Diamond Dogs Drop A Pair To Baylor In Cadence Bank Classic

Sunday, March 9

Starkville

1:30 p.m.

Mississippi State

5-5

Baylor

9-1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Baylor	0	0	0	2	0	0	3	0	0	5	13	1
Mississippi State	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	6	1

Baseball Bulldogs Split Games In BankFirst Challenge

Diamond Dogs Drop A Pair To Baylor In Cadence Bank Classic

March 09, 2008 | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: hailstate.com

? Official Statistics (Game 1)
? Official Statistics (Game 1) (PDF)
? Official Statistics (Game 2)
? Official Statistics (Game 2) (PDF)

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State dropped a pair of hard-fought baseball games Sunday on the opening day of the eighth annual Cadence Bank Classic baseball tournament.

The visiting Baylor Bears came from behind to record a 5-4 victory in game one of the doubleheader at Dudy Noble Field. In the second contest, the Bulldogs issued a school-record 17 walks in a 16-11 loss to the Bears.

The second win for Baylor was Coach Steve Smith's 500th career win. Smith, a former MSU assistant, is in his 14th season as the Bears' head coach.

MSU (5-6) and 11th-ranked Baylor (10-1) meet again in a 1 p.m. start to close the weather-delayed weekend series Monday.

In the second contest, the Bulldog pitching staff was touched for 11 hits and a pair of home runs. However, the 17 walks also loomed large as five different MSU pitchers combined to throw 204 pitches.

Baylor struck quickly scoring three runs in the first inning. MSU answered with two of its own in the home half of the first inning. The Bears extended the lead with two runs in both the second and third innings. A late MSU rally produced three runs in the seventh inning and four more runs in the ninth inning.

The Bulldogs totaled 10 hits in Game 2. Andy Rice had multiple hits for the Bulldogs. Jet Butler drove in three runs, while Brooks Lewis had a two-run single. Junior college transfer Tyler Moore homered in both games for the Bulldogs.

Also for MSU, Russ Sneed extended his hit streak to 11 games, while Jason Nappi saw his streak end at 10 games.

Baylor was paced by Ben Booker, who had three hits and five RBI. Aaron Miller also had multiple hits, while Beamer Weems hit a three-run home run and Brooks Kimmey hit a two-run home run.

Chad Crosswhite (0-2) only last 1-1/3 innings and took the loss. Starting pitcher Shawn Tolleson (1-0) pitched the first five innings to earn the win for the Bears.

In the opener, Baylor scored a pair of runs in the top half of the fourth inning. Back-to-back singles by Aaron Miller and Adam Hornung started the inning. Dustin Dickerson followed with an RBI double to center field. An infield error plated the other run.

The Bulldogs answered with four runs of their own in the fourth inning. Tyler Moore hit his first home run as a Bulldog - a towering shot to left field. Russ Sneed followed with a three-run double to the right center gap.

Baylor took the lead for good with three runs in the seventh inning. A two-run single by Dickerson put the Bears on top for good.

Justin Pigott (2-1) pitched seven innings and took the loss. Pigott allowed 10 hits and five runs (all earned) with seven strikeouts and one walk. John Lalor struck out four in two innings of relief work for the Bulldogs.

Kendal Volz (3-0) also pitched seven innings and earned the win. Volz allowed six hits and four runs (one earned), with five walks and five strikeouts. Mace Thurman followed in relief. Craig Fritsch closed out the game and earned his first save.