Recap - #24 Mississippi State 18, Alabama A&M 2, 2/21/15

After a 6-2 victory over Marshall in game one of the weekend, Mississippi State continued their momentum, defeating Alabama A&M, 18-2.

Austin Sexton started on the mound for the Bulldogs. He had a rough start but finished strong. In 6 innings, he struck out eight and gave up two hits. He picked up the win in this one, giving him a 1-0 record on the year. Levi Mintz came in for Sexton, striking out two and giving up no hits in 2 innings. Logan Elliot finished the job for Mississippi State, striking out one and giving up a hit in 1 inning.

Once again, the Bulldogs had to play from behind. Alabama A&M led 1-0 going to the 2nd inning. After a slow 1st inning, Mississippi State dominated offensively. The Bulldogs put across nine runs in the 2nd, two in the 4th, two in the 6th, three in the 7th, and two in the 8th.

Freshman Brent Rooker had the hot bat in this one, going 3-5 with five RBIs and two runs. That included a solo home run in the 6th inning. Other big days included Jacob Robson and Ryan Gridley, Robson going 3-3 with a RBI and three runs, and Gridley went 2-3 with four RBIs and two runs, including an inside the park home run in the 2nd.

Mississippi State improves to 6-0 on the year. They started game two of the Saturday doubleheader against Marshall, but it was postponed to Sunday due to weather; the Bulldogs were leading 3-1.

Recap - #24 Mississippi State 6, Marshall 2, 2/20/15

After going 4-0 opening weekend, Mississippi State built on the momentum, winning game one of this weekend, 6-2.

Preston Brown started on the mound for Mississippi State, having a tough start, but a strong end. In 6 innings, he struck out eight and gave up six hits. He picked up the win in this one, giving him a 2-0 record on the year. Ross Mitchell replaced Brown in relief and had yet another spectacular outing. In 3 innings, Mitchell struck out one, gave up two hits, and forced five groundouts.

Offensively. the Bulldogs had a sluggish start, not scoring through the first 5 innings. Once again, they had to play from behind, trailing 2-0 going to the 6th. After the slow start, the Bulldog bats boomed, putting up six runs in the next 3 innings. 

The offensive player of the game for Mississippi State, no doubt, was Jacob Robson. He went 3-5, scored two runs, and stole three bases. 

Series Preview - Marshall and Alabama A&M

After going 4-0 over the opening weekend, Mississippi State looks to continue the momentum this weekend against Marshall and Alabama A&M.

Marshall

Last season, the Thundering Herd posted a putrid 20-31 record, 10-19 in conference. This year, they return their entire team except one pitcher, Ryan Hopkins. They return their leading hitter from last year, sophomore outfielder Corey Bird, who, although was the leading hitter, had a horrible .232 average at the plate.

To open the 2015 year, Marshall faced Florida A&M in a three game series, going 2-1. Marshall averaged nine runs over the weekend and gave up an average of four runs. The hot bats for Marshall over the weekend were Corey Bird and first baseman TJ Diffenderfer, Bird going 6-14 with seven RBIs and five runs, and Diffenderfer went 5-15 with three RBIs and two runs.

Mississippi State plays Marshall Friday at 4 PM and Saturday at 3:30 PM.

Alabama A&M

Last season, Alabama A&M limped to finish 21-32, 12-8 in conference. They return their best hitter, 2014 SWAC hitter of the year, senior outfielder Andrew Utterback.  He had a very impressive .398 average in 2014, including five home runs and 42 RBIs.

This season, Alabama A&M opened with a four game series against Indiana University-Purdue Fort Wayne (yes, that's a real college), and went 1-3. Utterback struggled, going 2-12 with one RBI and two runs, but fellow outfielder Brandyn Crutcher had a big weekend, going 6-8 with five RBIs and six runs.

Mississippi State plays Alabama A&M Saturday at 12 PM and Sunday at 3 PM.

Recap

To sum this all up, both Marshall and Alabama A&M are bad teams. Although they are filled with experienced upperclassmen, these teams are still terrible. Mississippi State should go 4-0 this weekend with no struggles. Expect another weekend with the Bulldogs getting into double digits.

SEC Report, 2/17/15

This is the first installment of the SEC Report, where I recap what took place in SEC baseball and preview what is to come. (Rankings according to D1Baseball.com)

Here are the results from SEC's opening weekend.

