Thursday, May 4
College Station, Texas
6:30 PM
Mississippi State
at
Texas A&M
State finds itself in a three-way tie atop the SEC standings with three conference series remaining.
No. 7 Diamond Dawgs Travel To No. 15 Texas A&M On Pivotal SEC Weekend
May 03, 2017 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – With a tie at the top of the Southeastern Conference standings, Mississippi State will look to remain at the top during a road series against Texas A&M, which opens Thursday at Blue Bell Park.
While the No. 7 Diamond Dawgs (30-16, 14-7 SEC) are 14-4 in their last 18 league games, the No. 15 Aggies (33-13, 13-8 SEC) have won five-straight conference series and are currently in a four-way tie for second in the SEC.
The series will open on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU, while Saturday's (6:30 p.m.) game will air on SEC Network+ which can be viewed through WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. Sunday's (Noon) game will air nationally on ESPNU.
State leads the all-time series by a slim 13-11 margin, with an 8-3 advantage in games played in College Station. The Aggies have won four straight over the Bulldogs and seven of their last eight, including a three-game sweep in their 2016 series. MSU is in search of its first series win over Texas A&M since 2013, which was also the last time the Diamond Dawgs took a series from the Aggies in College Station.
VIDEO: Andy Cannizaro previews this weekend's road series at No. 15 Texas A&M
Game Notes | Live Stats
NEED TO KNOW
WEEKLY REWIND
WEEKEND WEATHER FORECAST
Thursday Forecast: High 76, Low 52 – Mostly Sunny/Wind – 0% Chance of Rain
Friday Forecast: High 78, Low 53 – Sunny – 0% Chance of Rain
Saturday Forecast: High 81, Low 56 – Sunny – 0% Chance of Rain
LIVE VIDEO & TELEVISION
Thursday's lid lifter will be televised on ESPNU, Friday's game will air strictly on SEC Network+ via the WatchESPN app and WatchESPN.com, while the Saturday finale will be nationally televised on ESPNU, as well as on mobile devices through the WatchESPN app and WatchESPN.com.
Watch Thursday's Game | Watch Friday's Game | Watch Saturday's Game
LIVE AUDIO & RADIO
All three games this weekend will air live on the Mississippi State Baseball Radio Network. They will also be on TuneIn Radio and will be audio streamed live online at HailState.com/Plus (requires subscription).
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday – MSU So. LHP Konnor Pilkington (5-3, 3.10 ERA) vs. TAMU TBA
Saturday – MSU TBA vs. TAMU TBA
Sunday – MSU TBA vs. TAMU TBA
TICKETS
Single-game tickets for the weekend are still available and can be purchased through Texas A&M's website.
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."
While the No. 7 Diamond Dawgs (30-16, 14-7 SEC) are 14-4 in their last 18 league games, the No. 15 Aggies (33-13, 13-8 SEC) have won five-straight conference series and are currently in a four-way tie for second in the SEC.
The series will open on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU, while Saturday's (6:30 p.m.) game will air on SEC Network+ which can be viewed through WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. Sunday's (Noon) game will air nationally on ESPNU.
State leads the all-time series by a slim 13-11 margin, with an 8-3 advantage in games played in College Station. The Aggies have won four straight over the Bulldogs and seven of their last eight, including a three-game sweep in their 2016 series. MSU is in search of its first series win over Texas A&M since 2013, which was also the last time the Diamond Dawgs took a series from the Aggies in College Station.
VIDEO: Andy Cannizaro previews this weekend's road series at No. 15 Texas A&M
Game Notes | Live Stats
NEED TO KNOW
- 20 of MSU's 30 wins this season have been in comeback fashion with 11 of those having been in Southeastern Conference play.
- With a win on Friday vs. Auburn, Mississippi State reached the 30-win mark for the 38th time in program history.
- Andy Cannizaro is just the second MSU coach to achieve 30 or more victories in his very first season at the helm. Ron Polk won 34 games in 2002 in the first year of his second stint at MSU.
- MSU is 14-3 when scoring in the first inning this season, 26-5 when having out-hit their opponents, 24-2 when leading after six innings and 19-3 when holding opponents to four or fewer runs.
- Since March 13, 2016, the Diamond Dawgs are 35-15 in SEC regular season play. State has also won 14 of its last 17 SEC regular season series dating back to 2016.
