond Dawgs have used 22 different lineups in 26 games this season and have used the same lineup in their last three games (3-0).
- Brent Rooker leads the SEC in batting average (.427), slugging percentage (.885), on-base percentage (.521), RBIs (38), doubles (13), home runs (8), total bases (85) and stolen bases (14).
- This season, Rooker leads State in two-out RBIs (12) and has also posted impressive showings at the plate with two outs (15-for-33, .455) and runners on base (24-for-52, .462).
- With a 335-foot home run in the first inning on Sunday, Brent Rooker has now hit home runs in back-to-back games three times this season. The Preseason All-American is also riding a career-high 11-game hit streak and 13-game on-base streak.
- Senior catcher Josh Lovelady has hit .533 (8-for-15) over the last five games with seven RBIs, two doubles and three runs scored.
- Sophomore Elijah MacNamee hit his first-career home run on Friday vs. Tennessee. On Sunday, MacNamee recorded a career-high in hits, going 3-for-5 with 2 RBI, which tied his career-high for RBI.
- Sophomore LHP Konnor Pilkington has thrown 6+ strikeouts in all six of his appearances this season. Pilkington leads the SEC in strikeouts (53) & has struck out 33 in his last 20.2 IP
- Sophomore closer Spencer Price is tied for first in the SEC in saves with six.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Thursday – MSU So. LHP Konnor Pilkington (2-3, 2.75 ERA) vs. UM So. RHP James McArthur (1-1, 1.77 ERA)
Friday – MSU TBA vs. UM Jr. LHP David Parkinson (4-1, 1.93 ERA)
Saturday – MSU TBA vs. UM Fr. LHP Ryan Rolison (3-0, 1.80 ERA)
WEEKEND WEATHER FORECAST
Thursday Forecast: High 72, Low 50 – Thunderstorms – 80% Chance of Rain
Friday Forecast: High 68, Low 47 – Partly Cloudy – 10% Chance of Rain
Saturday Forecast: High 76, Low 55 – Sunny – 10% Chance of Rain
LIVE VIDEO & TELEVISION
Thursday's and Friday's games will both be nationally-televised affairs on ESPNU and SEC Network, respectively. Saturday's finale will only air on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.
Watch Thursday's Game | Watch Friday's Game | Watch Saturday's Game
LIVE AUDIO & RADIO
Saturday and Sunday's games will air live on the Mississippi State Baseball Radio Network and WKBB 100.9 in Starkville. Friday's game will air only on WLZA 96.1 in the Starkville area with the women's basketball team in the Final Four. All three games will also be audio streamed live online at HailState.com/Plus (requires subscription), while Saturday's and Sunday's games will also air on TuneIn Radio.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets for each of this weekend's games in Oxford 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
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballBASEBALL | Kevin McMullan Fall Ball Media Session
Friday, September 19
BASEBALL | Ryan Mcpherson and Tyler Pitzer Fall Ball Media Session
Friday, September 19
BASEBALL | Aiden Teel and Noah Sullivan Fall Ball Media Session
Friday, September 19
BASEBALL | Justin Parker Fall Ball Media Session
Friday, September 19