#20 Alabama Sweeps Maryland Eastern Shore

Game One: W, 6-0
Game Two: W, 11-0
Game Three: W, 19-0

Arkansas Sweeps North Dakota

Game One: W, 11-4
Game Two: W, 13-2
Game Three: W, 12-1

Auburn 2/3 Against Binghamton

Game One: W, 2-0
Game Two: L, 5-11
Game Three: W, 13-2

#2 Florida Sweeps Rhode Island

Game One: W, 9-1
Game Two: W, 22-3
Game Three: W, 6-1

Georgia Sweeps Eastern Illinois

Game One: W, 18-3
Game Two: W, 10-2
Game Three: W, 11-1

Kentucky Defeats Ball State, Richmond

Game One (Ball State): W, 11-7
Game Two (Richmond): W, 10-1
Game Three (UNC Wilmington): Cancelled

#9 LSU Sweeps Kansas

Game One: W, 4-1
Game Two: W, 8-5
Game Three: W, 7-4

Mississippi State Defeats Cincinnati, Miami (OH)

Game One (Cincinnati): W, 6-2
Game Two (Miami OH): W, 7-1
Game Three (Cincinnati): W, 19-5
Game Four (Cincinnati): W, 16-7

Missouri Sweeps Iona

Game One: W, 4-3
Game Two: W, 1-0
Game Three: W, 6-3
Game Four: W, 14-2

#18 Ole Miss 2/3 Against William and Mary

Game One: W, 9-4
Game Two: L, 1-8
Game Three: W, 16-2

#5 South Carolina 2/3 Against Charleston Southern

Game One: L, 3-6
Game Two: W, 7-1
Game Three: W, 8-3

#25 Tennessee 1/3 Against FIU

Game One: L, 3-4
Game Two: W, 9-2
Game Three: L, 0-3

#17 Texas A&M Sweeps Holy Cross

Game One: W, 19-2
Game Two: W, 16-11
Game Three: W, 6-1

#1 Vanderbilt 2/3 Against Santa Clara

Game One: W, 4-0
Game Two: L, 6-7
Game Three: W, 6-5 (10)

Here is the upcoming SEC schedule.

#20 Alabama (3-0)

2/20-22: at #7 Houston (3-0)

Arkansas (3-0)

2/20: vs. UCF (3-0)
2/21: at South Alabama (3-0)
2/22: vs. #13 Maryland (3-0)

Auburn (2-1)

2/17: at South Alabama (3-0)
2/18: vs. Alabama State (1-2)
2/20-22: vs. Radford (2-1)

#2 Florida (3-0)

2/17: vs. Florida A&M (1-2)
2/18: at USF (2-1)
2/20-22: vs. #14 Miami (4-0)

Georgia (3-0)

2/17: at Kennesaw State (2-1, Game Postponed)
2/20-22: vs. #21 Florida State (3-0)

Kentucky (2-0)

2/19: at USC (3-0)
2/20-22: vs. #23 UC Santa Barbara (4-0)

#9 LSU (3-0)

2/18: vs. Nicholls State (2-1)
2/20-22: vs. Boston College (2-2)

#24 Mississippi State (4-0)

2/17: vs. Mississippi Valley State (1-2, Game Cancelled)
2/20-21: vs. Marshall (2-1)
2/21-22: vs. Alabama A&M (1-3)

Missouri (4-0)

2/19,21: at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3-0)
2/20: vs. Sam Houston State (2-1)
2/22: vs. Purdue (1-2)

#18 Ole Miss (2-1)

2/17: vs. Arkansas State (2-1, Game Postponed)
2/20-22: vs. Wright State (3-0)

#5 South Carolina (2-1)

2/17: vs. Furman (1-2)
2/20-22: vs. Northeastern (2-1)

Tennessee (1-2)

2/18: vs. Tennessee Tech (2-1)
2/20-22: vs. Rutgers (0-4)

#16 Texas A&M

2/17: vs. Stephen F. Austin (1-3)
2/20-22: vs. Penn State (0-3)

#1 Vanderbilt (2-1)

2/18: at Belmont (1-1, Game Postponed)
2/20-22: vs. Illinois-Chicago (2-1)

Mississippi State Poll Update, 2/17/15

After going 4-0 over the weekend with wins over Cincinnati and Miami (OH), here is where Mississippi State is in this week's polls.

NCBWA

This Week - 20
Last Week - 22

D1Baseball.com

This Week - 24
Last Week - Unranked

Collegiate Baseball

This Week - 18
Last Week - 20

Baseball America

This Week - 14
Last Week - 14

Perfect Game

This Week - 21
Last Week - 23

The Bulldogs look to move further up the rankings this weekend, as they play Marshall and Alabama A&M in a four game series.

Recap - Mississippi State 16, Cincinnati 7, 2/15/15

To finish off  opening weekend of the 2015 baseball season, Mississippi State defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats, 16-7.