- While ranking second in the SEC in batting average (.291), hits (456), stolen bases (64) and triples (12), State sits third in the league in slugging (.447), home runs (45) and total bases (701).
- Brent Rooker leads the SEC in nine offensive categories – batting average (.413), slugging (.913), on-base percentage (.509), hits (71), RBIs (64), doubles (23) home runs (19), total bases (157) and steals (17).
- Rooker also leads the nation in doubles, RBIs, slugging and total bases, while ranking second in home runs and third in batting average.
- Three Bulldogs rank in the top six in the SEC in hits – Brent Rooker (71, 1st), Ryan Gridley (63, 5th) and Jake Mangum (62, 6th).
- MSU closer Spencer Price leads the SEC in saves with 14 and ranks second in the nation.
- State has received five wins on the mound from three of its position players in OF Brant Blaylock (1-0), 1B Cole Gordon (2-0) and OF Jake Mangum (2-1).
- Konnor Pilkington (5-3, 3.10 ERA) made his 11th start of the season on Thursday and earned his fifth win in his seventh quality start, striking out four over 7.0 innings and allowing only one earned run on just four hits for the win.
- In 10 of his 11 nine starts this season, Pilkington has thrown at least five strikeouts (81 total). His 81 strikeouts rank fourth in the SEC, while his number of batters he has struck out looking (29) is second.
WEEKLY REWIND
- On Friday, State struck for five runs on Auburn's Keegan Thompson, the most he's allowed this season, and handed him his second loss.
- Also in game one vs. Auburn, Elijah MacNamee hit his first career triple in the fourth inning to plate the go-ahead run.
- Riley Self struck out a batter as he closed out a no-hit ninth inning on Friday, earning his third save. Self has MSU's last three saves, despite Spencer Price's nation-leading 14 saves.
- Two Bulldog batters -- Brent Rooker and Cody Brown -- had multi-hit performances in both games of the Saturday doubleheader. Harrison Bragg had a multi-hit game in the second game, and all three had multi-RBI performances in game one.
- The trio combined to go 14-for-25 with four HRs, four doubles, 10 RBIs, five runs and five walks on Saturday.
- With a home run in each game of the doubleheader, Brent Rooker is now tied for eighth in the MSU record books for home runs in a single season, with 19. It is the most home runs from a Bulldog since Connor Powers also hit 19 in 2009.
- Rooker also had a double in each game Saturday, and now sits tied for sixth in MSU single season doubles, with 23. It is the most doubles from a Bulldog since Mitch Moreland had 26 in 2007.
- On the day, Rooker hit 6-for-9 with two home runs, two doubles, three RBIs and three runs. He is hitting .392 with 10 HRs and 24 RBIs in SEC play this season.
- In Saturday's game one, Harrison Bragg hit his second home run of the season, a 386-foot, two-run shot to left field.
- Bragg collected three hits in game two, tying his career-high, his second three-hit game as a Bulldog.
- With a double and a home run, Cody Brown earned his second four RBI game in game one, a career-high. Brown is hitting .387 with four HRs and 13 RBIs in SEC play this season.
- With hits in both games on Saturday, Ryan Gridley extended his hit streak to seven games and his career-long reached base streak to 16 games.
WEEKEND WEATHER FORECAST
Thursday Forecast: High 76, Low 52 – Mostly Sunny/Wind – 0% Chance of Rain
Friday Forecast: High 78, Low 53 – Sunny – 0% Chance of Rain
Saturday Forecast: High 81, Low 56 – Sunny – 0% Chance of Rain
LIVE VIDEO & TELEVISION
Thursday's lid lifter will be televised on ESPNU, Friday's game will air strictly on SEC Network+ via the WatchESPN app and WatchESPN.com, while the Saturday finale will be nationally televised on ESPNU, as well as on mobile devices through the WatchESPN app and WatchESPN.com.
Watch Thursday's Game | Watch Friday's Game | Watch Saturday's Game
LIVE AUDIO & RADIO
All three games this weekend will air live on the Mississippi State Baseball Radio Network. They will also be on TuneIn Radio and will be audio streamed live online at HailState.com/Plus (requires subscription).
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday – MSU So. LHP Konnor Pilkington (5-3, 3.10 ERA) vs. TAMU TBA
Saturday – MSU TBA vs. TAMU TBA
Sunday – MSU TBA vs. TAMU TBA
TICKETS
Single-game tickets for the weekend are still available and can be purchased through Texas A&M's website.
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."
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