This Week in MSU Baseball (March 18, 2013)

Well the Bulldogs lost their opening SEC series of the season against #2 LSU, but there are plenty of things to build on after week one. MSU's hitting is one of those. It drew much criticism among fans, but State had 10-plus hits in each of the three weekend games. LSU pitching had given up just 10 hits once this season, a sign of a much improved offense from previous years.

Last year, the Dawgs had to rely heavily on their pitching all year and most of all in their three-game series in Baton Rouge to start the SEC season in which the Bulldogs managed just one win as well. While the timely hits didn't come in the Friday and Saturday games, they still hit the ball hard all weekend against one of the better pitching staffs in the country.

Errors and pitching mistakes ruled the weekend though for State as they had five errors in the first two ball games that eventually cost them, as well as three pitches that left the yard from the bat of Tiger slugger Mason Katz. That is something that the young pitching staff and defense will get corrected so there is something to look forward to.

All-in-all, MSU showed that they still will be a force this season in the best conference in the country. It's too bad, however, that the draw of Tennessee, Mizzouri and Georgia didn't fall in MSU's favor this season but I think in the long run that helps build this team for postseason.

On the week, the Bulldogs did go 2-2 with a smashing of Southern Mississippi in the midweek at Trustmark Park, 13-5, and their record now stands at 19-4 and 1-2 in conference.

So now let's get down to the numbers and see where the team ranks in the polls after a 2-2 week.

Publication	This Week	Last Week
Collegiate Baseball	14	8
USA Today (Coaches)	15	11
Perfect Game	17	14
Baseball America	19	13
NCBWA	14	10

Well it looks like the Dawgs will move down in all of the polls which isn't much of surprise with a lot of the teams ahead of them or right behind them winning. At this point in the juncture, rankings mean very little. Let's check back in May and see if State is ranking around the top 10 and bidding for a regional.

Still a long ways to go so don't start the fire John Cohen threads on SixPack just yet considering he tends to make this team better every year when it counts.

Now lets move to the individual and team rankings around the SEC.....

Batting Average: 4th- Hunter Renfroe (.418); 6th- Alex Detz (.408); T-7th- Adam Frazier (.400)

Hits: 2nd- Frazier (36); T-8th- C.T. Bradford (30); T-12th Renfroe (28)

Slugging %: 1st- Renfroe (.836); 11th- Frazier (.544); 13th- Detz (.531)

On Base %: 2nd- Detz (.536); 9th- Renfroe (.468); 12th- Frazier (.461)

Runs Scored: T-1st- Frazier (25); T-5th- Bradford (21)

RBI: 4th- Renfore (28); T-10th Detz (19)

Doubles: T-5th Detz and Renfroe (6)

Triples: 1st- Frazier (4); 4th-Renfroe (2)

Home Runs: T-2nd- Renfroe (6)

Total Bases: 2nd- Renfroe (56); T-4th- Frazier (49)

Walks: 1st- Detz (18)

Hit by Pitch: T-5th- Mitch Slauter, Brett Pirtle and Bradford (5)

At Bats: 2nd- Frazier (90); 4th-Bradford (86)

And here comes Hunter Renfroe. For whatever reason, Renfroe hasn't been in many of the rankings until this week. I'm guessing he didn't qualify because of the lack of plate appearances. But as you can see, the Bulldogs are still representing well at the plate. Now let's look at the team rankings offensively.

Batting Average: 1st (.322)

Hits: 1st (246)

Slugging %: 3rd (.442)

On Base %: 1st (.420)

Runs Scored: 1st (164)

RBI: 1st (149)

Doubles: 2nd (41)

Triples: T-1st (9)

Home Runs: T-6th (11)

Total Bases: 1st (338)

At Bats: 1st (765)

Walks: T-4th (100)

Hit by Pitch: 2nd (37)

Stolen Bases: 4th (32)

There is a night and day difference between last year's and this year's squad. Early in the season or not, there is a significant improvement at the plate. Now defensively and on the mound. Where do we stack in the SEC?

Earned Run Average: 4th (2.20) Leader: Jacob Lindgren-9th (1.85)

Opposing Batting Average: 3rd (.199) Leader: Lindgren-7th (.183)

Innings Pitched: 1st (209.0)

Strikeouts: 1st (210) Leader: Lindgren-T-13th (29)

Wins: T-2nd (19) Leaders: Ross Mitchell and Luis Pollorena-T-4th (4)

Saves: 3rd (8) Leader: Jonathan Holder-T-3rd (6)

(Least Amount) Doubles: 3rd (16) Leader: Lindgren-T-7th (2)

(Least Amount) Triples: 2nd (1) Leader: Lindgren-T-1st (0)

Fielding %: 7th (.973)

Chances: 1st (938) Leader: Detz-T-4th (189)

Putouts: 1st (627) Leader: Detz-3rd (172)

Assists: 1st (286) Leader: Frazier-1st (76)

Double Plays: 1st (32) Leaders: Frazier-1st (26); Detz-2nd (21); Pirtle-7th (15)

So there you have it. I hope you all didn't get bored with this. If you've made it this far, congratulations on a job well done! Once again we thank you for consistently checking out the site and I'd love your feedback on what you think about the baseball team.

Next up for the Diamond Dawgs is a home game tomorrow night against Alcorn State at 6:30 p.m. Brandon Woodruff (1-1, 3.38) will be on the mound for the Bulldogs before they get ready to head to #8 Kentucky (16-3, 2-1) this weekend. Game times are 5:30, 11 a.m. and noon Friday-Sunday respectively with the Saturday game being broadcast on Fox Sports Net.