Recap - #16 Mississippi State 5, Arkansas 1, 3/30/14

After a very underwhelming non-conferenceb schedule performance, Mississippi State pulled off their 3rd straight SEC series win on Sunday with a 5-1 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Bulldogs started strong right out of the gate, when Alex Detz his a two run home run in the 1st inning. In the 5th, Mississippi State added to the lead when a Wes Rea single drove in Jake Vickerson to give MSU the 3-0 lead. In the 7th, Alex Detz got a RBI groundout, bringing in Gavin Collins and State's 4th run. The final run came when Derrick Armstrong flew out for a sac fly and brought in Brett Pirtle.

Trevor Fitts started for the Bulldogs and struck out three in 3.1 innings pitched, giving up the Hogs' only run. Jacob Lindgren replaced him, and he struck out eight in four innings pitched, and gave up only one hit. Jonathan Holder replaced Lindgren in the 8th and finished the job, earning his 4th save of the year, and Lindgren got his 3rd win of the year, improving to 3-0.

Jacob Lindgren threw 8 strikeouts in 4 innings during MSU's 5-1 win over Arkansas

Mississippi State improves to 20-10, (6-3) and is currently tied for 1st in the SEC with Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina. The Bulldogs face a tough road series as they play LSU in Baton Rouge, and game one is at 6:30 on CSS. 

Recap - #16 Mississippi State - Arkansas Doubleheader, 3/29/14

Mississippi State and Arkansas were set to play game one of a three game series Friday, but it was postponed due to bad weather expected in the Starkville area. So, game one was game two of a doubleheader that Saturday.

Preston brown started game one for the Bulldogs and threw four strikeouts in five innings, giving up  seven hits and four earned runs. Ben Bracewell finished the job for MSU, striking out six in four innings pitched.

Mississippi State actually hit pretty well game one, accumulating ten hits, but was unable to get a run across. It was one of those strange, mystical days in which Ron Polk would say, "That's baseball." State would lose game one, 4-0, which is the Bulldogs' first shutout since UCLA's game two 8-0 in last year's College World Series finals (sorry to remind you of that).

In game two, Ross Mitchell got his third consecutive SEC start, and he had a great day. He threw a complete game, his second this year, striking out two. Mitchell gets the win and improves to 4-1 on the year.

Two words described Mississippi State's day at the plate - Derrick Armstrong. Armstrong went 3-4 in both games, with a run and an RBI in game two. Brett Pirtle went 2-4 in game two, and although Zach Randolph had only one hit in game two, it was a 2 RBI single. State scored 4 runs in the 6th en route to a 5-1 victory.

Derrick Armstrong was 3-4 in Mississippi State's 5-1 game two victory over Arkansas

The rubber game of the series is Sunday at 1:30 on HailStateTV.

Recap - #21 Mississippi State 6, #6 Vanderbilt 3, 3/22/14

Surprise went through the Bulldog community when Ross Mitchell was announced the starter in game one of last Saturday's doubleheader against Georgia. After a complete game and giving up only one run, Ross Mitchell solidified his role as not only a reliever, but a starter as well. He was the first man on the mound for the Bulldogs last night, as MSU clinched the biggest series of the year with a 6-3 victory over #6, SEC foe Vanderbilt

It took Vanderbilt one inning to take a 2-0 lead, and it seemed like Ross Mitchell may be losing his starting role, but he bounced back in a big way. He pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out three, and gave up only two walks. Jonathan Holder strolled into the Dude with "God's Gonna Cut You Down" playing over the loudspeakers in the B8 with a man on second with one out, and in typical Holder fashion, he struck out two to end the inning. No wonder people call him "Johnny Baseball". Although he gave up a run in the 9th, Holder was able to get the save, his third of the year.

Ross Mitchell struck out three in 6 1/3 innings pitched in State's 6-3 win over Vanderbilt.

Unlike Friday night, Vanderbilt didn't help Mississippi State with defensive struggles, but the Bulldog bats were hot. The biggest play of the game came from Seth Heck with a 2 RBI double in the 3rd to give State the lead, and from that point, Mississippi State gained confidence and closed out the game.

Mississippi State looks to have their first series sweep over Vanderbilt since 2000 and their first 5-1 SEC start since 2003 Sunday at 1:30 with Trevor Fitts starting. Mississippi State improves to 17-8, 4-1, and Vanderbilt drops to 19-5, 2-3.

Recap - #21 Mississippi State 17, #6 Vanderbilt 2, 3/21/14

Yes, you read that correctly. Mississippi State defeated #6 Vanderbilt 17-2 on a Friday night at Dudy Noble Field.

Tyler Beede, who turned down a 2 million dollar contract by the Toronto Blue Jays out of high school, started for Vandy, and a surprise for Mississippi State as Preston Brown started in his first ever SEC game. Beede entered the matchup with a 0.84 ERA. After giving up 10 runs in 2 2/3 innings, his ERA went all the way to 2.06. That is insane. Beede is a projected top 10 pick in the MLB Draft, so clearly the Bulldogs were hot.

The Commodores had no doubt their worst game of the year defensively. They committed 5 errors throughout the game, and everything went Mississippi State's way.

The bats were hot for MSU, as the Bulldogs compiled 14 hits, compared to Vanderbilt's 8. Brett Pirtle had three hits, and Seth Heck had a monster game, going 2 for 2 with 4 RBIs, 2 walks, and 3 runs.

