SEC

From page 7

After watching his ace get out of jams earlier in the season, MSU head baseball coach Chris Lemonis knew he had a pitcher that had the ability to get the job done in the first game of series.

“When he strikes out the side with the bases loaded, that's when you realize ‘this guy's special,'” Lemonis said earlier this season. “He's been special all year, but he can reel it in when he wants to."

Ginn, meanwhile, earned his accolades as he lived up to the hype surrounding him when the former firstround MLB Draft pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers turned down a reported $2.4 million offer to instead play baseball at MSU. Ginn was 8-3 this season. He struck out 95 hitters over 75 innings of work and posted a 3.12 ERA while limiting opponents to a .217 batting average.

Mangum, Allen and Foscue rounded out State's SEC award winners with their outstanding work.

Mangum became the first-ever Mississippi State player to earn three first-team ALL-SEC selections over a career. He also became the first Bulldog to garner four total selections to the ALL-SEC team as he was a second-teamer as a sophomore. Mangum led the SEC in hits with 95, was second in batting average (.375) and stolen bases (21) and was third in runs scored (65) and doubles (20).

Allen and Foscue had big offensive regular seasons as well. Allen hit .348 with six home runs and 59 runs batted in. He is among the SEC'S top five in hits, RBI and doubles.

Foscue led the Bulldogs with his 14 homers. He hit .348 and drove in 56 runs as well while ranking in the top-10 in the SEC in average, slugging percentage, runs scored, hits, RBI, doubles, homers and total bases.

Small, Ginn, Mangum, Allen and Foscue will look to keep their strong seasons rolling this week. MSU opens play in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama, starting on Wednesday. MSU will face either LSU or South Carolina on Wednesday night. The game is scheduled to begin at approximately 8 p.m.