State looks to remain top of SEC
Because of rain in the forecast for the area tonight, Mississippi State announced its series at Georgia will begin today at noon instead of 6 p.m.
That just means No. 6 MSU is six hours closer to starting yet another key set as the maroon and white Bulldogs seek to stay at the top the Southeastern Conference standings.
It’s a weekend that features teams at opposite ends of the SEC landscape. While
Mississippi State (32-17, 168) is tied for the league lead,
Georgia (20-29, 7-17) sits at last place in the Eastern Division and is next to last overall. That doesn’t mean MSU can afford to overlook Georgia however.
“You can’t ever get ahead of yourself in this league,”
Mississippi State first-year head coach Andy Cannizaro said. “It’s too competitive.
Anybody can beat anyone on any given day.”
Georgia’s record disguises a team that has suddenly gotten hot. Last weekend, the
Bulldogs from Athens took two out of three games at
Kentucky. Georgia followed that up with a midweek win over Georgia Tech.
Considering the last four games, Cannizaro sees a
Georgia team that is growing up and improving as the year wears on.
“They have a younger roster loaded with really good, young players,” Cannizaro said of Georgia. “In this league, it takes a minute to get going in terms of the youth. I’ve said for years, older players and older teams generally win in the SEC because there is so much failure that happens early in young players’ careers as they compete against older kids with great ability that have been through the battles of this league. Georgia has a young roster, but when I look top to bottom of their team, they are tremendously talented. They have a lot of velocity on their team. They have quality starting pitching. We know we’re in for a big challenge this weekend.”
A quick glance around the league proves MSU can ill afford to take Georgia lightly. A week ago at this time, Auburn was sitting alongside Mississippi State at the top of the SEC. However, last weekend, Auburn was swept at home by lastplace Alabama, which was a team that only had two league victories all season coming in.
“I think it’s just incredibly talented players that beat up on each other every single weekend,” Cannizaro said of the SEC. “We talk all the time as a team, coaching staff and players that you can throw the records out the window in this league. It doesn’t matter what guys are doing or if teams are hot or if they’re cold. Everybody has outstanding, tremendously talented young baseball players.”
Cannizaro’s message has rubbed off onto his team. Shortstop Ryan Gridley is getting the chance to return to his home state this weekend.
He doesn’t go in with any illusions that the weekend is going to be easy.
“You can’t take anyone lightly in this league no matter what the record is,” Gridley said. “They are really hot right now.
“It’s going to be a struggle this weekend, but if we can find a way to get a couple of wins that would be really big for us.”
If State doesn’t find success this weekend? Well, even that can be overcome Gridley says. MSU has been fighting all year to get to its current situation.
Nothing, win or lose, is going to make State fold according to Gridley.
“Even if we don’t win this weekend, I don’t think that is going to spoil us,” Gridley said. “That’s how resilient we are. You can lose a game or a series, but you’re not going to knock us out completely. No matter what happens this weekend, we’re still going to be in a regional and we’re still going to be fighting until the end.”