Mississippi State pitcher Jacob Lindgren was named the SEC freshman of the week, the league office announced today.

The left-hander from Bay St. Louis tossed 5 1/3 innings of relief Saturday to earn the victory in MSU's 11-3 thumping of No. 4 Kentucky. That completed a series sweep of the Wildcats. Lindgren (2-2) gave up one run on three hits, striking out seven and walking none.

It was the longest outing of his brief career, besting a previous high of 2 2/3 innings pitched. It was Lindgren's 12th appearance of the season and sixth in SEC play. In 19 2/3 innings pitched, he has a 2.75 ERA.

"Butch (Thompson, pitching coach) has just done a great job forming and shaping his pitches, and he's a young man who just doesn't get rattled," MSU coach John Cohen said after Saturday's game. "He's kind of a loose kid. He can slow the game down, and when you have a guy like Mitch (Slauter, catcher) behind there helping him out, it's just really good. He's going to keep getting better."

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Recapping MSU's 11-3 win over No. 4 Kentucky at Dudy Noble Field on Saturday.

• The buzz: Well, the Bulldogs certainly finished off the regular season with a flourish, killing Kentucky's hope of an Eastern Division title and No. 1 SEC Tournament seed. It's the second SEC sweep of the season for MSU (34-21, 16-14 SEC), which finished with its best league mark in nine years, and first winning one since 2007. UK (41-15, 18-12) was supposed to have an advantage on the mound today with ace Corey Littrell throwing, but he had his worst outing of the season.

• Big inning: After taking a 3-2 lead with a three-run fourth, State tacked on five in the fifth. The inning featured four hits and two errors. Trey Porter had an RBI single, while Demarcus Henderson drove in two with a bloop single to make it 8-2.

• Key stats: MSU was 6 of 13 with runners in scoring position. Kentucky was 2 of 7. … UK committed three errors, leading to three unearned runs. … MSU committed two errors, leading to two unearned runs.

• MSU at the plate: MSU has 14 hits. … Henderson came off the bench to go 2 of 3 with three RBIs. His RBI bunt single in the fourth tied the game at 2-2, and Wes Rea followed with a single for a 3-2 lead. … MSU had three RBI bunts: Henderson, Mitch Slauter and Sam Frost. Slauter was 0 of 4 but had two RBIs and two runs scored. … Frost was 3 of 4 with an RBI. … Adam Frazier was 2 of 4 with two RBIs. … Porter, Rea and Hunter Renfroe also had two hits apiece.

• Kentucky at the plate: The Wildcats at eight hits. … Michael Williams had two hits. … For the first time this weekend, UK had no extra-base hits. … Kentucky left six men on base.

• MSU on the mound: Reliever Jacob Lindgren (2-2), a freshman, got the win by tossing 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball. He allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked none in his longest career outing. … Starter Evan Mitchell lasted 2 2/3 innings, allowing two unearned runs on three hits, striking out four and walking two. … Caleb Reed got the final three outs, but it wasn't a save situation.

• Kentucky on the mound: Littrell (8-1), who entered the game with a 2.22 ERA, gave up seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked one on 86 pitches (55 strikes). … UK used four relievers.

• Bottom line: MSU will play in the second game Tuesday in Hoover as the No. 7 seed, against sixth-seeded Arkansas, which took two of three from the Bulldogs in Starkville this season. This is a much better MSU team than the one the Hogs saw. State has won 11 of its last 15 league games and outscored UK 18-7 on the weekend.

• Quotable: "I just want to recognize Mitch Slauter, who I thought called a great game and really kind of got Lindgren where he needed to be. He just coached him through that entire process." – MSU coach John Cohen

• Videos: For Henderson, CLICK HERE; for Lindgren, CLICK HERE; for Slauter, CLICK HERE; for Cohen, CLICK HERE.

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Previously: Jackson State

We continue our look at MSU's 2012 football schedule with Week 2 opponent Auburn. It's the SEC opener for State, which has opened league play with the Tigers each of the last four seasons. All of those games were Auburn wins. Going back further, the Bulldogs have lost to Auburn seven consecutive times in SEC openers dating to 2002.

