March 23, 2017

WATCH LIVE: SECN+ LISTEN LIVE LIVE STATS GAME NOTES 2017 RECORD BOOK 2017 SCHEDULE

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Baseball continues Southeastern Conference competition with a three-game series against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Friday, March 24 - Sunday, March 26 in Starkville, Miss.

More Info

Game Times & Broadcast Info

Opponent: Mississippi State Bulldogs
Dates: Friday, March 24 - Saturday, March 26
Game 1: Fri. 3/24 at 7:30 p.m. ET (SECN+)
Game 2: Sat. 3/25 at 7:30 p.m. ET (SECN+)
Game 3: Sun. 3/26 - 2:30 p.m. ET (SECN+)
Venue: Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium (Starkville, Miss.)
Radio: UTSports.com
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Game One (L, 4-5)

Recap: UTSports.com
Box Score: UTSports.com

Game Two (L, 14-4)

Recap: UTSports.com
Box Score: UTSports.com

Tennessee (13-5, 0-3 SEC)

Roster Schedule 2017 Stats

Mississippi State (12-10, 0-3 SEC)

Roster Schedule 2017 Stats

In their first SEC road series of the year, the weekend trip also marks UT's (13-5, 0-3 SEC) first visit to Starkville, Miss., since May 2014, when Mississippi State (12-10, 0-3 SEC) took two of three games via extra-inning victories for a series win.

Each of Tennessee's three games this weekend against the Bulldogs will be available for viewing via SEC Network+ online broadcasts.

Weekend Matchups

Fri. March 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET - RHP Hunter Martin (3-2, 3.49) vs. LHP Konnor Pilkington (2-3, 2.12 ERA)
Sat. March 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET - RHP Zach Linginfelter (0-1, 3.80) vs. TBA
Sun. March 26 at 2:30 p.m. ET - TBA vs. TBA

Tennessee vs. Mississippi State All-Time

All-time vs. MSU: MSU leads, 55-29
In Knoxville: MSU leads, 17-15
In Starkville: MSU leads, 34-12
Last Meeting: UT won, 3-2 (5/16/15)
Last UT Series Win: 5/14-16/2015
Last 10 Meetings: MSU leads 6-4
Current Streak: UT won three

Tennessee won its last series matchup vs. Mississippi State in May 2015, when the Vols completed a three-game sweep in Knoxville to advance to the 2015 SEC Tournament.

Bulldogs Breakdown

The Bulldogs (12-10, 0-3 SEC) continue league play this weekend against Tennessee, having dropped three straight vs. Arkansas in its 2017 SEC Opening Weekend series in Fayetteville, Ark.
On Tuesday evening (March 21), MSU dropped its midweek matchup against Southern Miss, 7-5, despite a strong bullpen performance and late-inning rally.
13 of the last 14 games for State have been decided by just three runs or less, seven of which were one-run games.
Seven of State's 12 wins this season have come in comeback fashion.
Brent Rooker leads the SEC in batting average (.430), slugging percentage (.835), on-base percentage (.525), doubles (12), stolen bases (14) and total bases (66), while ranking third in home runs (6) and tied for second in hits (34).
In his last two outings, Friday's starter Konnor Pilkington has struck out 26 in 15.2 IP and holding opponents to a .143 batting average.

No. 24 Tennessee on [Rocky] Top

UT on NCAA charts (as of March 22):

Team Batting Average: 29th (.309)
Team Hits Allowed per 9.0 Innings: 34th (7.67)
Team On Base Percentage: 29th (.403)
Team Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio: 24th (3.04)
Team WL Pct: T-32nd (.722)
Team Walks Allowed/Nine Innings: 14th (2.71)
Team WHIP: 20th (1.15)
Jeff Moberg: 1.67 hits per game (T-29th)
Jordan Rodgers: .429 average (T-25th), 1.76 hits per game (12th)
Benito Santiago: three triples (T-16th) and .18 triples per game (T-21st)
Garrett Stallings: 0.82 walks allowed per 9.0 innings (19th)

As a team, Tennessee ranks among the SEC's Top 5 in the following categories (as of March 22):

Team Batting Average: 4th (.309)
Team On-Base Percentage: 4th (.403)
Team Triples: T-3rd (6)
Fewest Hits Allowed: 2nd (139)
Fewest Runs Allowed: 3rd (72)
Fewest Earned Runs Allowed: T-4th (61)
Fewest Walks Allowed: 1st (49)
Fewest Doubles Allowed: T-4th (26)

Vols rank among the SEC's Top 10 in the following categories (as of March 22):

Jordan Rodgers: .429 average (2nd), .481 OBP (10th) and .629 SLG (7th)
Jeff Moberg: .400 average (T-4th), .680 SLG (4th), .683 OBP (8th), five home runs (T-4th) and 51 total bases (T-6th)
Pete Derkay: .487 OBP (7th) and 16 walks (T-10th)
Andre Lipcius: seven doubles (T-10th)
Benito Santiago: three triples (T-2nd)
Hunter Martin: 36 strikeouts (T-7th), 14 batters struck out looking (T-5th) and five walks allowed (T-7th)
Garrett Stallings: two walks allowed (2nd)
Zach Linginfelter: .181 opposing batter's average (10th), fewest hits allowed (13 - 1st), fewest doubles allows (2 - T-10th)
Will Neely: fewest hits allowed (17 - T-8th), four walks allowed (T-4th)
Zach Warren: fewest hits allowed (17 - T-8th)
Jon Lipinski: nine games finished (T-2nd)

Mississippi Homecoming

Tennessee's weekend trip to Mississippi State marks a homecoming for senior shortstop Max Bartlett, a native of Starkville.
A four-year letterman at Starkville High School, Bartlett hit .410 with two home runs and 28 RBI as a senior.
A former two-way player, he also posted a 4-2 record with a 1.87 ERA and 37 strikeouts on the mound during his high school senior season.

Freshman Phenom

Andre Lipcius has extended his team high streak of reaching base safely to 18 straight games and by doing so, has reached safely in every game to begin his Tennessee career.
With his 1-for-4 performance vs. Marshall, Lipcius has an RBI in each of his last five games, dating back to March 15 against Austin Peay.
The Virginia native owns seven doubles on the year, tied for tops on the team and tied for 10th in the league.

Quick Hits: 2017 Volunteers

The Vols' 2017 roster boasts 17 newcomers including 14 true freshmen, two JUCO transfers and one graduate transfer.
To start the 2017 season, Tennessee has scored first in 11 of its 18 games for a 13-5 record and has produced double-digit hits in 12 of its 18 games this season.
Through UT's first 18 games, 14 total newcomers have made their Tennessee debuts in 2017 (including 12 freshmen).
Freshman Andre Lipcius has reached base safely in each of his 18 games to begin his collegiate career. Jordan Rodgers is right behind him, having reached in his last 17 straight games.
Despite losing seven positional starters from the 2016 season, UT returns 18 lettermen including six true seniors.

Winning Wednesdays

Tennessee's offense combined for five doubles and scored seven unanswered runs to defeat the Marshall Thundering Herd, 7-1, Wednesday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
With the win, the Volunteers (13-5, 0-3 SEC) move to 2-0 all-time against Marshall (10-8, 2-1 C-USA) and finished an 11-game homestand on a 7-4 record, dating back to UT's 2017 home opener vs. Norfolk State on March 3.
Tennessee continued their winning ways with a victory over Marshall on Wednesday night. The Vols moved to 3-0 when playing on hump-day.

University of Tennessee Athletics

BASEBALL CENTRAL: Vols at Mississippi State (March 24-26)