03/26/04
Mississippi State (13-6, 1-2 SEC) travels to LSU today to take on the number 1 ranked LSU Tigers (19-3, 2-1 SEC). Friday's game starts at 6:30 p.m. Sophomore Jamie Gant, currently 2-2 with a 2.59 ERA, will start for the Bulldogs. LSU will counter with sophomore Justin Meier (4-0, 2.11 ERA). In Meier's most recent start, he limited 4th ranked South Carolina to 3 runs on 7 hits in 8.1 innings.

The Tigers have won 8 of their last 9, while the struggling Bulldogs have lost 4 of their last 5.

The series continues with a 2 p.m. Saturday game and concludes with a 1 p.m. Sunday game.

The Bulldogs return to Dudy Noble Field next Tuesday when they play the UAB Blazers at 6:30 p.m.

03/18/04 - MSU defeated Louisiana-Monroe 7-3 in 12 innings last night to go to 12-2 on the season. Saunders Ramsey finished the game in dominating style while winning his second game of the year. Freshman right-hander Josh Johnson started and pitched well in his 4+ innings, striking out 7. Bulldog pitching struck out 18 in the game. Senior Tyler Scarbrough knocked in what turned out to be the winning run in the top of the 12th. Sophomore first baseman Brad Jones' two-run double in the top of the 12th knocked in the 5th and 6th runs of the game to ice the game for the Dogs.

The Bulldogs play Tennessee at home this weekend.

03/02/04
STARKVILLE, Miss. - An impressive three-game weekend sweep of Western Kentucky and Illinois in the season-opening MSU Challenge helped vault Mississippi State to No. 24 in the latest weekly rankings compiled by Tucson-based Collegiate Baseball magazine. MSU (3-0) jumped five spots in the poll after topping WKU 12-0 and Illinois 9-6 and 9-3 at Dudy Noble Field.

Mississippi State resumes its 12-game season-opening homestand and opens a 21-game March schedule Tuesday at 4 p.m., playing host to Jackson State (4-5), runners-up in the SWAC Eastern Division last year.

Sophomore left-hander Brooks Dunn is expected to make his first career start in his seasonal debut in Tuesday afternoon's game against JSU.

The Bulldogs peppered the baseball at an SEC-leading .396 clip and averaged 10 runs per game in registering the sweep in last weekend's MSU Challenge.

Four Bulldog starters - outfielder Jeff Butts (.571), DH Brian LaNinfa (.556), outfielder/pitcher Brad Corley (.500) and catcher Craig Tatum (.500) - enter the week ranked among the SEC's early-season hitting leaders. Butts, from Fort Worth, Texas, sports the league's second-best hitting mark while LaNinfa, the first modern era Bulldog to hit a home run in his first three games, ranks fourth in batting average and leads the SEC with a sizzling 1.556 slugging percentage.

MSU continues mid-week play Wednesday hosting Mississippi Valley State at 4 p.m.

LSU (9-1), riding a seven-game win streak, remained atop the publication's top 35 poll just ahead of Stanford (13-2) and Texas (15-2). No. 5 South Carolina (9-0), No. 14 Auburn (9-1), No. 19 Florida (10-3) and No. 21 Mississippi (6-0) join the Tigers and the Bulldogs among SEC teams in this week's ranking.

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's NCAA Div. I Poll (As of March 1, 2004)

Rank School (Record) Points Previous

1. Louisiana St. (9-1) 496 1
2. Stanford (13-2) 495 2
3. Texas (15-2) 492 4
4. Rice (7-2) 490 5
5. South Carolina (9-0) 489 6
6. Arizona St. (12-2) 487 7
7. Notre Dame (6-0) 484 10
8. Miami, Fla. (7-3) 483 8
9. Wichita St. (0-0) 475 9
10. Long Beach St. (9-3) 473 11

11. Florida Atlantic (12-1) 470 12
12. Texas A&M (12-1) 469 14
13. Tulane (8-1) 467 13
14. Auburn (9-1) 464 15
15. Nebraska (5-1) 460 16
16. Oklahoma (8-1) 455 28
17. Georgia Tech. (6-3) 453 3
18. East Carolina (12-0) 450 -
19. Florida (10-3) 448 21
20. Oregon St. (8-1) 445 -

21. Mississippi (6-0) 443 26
22. North Carolina St. (7-0) 441 27
23. Florida St. (9-4) 439 23
24. Mississippi St. (3-0) 436 29
25. U.C. Irvine (9-2-1) 433 30
26. Arizona (7-5-1) 430 19
27. Cal. St. Fullerton (8-8) 429 20
28. Washington (6-3) 425 22
29. Clemson (2-3) 422 17
30. North Carolina (4-3) 420 18

Source: MSU Media Relations