This one is at Davis Wade Stadium, and assuming it takes care of Jackson State the week before, MSU will be going for its first 2-0 start since the 2000 season. This will be Auburn's SEC opener as well; its first game of 2012 is against Clemson (in Atlanta).

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Auburn Tigers (Sept. 8, Starkville)

• Conference: SEC

• 2011 record: 8-5 (4-4, 4th Western Division)

• Final ranking: Not ranked

• Coach: Gene Chizik (30-10, three years)

• Returning starters: 18 (7 offense, 9 defense, 2 specialists)

• Last meeting: Auburn, 41-34 (Sept. 10, 2011, in Auburn)

• On the Web: auburntigers.com

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The Arthur Gustav Malzahn III era at Auburn was a very prolific one, but now it's over. He's at Arkansas State being a head coach, and now a whole lot of people – me included – are closely watching Chizik to see if he can win without Genius Gus at his side.

We know one thing: The only time Chizik won more than eight games as a head coach was the one year he had that freak of nature, Cam Newton, without whom Auburn wouldn't have even sniffed the BCS title game – or even an SEC West title.

Auburn's offense is now led by new coordinator Scot Loeffler, who coached QBs at Florida (2009-10) and then followed Steve Addazio to Temple as offensive coordinator last season. The Owls ranked seventh in the country in rushing offense under Loeffler, and the Tigers will be leaning heavily on its running backs. One of them, Michael Dyer, transferred out and took his 1,242 yards with him. But and experienced Onterio McCalebb (641 yards, five touchdowns) is back.

QB Clint Moseley had a bum shoulder in the spring and is battling Keihl Frazier for the starting job. Frazier was the offensive MVP of Auburn's spring game. Moseley split time with Barrett Trotter last season, passing for 800 yards, five TDs and three interceptions in 10 games. Emory Blake is a pretty good receiver who brings good experience and decent production (613 yards, five TDs), and tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen (238 yards, seven TDs) is back, although he missed spring with a labrum injury.

Auburn returns three starting offensive linemen.

The defense is now being coordinated by Brian Van Gorder, P.I. – CLICK HERE and be amazed at the man whose feet Tom Selleck kisses. Will his mustachioed awesomeness rub off on the Auburn defense, which ranked 81st in total defense and 78th in scoring defense last year?

The unit is led by 2011 leading tackler Daren Bates, a senior linebacker. He'll need to spearhead a stronger effort against the run, as the Tigers ranked 94th in rushing defense last fall (189.2 ypg). Auburn did OK against the pass (51st, 218.8 ypg) and returns three starters in the secondary. This should be a good early litmus test for MSU quarterback Tyler Russell and whether he can exploit vulnerable pass defenses.

And this is a game that could help vault the Bulldogs to a fast start. Look at the schedule, and you can reasonably foresee a 6-1 or 7-0 start. Just gotta get over that Auburn hump.

Recapping MSU's 4-3 win over No. 4 Kentucky at Dudy Noble Field on Friday.

• The buzz: MSU (33-21, 15-14 SEC) captured the series thanks to a strong collective pitching effort and the first career home run for Daryl Norris. Kentucky (41-14, 18-11) had some chances but still hasn't figured out how to score in this ballpark, having totaled four runs in two games now. The Bulldogs are now tied for second in the Western Division with Arkansas, and tied for fifth overall with the Hogs and Vanderbilt.

• Big inning: UK led 2-1 in the fourth, but MSU got two men on base, as Sam Frost singled to right field with two outs. Then Norris stepped in and smashed a Jerad Grundy fastball well over the wall in left for a 4-2 lead.

• Key stats: MSU stranded 12 runners, including nine over the final four innings. … MSU was 4 of 13 hitting with two outs. … State's leadoff man reached base in five of eight innings; UK's did so in three of nine innings.