Sophomore, Memphis native Preston Brown had his first ever SEC start. Think about it, a pitcher's first ever SEC start against the 6th best team in the nation on a Friday night. The pressure's on. It sure didn't seem that way for Preston, though. He pitched 8 innings and threw 3 strikeouts. Brandon Woodruff threw one strikeout in the 9th.

Mississippi State takes game one of the three game series and improves their record to 16-8, 3-1. Vanderbilt drops to 19-4, 2-2. Game two of the series is Saturday night at 7:30 on ESPNU.

SEC Baseball Power Rankings - 3/16/14

After the first weekend of conference play, here are the power rankings around the SEC for the week of 3/9/14 - 3/16/14

1. Vanderbilt (18-3, 2-1)

Vanderbilt didn't have the strongest schedule, and their first SEC series vs LSU would show how good they really are. A 2 out of 3 series win is solid, but when it is against a team such as LSU, it's extraordinary. They will travel to Starkville to play a series with Mississippi State next weekend.

2. South Carolina (18-1, 2-1)

Before SEC play started, South Carolina would no doubt be the number 1 team on this list. The gamecocks got 2 out of 3 against Ole Miss, but it was not a very convincing series win. Don't get me wrong, Ole Miss is a good baseball team, but South Carolina did not play as well as they have played, especially in game one and through 8 innings in game 2. South Carolina will travel to Lexington to play a good Kentucky team next weekend.

3. LSU (17-4, 1-2)

LSU only took one in their opening series against Vanderbilt. They struggled throughout the series, and if they would be able to snatch 2 of 3, they would probably be number 2 on the list. The Tigers will have an opportunity to pick their SEC season back up against Georgia next weekend.

4. Ole Miss (17-4, 1-2)

Although they lost the series, Ole Miss played very well in their opening series against South Carolina, especially on the road. They should have taken 2 of 3, but a 3 run 9th inning for SC sent game 2 into extra innings before the gamecocks got the walk-off single. This is a good baseball team. Ole Miss should pick up a couple of SEC wins against Missouri in Oxford next weekend.

5. Tennessee (17-2, 2-1)

The vols are probably the surprise in the SEC right now. They lost only one game in their non-conference schedule and they picked up 3 wins in the week, one against Middle Tennessee State, and two against Missouri. Tennessee plays a hot Auburn team next weekend at home.

6. Mississippi State (15-8, 2-1)

And here are the Dawgs. State played a sloppy non-conference schedule, and they got walloped in game one in the Georgia series. But, with a strong complete game outing by Ross Mitchell, MSU was able to bounce back with a 6-1 victory in game 2, and took the series with a 4-1 game 3 victory. In my opinion, to show that they are as good as they were last year, Mississippi State is going to have to win 2 of 3 against Vanderbilt this weekend.

7. Florida (13-7, 2-1)

Florida had a solid 3-1 week with a series win against Arkansas. Arkansas has struggled up to this point, but they are still a good team. Florida plays a crucial game game against Florida State and a road series against Texas A&M next week.

8. Kentucky (14-6, 1-2)

Kentucky was having a very good year, but they dropped a disappointing series loss against Alabama. It really was a must win series for the Cats, as they could've gotten some wins before a tough series against South Carolina next weekend. If SC continues their solid play, Kentucky can find themselves in a hole with a 1-4 SEC record.

9. Texas A&M (14-7, 1-2)

Texas A&M had a great start to their week with a two game series sweep of Texas-Pan American, but they had a very bad series loss vs Auburn, who hasn't had a great year. Things only get tougher for the Aggies as they play Florida next weekend.

10. Alabama (12-6, 2-1)

Alabama picked up 2 of 3 against Kentucky this weekend, and it was a very big series win for the Tide. They play a road series against Arkansas next weekend, and we will see how good they really are in those 3 games.

11. Auburn (13-7, 2-1)

Auburn picked up a season boosting series win against Texas A&M this past weekend. The Tigers struggled up to this point in the season, and this series really was big for Auburn. They have a shot to pick up a couple more SEC wins against Tennessee in Knoxville next weekend.

12. Georgia (13-8, 1-2)

The bulldogs picked up two victories against Western Kentucky before playing the other SEC bulldogs in a three game series. Georgia was hot going into the series, winning 10 in a row. Georgia throttled MSU in game one, but lost the last two. Georgia showed that they're not that bad of a team, but they're going to have to pick up some extra wins a and improve their record to show us. They will have a difficult road series against LSU next weekend.

13. Arkansas (9-7, 1-2)

At the beginning of last year, Arkansas was ranked preseason number one. Jump forward a year, and they're 9-7 and coming off of a series loss to Florida. The Razorbacks actually played fairly well against the Gators, losing by only one run in each of Florida's wins, and they creamed Florida 9-3 in game 3. Arkansas will return home for a series with Texas A&M, which will be a good opportunity to pick up some wins.

14. Missouri (9-9, 1-2)

Missouri, Missouri, Missouri. The only SEC team without a winning record, and they had a losing record entering this week. The defeated Alcorn State twice, and I know, they have a baseball team, and they picked up a win in a series loss against Tennessee. The Tennessee win was good, but they got thumped in the two other games, losing by a combined 7 runs. It will get worse for Mizzou as they travel to Ole Miss next weekend.