STARKVILLE – The plan for the Mississippi State baseball lineup is very specific. They want to see action in the visitors bullpen early and often.
As the University of Mississippi comes to Dudy Noble Field for a three-game Southeastern Conference series, the Rebels have struggled to finish games giving MSU hope they have can have a lot of success beyond the starting pitcher.
Ole Miss (27-14 overall, 9-9 SEC) will send sophomore right-handed pitcher Bobby Wahl, who was selected Thursday to play for the United States national team this summer, to the mound hoping for a longer effort away from Oxford in league play. Wahl (5-0, 2.15) is third in the SEC in earned run average but has failed to get out of the fifth inning in any league start away from home. Ole Miss has lost leads in two of those Friday night games after Wahl exited the mound.
Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco has moved Saturday starter R.J. Hively to the back end of games to help close out victories.
“We’ve been OK at times at the back end but there’s been times when we’ve been six outs away,” Bianco said. “R.J. did it in junior college and he’s a guy that can give us a little boost at the end and not just a one inning guy. A guy that can come in and throw three innings. Can really command the strike zone, has a tremendous out pitch and sets up really well for that spot.”
Support could also come in the form of Hawtin Buchanan, who was sensational against the Bulldogs last week against MSU in 2-2/3 scoreless innings in 6-3 victory at Trustmark Park in Pearl.
Throughout the 2012 season, Ole Miss’ three primary relief options (Aaron Greenwood, Dylan Chavez and closer Brett Huber) have given up 21 runs over 34-1/3 innings in conference play.
It was the third multi-home run game of the season as junior Mitch Slauter and sophomore outfielder Hunter Renfroe attacked the University of Southern Mississippi bullpen with rockets deep over the wall in left field to pace the Bulldogs to a 5-0 victory in Pearl Tuesday.
“Good teams really, really square balls up and hit a lot of balls to the middle of the field, even if they don’t hit them well,” MSU baseball coach John Cohen said. “In the past 10 years, my clubs have been able to do that. This club, for a variety of reasons, just has not been able to get a lot of balls to the center of the field. A lot of that has to do with experience and a lot of it has to do with the fact that a lot of the things we’re doing are new because you have new players.”
In arguably one of the best pitching matchups in SEC play this season on a Friday night, MSU will match Wahl with an ace of its own in junior right-hander Chris Stratton.
Stratton (7-0, 2.71), who shares the SEC lead in wins and is tied for third in the NCAA with 88 strikeouts, will be matched with Rebel sophomore righty Bobby Wahl (5-0, 2.15), third in the SEC in earned run average. Both Stratton and Wahl have been accorded national pitcher of the week honors during the 2012 campaign.
MSU opens the series riding a four-game win streak and having won seven of its last eight home games. Four of the Bulldogs’ last five home wins have been walk-off victories, including a pair of extra-inning wins in last weekend’s season-first SEC series sweep of Tennessee.
Sophomore shortstop Adam Frazier (.350) continues to pace the Bulldogs at the plate. In addition to sporting the team’s top batting average, State’s leadoff hitter also leads the club in runs (31), hits (56) and on-base percentage (.467) and leads the SEC in walks (35).
Junior right-hander Kendall Graveman (3-2, 2.92), accorded SEC Pitcher of the Week honors following his league-leading second complete-game pitching performance last weekend against Tennessee, will open on the hill Saturday. State has not announced a Sunday starter.
The Stratton-Wahl matchup will start at 7:05 p.m. tonight, Other game times are 2:05 p.m. Saturday and 1:35 p.m. Sunday.
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