Austin Sexton started on the bump for the Bulldogs and had a decent outing. In 2 innings, he struck out two and gave up two hits. Daniel Brown came in for Sexton, and although having a short lived time on the mound, he was very effective. In 2 innings, Brown struck out four and gave up just one hit. After a disastrous outing by Paxton Stover and a short lived outing from Zac Houston, Trevor Fitts closed the game out. Fits struck out three and gave up one hit in 3 innings of work.

Similar to the other games this weekend, the Bulldogs had to play from behind. The Bearcats launched a solo home run in the 1st to take a 1-0 lead, but that would be about it for them. Mississippi State outscored Cincinnati 16-6 for the remainder of the game, including an eight run 3rd for the Bulldogs.

Seth Heck had yet another day of consistent hitting, going 3-4 with a RBI and three runs. Other good days included Ryan Gridley and John Holland, Gridley going 2-2 with a RBI and a run, and Holland went 3-5 with four RBIs and two runs.

Due to severe wintry weather, Mississippi State's Tuesday game against Mississippi Valley State has been cancelled, so the Bulldogs will be back in action against Marshall on Friday.

Recap - Miami (OH), Cincinnati Doubleheader, 2/14/15

In a Saturday doubleheader, Mississippi State defeated Miami (OH), 7-1 in game one and Cincinnati, 19-5 in game two.

The first pitch of game one was thrown at 12 PM by Lucas Laster, who was the Bulldog starter. Laster had a solid outing, striking out two and giving up a run in 3 1/3 innings pitched. Ross Mitchell replaced Laster in relief, having an incredible game. In 5 2/3 innings, Mitchell struck out three, giving up three hits, and forcing ten groundouts. Mitchell picked up the win, giving him a 1-0 record on the year and 19-1 for his Bulldog career.

Resuming from last night, the Bulldogs had another good day at the plate. Wes Rea had another big day, going 1-2 for 4 RBIs and a run, the one hit being a grand slam in the 1st inning.

Similar to Friday's victory over Cincinnati, Mississippi State scored early. Five of State's seven runs came in the first 2 innings, all five of which were a result of home runs, one by Wes Rea and the other by Jake Vickerson. Reid Humphreys also added another home run in the 7th.

Just an hour after their 7-1 victory, Mississippi State had to get ready for another matchup, this time against the Cincinnati Bearcats.

True freshman Jesse McCord got his first career start on Saturday, showing a case of first game jitters.  In 1 1/3 innings, he struck out two and gave up four runs on three hits. Vance Tatum replaced McCord in relief, and he had quite the outing. In 4 2/3 innings, Tatum struck out four and gave up three hits. Trent Waddell, Levi Mintz, and Dakota Hudson all found action as well, each having an innings' work. Vance Tatum picked up the win, making his record 1-0 on the year.

As the score indicates, it was another big offensive day for the Bulldogs. Although starting off slowly in the 1st, the Bulldogs scored four in the 2nd inning. After a scoreless 3rd, Mississippi State strung together fourteen runs in 3 innings, including eight in the 6th inning alone.

Jacob Robson was the hot bat for the Bulldogs in this one, going 3-4 with a RBI and three runs. Ryan Gridley and Reid Humphreys had solid showings at the plate as well, Gridley going 2-4 with three runs, and Humphreys went 2-3 with three RBIs.

Also, the Bulldogs won the games in style. One of 17 different Adidas uniform combinations that will be worn this year, Mississippi State sported white throwback uniforms that featured a new maroon, white striped cap and 3/4 sleeves.

Mississippi State improves to 3-0 on the year and is back in action Sunday at 1:30 PM against Cincinnati.

Recap - Mississippi State 6, Cincinnati 2, 2/13/15

To open the 2015 season, Mississippi State took care of the Cincinnati Bearcats, 6-2.

Preston Brown started on the mound for the Bulldogs, having an impressive game. In 5 innings pitched, Brown struck out seven and gave up two runs. Zac Houston and Daniel Brown finished the game, each striking out three in two innings.

Offensively, the Bulldogs had a solid showing, especially from senior shortstop Seth Heck. Heck went 4-5 with a RBI and a run. Jacob Robson and Wes Rea also had good days at the plate, Robson going 2-2 with two runs and Rea going 1-3 with a RBI and two runs.

An improvement in this game from last year is that the bats got hot early. All six of State's runs came in the first three innings. One factor continuing to be a concern is stranding runners. The Bulldogs had eight runners stranded, including leaving the bases loaded in the 2nd.

Mississippi State starts off 1-0 and will have a Saturday doubleheader at Dudy Noble, game one against Miami (OH) at 12 PM, and another matchup against Cincinnati at 4 PM.