Saturday, May 17
Starkville
3:00 p.m.
Mississippi State
23-33, 0
10
vs
15
Arkansas
33-22, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Arkansas
4
5
0
0
0
0
1
3
2
15
14
2
Mississippi State
2
0
2
0
2
4
0
0
0
10
10
5
Hogs Salvage Game Three As Polk Bids Farewell To MSU Baseball
May 17, 2008 | Baseball
? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)
The Bulldogs erased a 9-2 deficit and actually held a 10-9 lead going into the seventh inning. Alas, the Razorbacks scored once in the seventh inning, three times in the eighth inning and twice more in the ninth inning to salvage the final game of the weekend Southeastern Conference series.
Saturday's contest capped the 40-year coaching career of MSU head coach Ron Polk. Polk was the head man 29 seasons in Starkville, completing two different stints of duty with the Maroon and White. Polk finishes a 35-year head coaching career with an overall record of 1,373-700-2 - good for seventh all-time on the NCAA Division I list for all-time victories.
"Now is the right time to move on," Polk said. "There comes a time where everybody has to do something else. There are so many memories from my time here. I want thank the players and my assistant coaches for a wonderful ride."
Arkansas touched MSU starter Justin Pigott for four runs in the first inning. The Bulldogs answered with a two-run home run by Tyler Moore in the home half of the first inning.
The Razorbacks then ran the lead to 9-2 with a five-run second inning. A two-run single by Jeff Nutt was the big blow in that at-bat. That offensive outburst chased Pigott, who worked only one-inning plus in his final appearance at Dudy Noble Field.
"I really feel for Justin," Polk said. "He has meant so much to this program. Today, was not his day. He was over-throwing and having a tough time making his pitches. Still, he has meant so much to this program. I feel for all the kids because they so badly wanted to win this game. It was a good group and I really enjoyed coaching them."
The Bulldogs, who rallied from down 5-2 in the ninth inning to win 6-5 Friday, staged another similar comeback. The Bulldogs scored twice in the third inning, twice in the fifth inning and four times in the sixth inning to grab a 10-9 lead. MSU grabbed the lead without a base hit in the sixth inning. The Bulldogs drew three walks and had two hit batsman and cashed in on two Arkansas errors to grab a short-lived one-run lead.
Arkansas then took advantage of a throwing error to tie the game 10-10 in the seventh inning. The Razorbacks grabbed the lead with a season-first two earned runs off Aaron Weatherford (3-1) in the eighth inning. Weatherford followed Jesse Carver, who was brilliant in 3-1/3 innings of three hit, one run (unearned) relief. Arkansas had two hits off Weatherford but one throwing error and a passed ball proved large.
MSU's fifth error helped the Razorbacks to plate two insurance scores in the ninth inning.
MSU finished with 10 hits. Grant Hogue and Moore each had three hits for the Bulldogs.
Arkansas finished with 14 hits. Chase Leavitt and Nutt each had three hits for the Razorbacks.
Polk was honored with about a 30-minut pre-game ceremonry prior to the 4-hour, 2-minute game - longest of the season for both teams. SEC Commissioner Mike Slive presented Polk with a framed base and a box of cigars. MSU Athletic Diretor Larry Templeton presented the outgoing coach with a new Buick. More than 80 former Diamond Dawg players took part in the pregame ceremonies, prior to the game broadcast regionally by Fox Sports Net South.
"The ceremonies meant a lot to me," Polk said. "This is a very special place. I will always be a Bulldog at heart."
MSU also bid farewell to five seniors - Pigott, Carver John Lalor, Andy Rice and Andy Wilson - after Saturday's contest.
? Official Statistics (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State mounted a spirited comeback, but fell 15-10 to Arkansas in the final college baseball game of the regular season Saturday afternoon before a crowd of 5,489 at Dudy Noble Field.
The Bulldogs erased a 9-2 deficit and actually held a 10-9 lead going into the seventh inning. Alas, the Razorbacks scored once in the seventh inning, three times in the eighth inning and twice more in the ninth inning to salvage the final game of the weekend Southeastern Conference series.
Saturday's contest capped the 40-year coaching career of MSU head coach Ron Polk. Polk was the head man 29 seasons in Starkville, completing two different stints of duty with the Maroon and White. Polk finishes a 35-year head coaching career with an overall record of 1,373-700-2 - good for seventh all-time on the NCAA Division I list for all-time victories.
