Due to a soggy Saturday, the Mississippi State baseball team was forced to play to games yesterday starting at 1:30.

Game 1

Washington State got to MSU ace Nick Routt early, tagging the Junior for 3 runs in the first 2 innings. Routt was pulled in the 3rd for follow ace Evan Mitchell, who calmed the storm and pitched a solid 4.1 innings of relief, giving up just 2 hits and 1 run while striking out 8. The trio of pitchers that finished out the contest were solid as well, paced by Bulldog closer Caleb Reed who pitched an outstanding 6.1 innings of relief, tallying a career-high 9 strikeouts. But the 19 strikeouts from Bulldog pitching proved not to be enough as the State offense left 16 men on base and couldn't overcome a 2 run single by Wazzou in the 13th, losing 6-5.

Game 1 Stats of Note:

Pitching:

Caleb Reed - 6.1ip / 3h / 2r / 2er / 2bb / 9so / 21ab / 24bf / 95np

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Last week fellow FWtCT writer Justin Sutton asked folks for some of their favorite Dudy Noble memories. Be sure to flood him with twitters and electronic mails with some of your own. This isn't #1 for me, but is was the most unusual.

I believe it was a Tuesday game as there were not too many people there. If so, I'm sure I had just finished enjoying several 25 cent hot dogs washed down with a $3 coke while I avoided studying. If memory serves, State was playing Memphis that night, and I'm going to call it 2004.

I was sitting in a chair back behind 3rd base. All of the sudden we hear and see an explosion way behind the left field lounge. Then the all the lights in the stadium go out. It was a bit strange. I'm pretty sure it happened between innings, and since it was a Tuesday game my friends and I decided to just go home at that point.

The next day I found out a squirrel had gotten in the transformer and that is why it blew up. It was pretty school I guess, unless you are an advocate for the safety of squirrels. I prefer Moose myself. If you were there and have a better memory than me, feel free to share in the comments. Double-header today vs. Washington State, Go Dawgs!

@croomdiaries

A pitching staff that is expected to be very strong this season didn't disappoint on opening night, as 3 Bulldog pitchers spread out 4 hits and two runs leading the Bulldogs to a 6-2 victory over the visiting Washington State Cougars. State's offense did a good job of manufacturing runs, as they strung hits together In the 2nd and 4th innings to put 5 runs on the board and keep the a cougars at a distance.

Ben Bracewell got the start for State and pitched well, going 4 innings and striking out 5 while only allowing 3 hits and walking 1. State also used Fr Jonathan Holder, as well as ace Chris Stratton who finished out the final 4 innings to take home the W. Offensively State used a balanced attack, as 6 different Bulldogs produced an RBI on the night.

State will be back in action today (weather permitting) at 2:30 to take on the Cougars in game 2 of the 3 game weekend series.

Here are the official stats for last evening's affair.

Also if you're looking for any more info on Washington State check out CougCenter on SBNation

#HailState

The 122nd season of Mississippi State baseball kicks off Friday evening as Washington State comes to Dudy Noble Field for a three game set. But before we kick off this season, let's take a look back at some of the great history of MSU baseball.

Dudy Noble Field is named after MSU coach Clark Randolph "Dudy" Noble. He was the head coach from 1920-1946 and compiled a 267-261-3 record. Under his guidance, the "Aggies/Maroons" won three Southern Conference championships (1921, 1922, 1924). Boo Ferriss played under Noble from 1941-42.

In 1957, Paul Gregory took over and stepped it up a notch. During his 18-year tenure State won SEC Championships in 1965, 1966, 1970, and 1971. And in that '71 season the Dawgs made their first trip to Omaha (0-2). Overall, Gregory had a 328-200-1 mark as MSU's skipper. He gave way to Jimmy Bragan who coached a 16-24 1975 season, and then Ron Polk took the helm in '76.

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Mississippi State fans have little time left to wait until they can celebrate the start of the Bulldog baseball season. Very few venues can match the atmosphere of Dudy Noble Field with Left Field Lounge and what is usually a strong crowd on weekends.

This year, the Bulldogs kick off the season against the Washington State Cougars. While the Bulldogs found themselves six outs from Omaha last year, Washington State played through a disappointing season and missed the playoffs. Both teams will enter the weekend looking for positive signs about the future as they test out new players and a new weekend rotation.

Brett Gleason from the Daily Evergreen, sportsminds.org, and other sites joined Joe Abston (@bulldawgjoe) and me (@justinrsutton) on the Daily Grind (@bsrdailygrind) on Bulldog Sports Radio to give us some insight into the Washington State squad. If you missed it, you can check out on demand in the BSR app. After the break, we look at some of the highlights of the interview.

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Several weeks ago we reached out to Aaron Fitt, senior college baseball writer at Baseball America, to share his thoughts on the 2012 edition of the Mississippi State baseball team. I didn't really know how much I would get back from him, seeing as he is in the height of busy season for a college baseball writer.

