Streaking teams meet in Atlanta baseball regional
By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
June 4, 2004
Mississippi State University enters its eighth NCAA baseball regional tournament surrounded by teams that closed out the season just as hot as the Bulldogs.
MSU (34-22) won six of its last seven games taking two from Southeastern Conference co-champion Arkansas and sweeping Alabama before failing to make its 18th straight appearance in the SEC tournament.
MSU, which is the third-seeded team in the regional, is not the only team in Atlanta this week that put together a strong winning streak to close out the season.
The No. 2-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders (38-19) finished the season on a six-game winning streak before being eliminated early from the Big 12 tournament.
The No. 1-seeded Georgia Tech Yellowjackets (41-19) won 20 of their last 22 games including a 20-game win streak from April 20-May 28.
The No. 4-seeded Jacksonville (Ala.) State Gamecocks (31-27) have won 17 of their last 25 games, and the up-and-coming program captured the Ohio Valley Conference tournament crown to receive an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
MSU opens play in the Atlanta Regional today against Texas Tech at 2 p.m., and Georgia Tech (41-19) will take on Jacksonville (Ala.) State (31-27) in the second game of the regional at 6 tonight.
The four-team, double-elimination tournament is being hosted by Georgia Tech, the No. 4-ranked team in the nation. The games will be played at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta.
MSU enters the regional with a team batting average of .311, with outfielder Brad Corley leading the way with a .378 average, 18 home runs and 52 RBIs. The Bulldogs pitching staff has a combined 4.29 ERA, led by closer Saunders Ramsey's 2.77 ERA.
Texas Tech comes into the four-team tourney with a team batting average of .314, with Cameron Blair leading the way with a .378 average. The Red Raiders have a team ERA of 4.56, and the staff is led by Corey Grestner's 2.54 ERA and 7-1 record.
Georgia Tech is batting a collective .319, with Steven Blackwood leading the way with a .369 average. The Yellowjackets' Micah Owings (8-2), who is also leading Georgia Tech in home runs (15) and RBIs (62) has a 3.62 ERA, and Andrew Kown (9-1) has a 3.65 ERA.
Jacksonville State's offense is led by Bobby Hicks, who has a .376 batting average, 11 homers and 21 doubles. The Gamecocks' pitching staff is led by Bobby Wynns (9-6), who has a 2.67 ERA.