"Now is the right time to move on," Polk said. "There comes a time where everybody has to do something else. There are so many memories from my time here. I want thank the players and my assistant coaches for a wonderful ride."
Polk led MSU to six College World Series appearances - the final of which came after the 2007 regular season. The current pack of Bulldogs ended this season on a positive note, battling through injuries and inconsistent play to take the weekend series from Arkansas, knocking the Razorbacks out of contention for the SEC Tournament.
MSU finished the regular season 23-33 overall and 9-21 in league play, while Arkansas finished 33-22 and 14-15.
Arkansas touched MSU starter Justin Pigott for four runs in the first inning. The Bulldogs answered with a two-run home run by Tyler Moore in the home half of the first inning.
The Razorbacks then ran the lead to 9-2 with a five-run second inning. A two-run single by Jeff Nutt was the big blow in that at-bat. That offensive outburst chased Pigott, who worked only one-inning plus in his final appearance at Dudy Noble Field.
"I really feel for Justin," Polk said. "He has meant so much to this program. Today, was not his day. He was over-throwing and having a tough time making his pitches. Still, he has meant so much to this program. I feel for all the kids because they so badly wanted to win this game. It was a good group and I really enjoyed coaching them."
The Bulldogs, who rallied from down 5-2 in the ninth inning to win 6-5 Friday, staged another similar comeback. The Bulldogs scored twice in the third inning, twice in the fifth inning and four times in the sixth inning to grab a 10-9 lead. MSU grabbed the lead without a base hit in the sixth inning. The Bulldogs drew three walks and had two hit batsman and cashed in on two Arkansas errors to grab a short-lived one-run lead.
Arkansas then took advantage of a throwing error to tie the game 10-10 in the seventh inning. The Razorbacks grabbed the lead with a season-first two earned runs off Aaron Weatherford (3-1) in the eighth inning. Weatherford followed Jesse Carver, who was brilliant in 3-1/3 innings of three hit, one run (unearned) relief. Arkansas had two hits off Weatherford but one throwing error and a passed ball proved large.
MSU's fifth error helped the Razorbacks to plate two insurance scores in the ninth inning.
MSU finished with 10 hits. Grant Hogue and Moore each had three hits for the Bulldogs.
Arkansas finished with 14 hits. Chase Leavitt and Nutt each had three hits for the Razorbacks.
James Mahler (3-1) threw the final 3-2/3 innings in relief to garner the win for the Razorbacks. MSU loaded the bases in its final at-bat could not plate a run.
Polk was honored with about a 30-minut pre-game ceremonry prior to the 4-hour, 2-minute game - longest of the season for both teams. SEC Commissioner Mike Slive presented Polk with a framed base and a box of cigars. MSU Athletic Diretor Larry Templeton presented the outgoing coach with a new Buick. More than 80 former Diamond Dawg players took part in the pregame ceremonies, prior to the game broadcast regionally by Fox Sports Net South.
"The ceremonies meant a lot to me," Polk said. "This is a very special place. I will always be a Bulldog at heart."
MSU also bid farewell to five seniors - Pigott, Carver John Lalor, Andy Rice and Andy Wilson - after Saturday's contest.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mahler (3-1)
L: Weatherford, Aaron (3-1)
Batting:
2B: Leavitt 1 ; Jones 1 ; Smalling 1
HR: Eibner 1
RBI: Jones 1 ; Forsythe 2 ; Coon 1 ; Smalling 1 ; Eibner 1 ; Nutt 2
SF: Forsythe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Leavitt 4 ; Jones 1 ; Forsythe 1 ; Coon 3 ; Smalling 1 ; Eibner 2 ; Murphree 1 ; Tschepikow 2
SB: Leavitt 2 ; Coon 2 ; Tschepikow 1
HBP: Jones 1
PO: Murphree 1
Batting:
2B: Hogue, Grant 1 ; Moore, Tyler 1
HR: Moore, Tyler 1
RBI: Moore, Tyler 3 ; Duffy, Ryan 2 ; Butler, Jet 1 ; Powers, Ryan 1 ; Flagg, Jeff 2
SF: Duffy, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hogue, Grant 2 ; Hardy, Nick 2 ; Moore, Tyler 3 ; Sneed, Russ 1 ; Duffy, Ryan 1 ; Goforth, Mark 1
HBP: Hogue, Grant 1 ; Powers, Ryan 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
3
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
LHP
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RHP
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/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
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