University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols visit Mississippi State this Weekend
April 28, 2008 | Baseball
Game Notes (PDF)
Starkville, Miss., was the Tennessee baseball team???s destination Thursday as the Volunteers resume Southeastern Conference play with a three-game series at Mississippi State this weekend. Tennessee enters the series tied for fourth in the SEC Eastern Division???as well as the overall league race???and looks to gain momentum against a Bulldogs club that occupies 12th place in the league standings.Game times are set for 6:30 p.m. CT Friday, 2 p.m. CT Saturday and 1:30 p.m. CT Sunday. All three games will be broadcast on the radio in the Knoxville area on WNML AM 990, FM 99.1 & 99.3. And the radio broadcasts also can be accessed for free online at UTsports.com.
This weekend???s series marks the final time that Tennessee will oppose legendary MSU head coach Ron Polk during the regular season, as he has announced his retirement at season???s end. Polk, who is in his 35th year as a Division I head coach, ranks seventh on the NCAA???s all-time Division I wins list with 1,366 victories. That total places him fifth among active coaches.
Polk???s 2008 Mississippi State team has struggled thus far, posting a 16-23 (4-14 SEC) record. Pitching has been a concern for the Bulldogs, as they rank 12th in the SEC? with a 6.65 staff ERA. Their staff is returning to full strength, however, and benefits from the services of closer Aaron Weatherford. The junior right-hander has allowed just three hits and no earned runs through 17 2/3 innings of action this season while limiting opposing hitters to a .055 average at the plate.
Mississippi State???s .297 team batting average ranks eighth in the league. Four Bulldogs regulars are batting .333 or better on the year.
Tennessee trails the all-time series with Mississippi State 42-21, dating to 1917. The Bulldogs hold a 20-8 advantage in Starkville.
Each of the last three series between these teams has been shortened to two games or less due to rain. The 2004 season marks the last time a three-game series was played, with UT winning two of three games at Dudy Noble Field.
Vols head coach Todd Raleigh has never faced Mississippi State, but he did coach against Polk during Polk???s tenure at Georgia from 2000-01 (Raleigh???s Western Carolina clubs lost single games in Athens both years). And as a player at WCU, Raleigh played in two NCAA Regionals at Dudy Noble Field.
Sophomore Vols shortstop Cody Grisham hails from Booneville, Miss., and four current Bulldogs are Tennessee natives.