• MSU at the plate: State had nine hits. … Adam Frazier had two hits for his 24th multi-hit game of the season. … MSU tied it 1-1 in the second when Mitch Slauter tripled and scored on Brent Brownlee's single. … Tyler Fullerton was the only MSU starter not to get a hit.

• Kentucky at the plate: The Wildcats had seven hits. … Austin Cousino was hit-by-pitch twice. … Michael Williams had two hits, including an RBI double in the first to score Cousino, who'd led off with a double. … UK scored once each in the fourth and fifth innings.

• MSU on the mound: Starter Kendall Graveman was not himself, lasting 3 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits. The groundball pitcher had just four groundballs – one a bunt – against 18 batters. … Nick Routt gave up a run in 1/3 inning. … Luis Pollorena (4-0) tossed two shutout innings for the win. He struck out two, walked none and allowed no hits. … Caleb Reed and Ross Mitchell each tossed a shutout inning, as did Jonathan Holder to earn his sixth save.

• Kentucky on the mound: Grundy (4-3) allowed four runs (all earned) on four hits in 4 2/3 innings. He fanned five and walked three. … Alex Phillips and Tim Peterson combined for 3 1/3 shutout innings with five hits.

• Bottom line: Winning the series is obviously huge, but the players sounded just as motivated in postgame to get the sweep and finish on a really high note. MSU has put itself in position to get a good SEC Tournament seed. While the offense still has issues, it's starting to get some clutch hits and easing the pressure a little on the pitching staff. The Bulldogs are hitting .279 this series; coming in, they were at .218 in league play.

• Quotable: "I honestly had no idea what to do when I hit it. But it felt good just to hit something hard after struggling for so long." – Norris, on his home run

• Videos: For Norris, CLICK HERE; for Pollorena, CLICK HERE; for Slauter, CLICK HERE; for Holder, CLICK HERE; for John Cohen, CLICK HERE.

Mississippi State got the weekend off to a great start by beating No. 4 Kentucky on Thursday, 3-1 (CLICK HERE). And what that means is we get to examine the SEC standings and assess where the Bulldogs stand in regards to the SEC Tournament and an NCAA regional bid.

Here are last night's other results:

• Arkansas 8, Tennessee 0

• Florida 6, Auburn 0

• Georgia 8, Alabama 4

• Vanderbilt 3, Ole Miss 0

• LSU at South Carolina, ppd. rain

Every one of those results impact the race for a good seed. Let's look at the updated standings now:

EAST

T1. Kentucky, 18-10

T1. South Carolina, 17-9

3. Florida, 17-11

4. Georgia, 14-13

5. Vanderbilt, 14-14

6. Tennessee, 8-20

WEST

1. LSU, 17-10

T2. Ole Miss, 14-14

T2. Arkansas, 14-14

T2. MSU, 14-14

5. Auburn, 12-16

6. Alabama, 7-21

So we have a four-way tie for sixth in the overall standings. As it stands now, the tie-break method to be employed here would be each of the four teams' record against the No. 1 tournament seed, which right now would be Kentucky – or South Carolina, if you go by winning percentage.

Without getting into the mind-bending tie-break details, I can tell you that MSU would be either the six or seven seed right now, and I think it's possible to clinch at least a six seed with a win today (dependent on other results, too). Two games remain, of course, so a lot of things could change, but that's where it is at the moment.

My boy Matt Stevens has been coaching me through this, so if I'm wrong on anything, it's his fault. … Yeah.

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What about the NCAA tourney? Could MSU possibly host a regional with a sweep of Kentucky? The players sounded hopeful after last night's win that hosting might be in the cards.

"It's still in the picture as long as we take care of business here and make some noise in Hoover," pitcher Chris Stratton said.

Last night's win gave State a nice RPI boost. According to BoydsWorld.com, the Bulldogs are 38th in the RPI rankings. WarrenNolan.com has them at 36th. Last projection I saw had MSU as a No. 2 seed in the Eugene, Ore., regional. Perhaps a strong finish could indeed propel it to host status, but it's kind of a long shot.

Recapping MSU's 3-1 win over No. 4 Kentucky on Thursday night at Dudy Noble Field.

