Maroon and White Nation
Fansided

Mississippi State Baseball: Brent Rooker Still Chasing the SEC Triple Crown

By Nathan Wright

Apr 13, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; A detail view of a baseball on the field prior to a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Oakland Athletics at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 13, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; A detail view of a baseball on the field prior to a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Oakland Athletics at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

As the leader of virtually every meaningful offensive category, Mississippi State’s Brent Rooker has a chance to do something that hasn’t been done in the SEC since 1984: win the SEC triple crown.

Brent Rooker currently leads in the three triple crown categories (HRs, RBIs, and Batting Average) with at least one more game to play. His season has been off the charts across the board all year long.

What do his numbers look like as Mississippi State fights to keep their postseason goals alive?

Here’s a look at Brent Rooker’s stats vs his competition and where they rank in the SEC.

Home Runs

1st (SEC) Brent Rooker, MSU – 21

2nd (SEC) Chad Spanberger, Ark – 20

3rd (SEC) Greg Deichmann, LSU – 19

Runs Batted In

1st (SEC) Brent Rooker, MSU – 77

2nd (SEC) Greg Deichmann, LSU 69

There is a 3-way tie for 3rd (SEC) between Chad Spanberger, Braden Shewmake, and Riley Mahan – 67

Batting Average

1st (SEC) Brent Rooker, MSU – .397

2nd (SEC) Jonah Todd, AU – .382

3rd (SEC) Tristan Pompey, UK – .374

More from Maroon and White Nation

The breakdown

What was once a significant lead in home runs has now been cut to one by Arkansas’ Chad Spanberger. LSU’s Greg Deichmann is also making things interesting, and honestly if someone is going to catch Rooker in HRs, I think Deichmann would be the one to do it.

Deichmann is guaranteed to play at least two more games, while Spanberger and his Razorbacks play against Missouri State in a win or go home game to move on to the Super Regonal. It would be nice if Rooker could get a least one more homer in this regional to give himself any sort of cushion.

With Deichmann playing on a red-hot LSU team that has won 14 straight games, it would be huge if Rooker could get a few more RBIs just in case Mississippi State doesn’t come out of the Hattiesburg regional as winners. If the Bulldogs can somehow manage to put together another win or two in Hattiesburg, Rooker can certainly help himself keep that lead,

The batting average race is interesting. Rooker hasn’t been hitting at his best of late, but still maintains the lead for batting average in the SEC. If he can get back up to that .400 mark, I don’t think anyone will catch him.

However, if he continues on this slide that he has been on, he could make things real interesting with Jonah Todd and Tristan Pompey being not too far behind. If Rooker drops below .390 and Auburn and Kentucky advance, he could be in some trouble. With that said, batting averages can fluctuate. If Rooker can stay anywhere near the .400 mark, he’ll be in great shape.

Regardless of how Mississippi State comes out today, here’s to hoping Brent Rooker can make history and bring another triple crown back to Starkville, Mississippi. Hail State!

Home/Mississippi State Baseball