Sarah Fetters, Assistant Director/Media Relations – Mississippi State Athletics (Photo Courtesy of Mississippi State Athletics)
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State will play its first game away from Starkville on Thursday with a doubleheader at Florida Atlantic to open the FAU Strike Out Cancer Tournament.
The Bulldogs take on the Owls starting at 5 p.m. CT Thursday before taking on Massachusetts (3 p.m.) and Maryland (5 p.m.) Friday. MSU finishes the weekend with an 8 a.m. contest against Long Island on Saturday.
Florida Atlantic leads the series against the Bulldogs 3-1 as the teams last met in 2004. MSU holds a 3-1 edge versus Massachusetts and a 2-0 advantage against Maryland. In the only meeting with Long Island, the Bulldogs won 2-0 last March 2.
Last weekend, MSU claimed the Bulldog Kickoff Classic championship with a 5-0 performance. It is the third time in the past five years Mississippi State has won all five games during the opening weekend (2012 and 2010).
Mississippi State allowed just three runs during the opening weekend, its fewest since surrendering two in the initial five games of the 2010 campaign. MSU goes for a 6-0 record Thursday in the opener versus the Owls. A win would give the Bulldogs their first 6-0 start to a year since an 11-0 beginning in 2008. It would be just the fourth 6-0 or better start in program history.
The Bulldogs return home Wednesday for a 3 p.m. CT contest against Central Arkansas before hosting Iowa next weekend for a three-game series starting at 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21.