• The buzz: The Bulldogs (32-21, 14-14 SEC) stayed in the thick of things as far as a good SEC Tournament seed. They're in a four-way tie for sixth overall, with Arkansas, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. This was a non-negotiable game here: Chris Stratton took the mound against a strong offensive club and got through it mostly unscathed. And the offense found some life from Wes Rea of all people; he entered the game in a 1-for-41 slump. Kentucky (41-13, 18-10) is now in a virtual tie for first in the East with South Carolina, which was rained out tonight.

• Big inning: It was scoreless in the fourth when a Mitch Slauter double was sandwiched between a pair of hit-by-pitches (Trey Porter and Brent Brownlee). Then Rea stepped in and delivered a two-run single through the left side of the infield for a 2-0 lead.

• Key stats: MSU was 3 of 8 with runners in scoring position, while Kentucky was 1 of 7. … Neither team committed an error. … MSU pitchers issued no walks.

• MSU at the plate: Rea was 2 of 4 with the two RBIs. … Slauter was 2 of 4 with two runs scored. … MSU had eight hits. … State got its third run in the sixth when Sam Frost executed a perfect safety squeeze bunt to score Slauter.

• Kentucky at the plate: Kentucky had seven hits. … Luke Maile had two hits, both doubles, and he drove in UK's only run in the sixth. … J.T. Riddle had two hits.

• MSU on the mound: Stratton (10-1) wasn't at his best, but he was still pretty good. In 6 1/3 innings, he allowed one run on six hits, struck out eight and walked none on 82 pitches (62 strikes). … Ross Mitchell tossed 2 1/3 solid innings, allowing just one hit while fanning one. … Freshman Jonathan Holder got another save, his fifth, by facing and striking out one batter in the ninth.

• Kentucky on the mound: Starter Taylor Rogers (6-4) went 5 1/3 innings, giving up three runs (all earned) on five hits, striking out three and walking two on 86 pitches. … Walter Wijas faced one batter (a hit by Rea), and Sam Mahar tossed the final 2 2/3 innings, giving up two hits.

• Bottom line: Slauter said after the game that the Bulldogs were tweaking their approach at the plate and believes they'll finish the season strong there. That would be good, as it would take some pressure off the pitchers. Not that Stratton and company need a ton of run support. Kendall Graveman (4-3, 2.69) will start on the hill tomorrow for MSU.

• Quotable: "Coach (Nick) Mingione gave a great speech before the game and was building up all our confidence. … He was trying to tell us to get our swag, just get our confidence. He was telling us about our high school accomplishments and what we've done here. I guess just trying to build us up." – Stratton

• Videos: You can CLICK HERE for Rea; CLICK HERE for Stratton; CLICK HERE for Slauter; and CLICK HERE for Cohen.

There are a couple of big games on the diamond tonight involving MSU. One has postseason implications, and the other is the postseason. Let's start with baseball.

• The Bulldogs host No. 4 Kentucky for a season-closing three-game series starting tonight at 6:30 (no TV). In today's Journal, my story is focused more on freshman reliever Jonathan Holder, who has taken over the closer's role from senior Caleb Reed (CLICK HERE).

Pitching as a whole is going to obviously be of utmost importance for MSU this weekend. It would appear State has the advantage tonight and Friday on the mound, with Chris Stratton and Kendall Graveman boasting better numbers than their UK counterparts. But on Sunday, the Wildcats will throw ace Corey Littrell, who's 8-0 with a 2.22 ERA – very Stratton-like numbers.

Kentucky's starting pitchers are all left-handers, and they're backed by a strong bullpen, so they'll provide a challenge for an MSU offense that is struggling mightily. Coach John Cohen still believes the bats will eventually come around and that it's just a matter of gaining more experience.

"They’ve just never done this before and some of them have been punched in the face. That’s what this league can do to you. That’s what Division I baseball can do to you."

As we've discussed before, SEC Tournament seeding is on the line for MSU (31-21, 13-14 SEC). It could conceivably be seeded as high as fourth, or could drop all the way to 10th. Right now State is tied for seventh with Arkansas and Vanderbilt.

