Mississippi State
LSU
Crosswhite Goes The Distance As State Takes Series Opener From LSU 12-3
January 01, 1970 | Baseball
* Official Statistics (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - No. 15 Mississippi State got a career-first complete-game pitching performance by sophomore Chad Crosswhite and scored seven runs in the middle innings Friday night to claim a 12-3 win over Louisiana State (21-18-1, 6-9-1 SEC) in the opening game of their three-game series at Dudy Noble Field. Playing before 4,529 fans and in their first home game since April 3, the Bulldogs (25-8, 9-6 SEC) got three-hit plate performances by seniors Jeffrey Rea and Joseph McCaskill and three-RBI outings by Edward Easley and Brandon Turner to notch their eighth win in the last nine games.
Game two of the series is set for 2 p.m. (CDT).
Crosswhite (5-1), in his third start of the season, scattered 10 hits, fanned five and did not issue a walk in registering his first route-going mound performance. He improved to 4-0 in league competition.
Chad's a competitor, said Bulldog head coach Ron Polk. He did a good job of keeping his pitch-count down. Getting a complete-game from Chad tonight really helps keep our bullpen fresh for the remainder of the weekend series. I wish we could bank some of those runs. LSU is a dangerous ball club and we'll have our hands full the rest of the weekend.
State broke a scoreless deadlock in the third inning, bunching three hits off LSU starter Charlie Furbush (3-5) and scoring the game's first run on a Jeffrey Rea singled up the middle. The Tigers tied the game an inning later when Michael Hollander legged out a triple and scored on Jared Mitchell's two-out single.
State would score seven runs over the next three frames, erupting for four runs in the sixth when nine Bulldogs went to the plate. Edward Easley's bases-loaded double to the gap in left-center gave the Bulldogs a 7-2 lead and the Bulldogs stretched that advantage with a four-run burst an inning later. Freshman Brandon Turner, who singled in the fourth run in the sixth inning, laced a two-run single in the seventh as MSU claimed its fifth series-opening win in six weekends. Turner's hit extended his hitting streak to a personal-best 14 games. Rea delivered his third hit of the night, a run-scoring triple in the seventh, and tied former Bulldog standout Burke Masters for fourth on MSU's career hits list with 295.
McCaskill singled in his first two at-bats, delivered a sacrifice fly and singled again during State's four-run, four-hit burst in the seventh.
The Bulldogs out-hit the Tigers 16-10, reaching double figures in runs and hits in a game for the 15th time this season. State entered the series with a .340 team batting average, fifth-highest in college baseball.
Furbush took the loss for the Tigers and was charged with seven runs (six earned) on nine hits. The LSU lefty walked three and struck out six over 5-1/3 innings. Nolan Cain, Kyle Beerholm and J.T. Wise completed the pitching chores for the Tigers.
Michael Hollander and Ryan Schimpf turned in two-hit plate efforts for the Tigers. Each legged out a triple and scored to account for two of LSU's three runs. The Tigers put at least one baserunner on in eight of nine innings. But Bulldog catcher Edward Easley threw out two runners in the first three innings and the MSU defense turned an inning-ending double play to keep LSU off the scoreboard over the first three frames.
Mississippi State junior lefty Justin Pigott (3-3, 5.50) will open on the mound for the Bulldogs Saturday working opposite LSU lefty Ryan Byrd (5-1, 3.65).
