Start Of MSU Fall Ball Reset For October 9

STARKVILLE, Miss. - The start of Mississippi State's 2009 fall baseball team practice has been pushed back a week due to delays in the field reconstruction work under way at Dudy Noble Field, MSU head baseball coach John Cohen announced Thursday.

"After meeting with the officials overseeing the project and our turf manager, Bart Prather, we have decided to postpone the official start of fall practice until Friday, Oct. 9," said Cohen.

"When you weigh the improvements that our facility and the field are undergoing against a short delay in the start of fall practice, this decision was a no-brainer," he continued. "With this project Dudy Noble Field will have one of the finest playing surfaces in the country.

We are fortunate to have the Palmeiro Center and the adjacent practice infield. Those outstanding facilities have allowed us to continue to train our players in small groups this fall despite the incredible amount of rainfall that has been experienced throughout the region in September."

The installation of a new drainage and irrigation system at Dudy Noble Field has been completed, and the final stage of the project, the re-sodding of the field, is expected to begin Friday and be completed over the weekend. The Dudy Noble Field project and a similar drainage/irrigation/re-sodding project at the MSU softball field are being undertaken concurrently.

The five-week fall baseball practices will generally include practice games on Tuesdays, Wednesday, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and those scrimmages will be open to the public.