State is set to host #3 Arkansas in a three-game series at Dudy Noble this weekend.
Courtesy: John R. CadeSTARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State faces its second consecutive ranked SEC Western Division opponent this weekend when the Bulldogs (15-7, 1-2 SEC) entertain defending divisional champ and third-ranked Arkansas (20-2, 3-0 SEC) to open their SEC home schedule for 2012.The series opens Friday at 6:30 p.m. (CDT) at Dudy Noble Field with Saturday's game set for a 2 p.m. start. The Sunday series finale has a 12 p.m. start and will be televised by SportSouth. Dave Neal and Larry Conley will describe the action as FOX Sports launches its 10-game SEC regular season baseball coverage for 2012.
General admission tickets are $10 each and will be sold at the Dudy Noble Field ticket office when the stadium gates open two hours prior to each game.
State had its only scheduled midweek game (vs. Alabama A&M) rained out Wednesday night at Dudy Noble Field and will be playing its first games since posting a 1-4 mark last week in the team's first road games of the year. Three of those four setbacks were closely-contested one-run affairs. Arkansas avoided the rain for one of its two scheduled midweek home games against Nevada, downing the Wolfpack 10-2 and extending its current winning streak to 10 games.
The radio broadcasts of all three of this weekend's games can be heard on the MSU Baseball Radio Network, with Jim Ellis and Bart Gregory on the call. Live audio and video streaming of this weekend's series will be available through HailStateTV, State's premium online streaming service, at www.hailstate.com/hstvlive. HSTV's debut of high-definition (HD) video streaming for Bulldog Baseball will be available Friday and Saturday (Sunday's contest unavailable due to SEC-TV coverage). HD programming will automatically be accessible by current video subscribers.
Junior right-hander Chris Stratton (4-0, 4-0, 2.12) is slated to open on the mound Friday for the Bulldogs opposite Arkansas ace righty D.J. Baxendale (5-0, 2.30). Stratton, honored as the SEC Pitcher of the Week and tabbed for national pitcher or player of the week honors by Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger, the NCBWA and College Baseball Insider, leads the SEC with 44 strikeouts. He allowed but one first-inning run and rang up an SEC season-best 17 strikeouts over 8.2 innings of mound work in his first start of the season on SEC opening night last Friday at No. 10 LSU.
Bulldog sophomore shortstop Adam Frazier (.348) begins the weekend having hit safely in 19 of 22 games played. The Bishop, Ga., product leads the club and ranks fourth in the SEC with 32 hits, including 10 doubles (second-most in the league). Due to either 2011 graduation or 2012 injuries, Frazier and sophomore outfielder Hunter Renfroe (.288) are the only two current Bulldog players who batted against Arkansas last year and are available to play in this weekend's series at Dudy Noble Field.
Arkansas enters the series sporting a conference-leading 2.25 staff earned run average. UA's Saturday starter, sophomore righty Ryne Stanek, leads the Arkansas mound staff with a 1.52 earned run average, fourth-best in the SEC, and 25 strikeouts. The Razorbacks swept Alabama (4-3 in 12 inn., 8-4 and 7-4) at Baum Stadium last weekend and will be playing their first road games of the 2012 campaign.
In a tight divisional race settled on the final weekend of the 2011 season, Mississippi State finished a game behind Arkansas in the SEC Western Division in 2011.
Following the Arkansas series, the Bulldogs close out their March home slate hosting Alcorn State (Mar. 27) before returning to SEC road competition at Auburn (Mar. 30-Apr. 1).
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