• MSU's softball team opens NCAA regional play today in Eugene, Ore. Today's advance focused on fifth-year senior Brittany Bell, who is making her third NCAA appearance (CLICK HERE). Bell was injured early last season and had to take a redshirt, which at first was not ideal.

But now she and the Lady Bulldogs are in the postseason for the first time since 2009.

"I'm glad it happened, though. Blessing in disguise," Bell said of the injury.

MSU (33-22) plays BYU (43-13) at 5 p.m. Central time, followed by Oregon vs. Portland State at 8. It's double-elimination and is set up just like the baseball regionals. It'll wrap up by Saturday.

"There's no reason to save anything," first-year MSU coach Vann Stuedman said. "This is crunch time, and they need to leave their hearts, guts, soul, everything out on the field this weekend."

I wasn't able to join the weekly John Cohen teleconference this morning, but the transcript was passed along to me, so I shall pass along to you some of the highlights of a very long chat.

MSU (31-21, 13-14 SEC) closes out the regular season this weekend against No. 4-ranked Kentucky (41-12, 18-9), which currently leads the SEC Eastern Division. The Bulldogs are jockeying for a good SEC Tournament seed while beefing up the NCAA regional résumé.

"We need to win two out of the three games, at least," Cohen said. "We need to be able to do that. It is out in front of us and we can control our own destiny in a lot of ways, and we are excited about the opportunity."

A lot of the teleconference centered around MSU's offensive struggles. It's batting .218 in league play and was shut out last night by Central Arkansas.

"The kids are just going to have to be warriors this weekend. They are going to have to forget everything that’s happened offensively and just do what we have done trying to create offense when it available," Cohen said.

He added that the Bulldogs won't do any offensive work in today's practice "just to let them clear their heads and just not doing anything."

One player who's really struggled is first baseman Wes Rea, a redshirt freshman who's mired in a 1-for-41 slump that began with his last at-bat against Tennessee on April 20 (Game 2). Rea has been battling a shoulder injury.

"I think every time he gets a pitch that is down in the zone he gets a pain in his shoulder and I think he is doing his best to manage it. He is so far beyond our best defender at first base for so many reasons … he is almost a defensive specialist for us at first base."

Cohen, of course, is facing his old team this weekend. He coached Kentucky from 2004-08, winning the SEC championship in 2006. The Wildcats fell on hard times after he left but are again riding high.

"When I walked out of the door we had signed five of the top 60 players according to Baseball America and that was due in large part to our assistant coaches who are still there. They have just done a great, great job of just getting players to believe in the process. The process is different at Kentucky than the rest of the league.  When you’re at Kentucky you’re fighting the weather, you fighting a couple of facility issues that are different than the rest of the league."

In today's Journal I wrote a column examining the seeding possibilities for Mississippi State in next week's SEC Tournament (CLICK HERE). I wrote that the highest seed MSU could hope for was a five, and while that's the most realistic possibility, there is a mathematical possibility that it earns a No. 4 seed.

The scenario must involve Florida, which is currently in the No. 4 seed position. I've determined that only one possible scenario gives MSU that spot. Here's what would have to happen. Try to stay with me.

• MSU would have to sweep Kentucky this weekend; Auburn would have to sweep Florida; and Ole Miss would have to take two of three from Vanderbilt. That would put State, Florida and Ole Miss all at 16-14 in league play and tied for fourth in the overall standings, assuming Georgia (13-13) doesn't finish with a better mark.

• The first three-way tie-breaker the SEC uses is each teams' collective record against the other two teams. In this case, the Bulldogs, Gators and Rebels all have 3-3 marks. So you go to the next tie-breaker, which is each team's record against the No. 1 seed, and this is where it gets sorta tricky.

• If MSU sweeps Kentucky (18-9), then either LSU (17-10) or South Carolina (17-9) would become the No. 1 overall seed. Why? Because the Tigers and Gamecocks play each other this weekend, and one of those teams will win at least two games and get to 19 wins.