Not only was Aaron kind enough to respond, but he responded with some in-depth (and kind) words on what he sees out of Mississippi State this year. Here's what he had to say:

I think Mississippi State has an extremely exciting club, and if the young infield gels this team could get back to a super regional or beyond. The depth of power arms on the pitching staff looks really special, from Chris Stratton and Evan Mitchell in the rotation to Caleb Reed and Taylor Stark in the back of the bullpen. I think the lineup will be very athletic, and the only thing that kept MSU out of our Top 25 (they were team No. 26 in our internal deliberations) is the uncertainty in the infield. It's not easy to break in new starters behind the plate and all over the infield -- those guys are talented, but also unproven. One of the most important things in this era of college baseball is to minimize mistakes defensively, so how Adam Frazier and DeMarcus Henderson handle the middle infield and Darryl Norris and Trey Porter do on the corners is of vital importance. It's entirely possible that all those guys emerge into quality everyday players; if they do, the Bulldogs will be very dangerous in June.

First pitch is this Friday #HailState

we pick up where we left off yesterday afternoon, talking with Todd Littell about the upcoming season. so beings the final part of our preseason preview of Mississippi State baseball.

Q7: How will the changes to the Major League draft affect MSU baseball?

I think we are going to see a lot more high profile recruits go to college. I think Major League baseball is starting to gain respect more and more for college baseball, and I think they want their players to get at least started on their education sooner. I think you are also going to see a lot more players stay for four years than three. The signing deadline is now in July rather than August, and that helps us because if we do lose a player to the draft, we have an opportunity to replace that player, and now with the slotting system in place, we have an idea of what a player is going to be offered in terms of money.

Q8: What changes would you like to see in College Baseball?

Channeling my inner Ron Polk- I think there needs to be 20-25 full scholarships for baseball. That allows for 10-15 walk-ons with the current roster limits. I'd like to see the roster limits increased from 35 to 40. I would like to see Major League Baseball collaborate more with college baseball- basically, these coaches are producing guys that are going to be their players one day. It makes sense to me to help them develop at the start. Also, I'd like to see MLB Network televise at least one college baseball game a week. If they can televise the R.B.I. World Series, televising one college baseball game a week shouldn't kill them. The NCAA lets basketball teams play exhibition games- why not let college baseball teams play a three or four game exhibition slate one week before the season starts? I would love to see MSU play Delta State one weekend before the season starts, and I bet they would love to play us, too.

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continuing on with our preview of this year's Diamond Dogs from this morning, we pick up with our Q&A with Sixpackspeak baseball guru Todd4State.

Q4: Give us some names of newcomers, pitcher and position, to look for to contribute this season

Todd: I mentioned many of them previously, but I'm most excited about Brandon Woodruff. He has the talent to play in the Major Leagues one day, probably as a pitcher. He has already been selected to go to the Cape Cod League and he hasn't even played an inning yet! One player that I haven't mentioned yet is Jonathan Holder who is a right hand pitcher that I think will be very valuable out of the bullpen as his career progresses. He has a very good curveball and he can throw in the low 90's. Will Cox was one of the better freshmen pitchers in the fall. He is 6'4" and he doesn't throw 94, but he hides the ball well, and is very durable. His pitches have a lot of sink on them, so he should get a lot of ground balls. The guy is an absolute workhorse. I think he will get his velocity up as he progresses.

Jacob Lindgren is a left hand pitcher that was drafted by the Cubs in the 12th round and he can throw in the low 90's. His out pitch is a sinker, and I wouldn't be surprised if he pitches the most among the freshman pitchers because he is left handed, and that's valuable coming out of the bullpen. Trevor Fitts is going to be very good as well. Tyler Fullerton is an outfielder that we may see off the bench as a freshman as a pinch hitter and pinch runner.

Wes Rea is someone I'm looking forward to seeing play as well. He was hurt last year, but if he was healthy, I think he would have been our starting first baseman. He is almost 300 pounds, but he is very strong. He almost can't help but hit with power. I think people will be really surprised at how good he is defensively though. He moves pretty well: he was a legit SEC offensive line prospect but he loves baseball. I think we are going to let him pitch some next year once we make sure that he is 100%, so he's another dual position player for us. I talked to a scout who told me that he wanted his team to draft Rea, but they decided not to because of his injury.

Demarcus Henderson had eye surgery last year, and he should be a 100%. He is very athletic and he could play a number of positions for us. Trey Porter is a first baseman from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College by way of East Central High School, which I call Mississippi's best kept secret as far as baseball programs. He is a left handed hitter with some power. Nic Amiratti is a catcher that will be in the mix from the JUCO ranks and he was drafted by the Marlins out of high school, but Mitch Slauter, another JUCO catcher has pretty much won the job from what I understand.

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