Let's say LSU is the No. 1 seed. MSU, UF and Ole Miss each went 1-2 against the Tigers, so you toss that out and go to the teams' records against the No. 2 seed. Let's say that's South Carolina. Well, Ole Miss didn't play SC this season, so that tie-breaker doesn't apply, and we go to the third seed.

In this hypothetical scenario, in which MSU sweeps Kentucky, then Kentucky would be the No. 3 seed, and the Bulldogs would have the tie-break advantage by virtue of the sweep (Florida went 2-1 vs. UK, Ole Miss 1-2).

If South Carolina winds up the No. 1 seed and/or Kentucky winds up with the No. 2, then the tie-breakers play out the same, and MSU earns the No. 4 seed.

Again, this is all predicated upon two very unlikely events: No. 3-ranked Florida being swept by Auburn, and MSU sweeping No. 4-ranked Kentucky. But stranger things have happened. We just saw UF lose to Samford last night, and Auburn took two of three from Arkansas last weekend. It's got Florida at home, where the Tigers are 21-11 this season.

It won't take much to render the above scenario moot. Again, Georgia could sweep lowly Alabama and finish a half-game up on all three teams. Arkansas (13-14) could enter the tie-break fray with a sweep at Tennessee, but I've not done all the necessary homework to determine whether the Hogs could get the fourth seed.

(I do know that Vanderbilt could wind up the No. 4 seed. Mind-blowing considering where the Commodores were just three weeks ago.)

If you want to work through various tie-break scenarios yourself, you can CLICK HERE to view the SEC's tie-breaker rules. Here are the current league standings, followed by this weekend's schedule:

EAST

1. Kentucky, 18-9

2. South Carolina, 17-9

3. Florida, 16-11

4. Georgia, 13-13

5. Vanderbilt, 13-14

6. Tennessee, 8-19

WEST

1. LSU, 17-10

2. Ole Miss, 14-13

T3. Arkansas, 13-14

T3. MSU, 13-14

5. Auburn, 12-15

6. Alabama, 7-20

Note: Alabama and Tennessee will not qualify for the SEC Tournament.

This weekend

• Kentucky (18-9) at MSU (13-14)

• Arkansas (13-14) at Tennessee (8-19)

• Florida (16-11) at Auburn (12-15)

• LSU (17-10) at South Carolina (17-9)

• Georgia (13-13) at Alabama (7-20)

• Ole Miss (14-13) at Vanderbilt (13-14)

Last week I wrote about MSU's offensive numbers, many of which are not pretty. Like the Bulldogs' team batting average, which is currently .249. According to the latest NCAA statistics (CLICK HERE), that ranks 270th out of 291 teams nationally.

Of course, as coach John Cohen pointed out, hits aren't everything. And MSU has done pretty well in some other notable offensive categories. It ranks 10th in hit-by-pitches, 48th in walks and 62nd in sac bunts.

The batting average does need to improve, and Cohen has acknowledged that. But college baseball these days isn't about offense. It's about pitching and defense, and those were the needs – especially pitching – addressed heavily by Cohen in recruiting when he arrived. Naturally, signing all those pitchers – some of whom also play in the field – was going to cost MSU offensively once last year's seniors left.

And oh how the pitching has improved. The Bulldogs' 2.71 ERA ranks fourth in the country and first in the SEC. Remember 2009, Cohen's first year? MSU had a team ERA of 6.59, which ranked 210th, and was 237th in walks allowed per nine innings (4.75). The pitching numbers are so strong across the board this season for MSU:

• 10th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.4)

• 20th in hits allowed per nine innings (7.96)

• 28th in walks allowed per nine innings (2.81)

• 11th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.99)

• 20th in WHIP (1.2)

Individually speaking, shortstop Adam Frazier ranks 19th in walks, and Chris Stratton ranks highly in several categories: 65th in ERA (2.22), seventh in victories (nine), 18th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.78), fifth in total strikeouts (107), 30th in strikeouts-to-walk ratio (5.63) and 26th in WHIP (0.96).