Mississippi State
11-4, 0
South Carolina
10-3, 0
State Takes Game 1 From Gamecocks, 13-6; Game 2 Suspended Until Sunday
March 14, 2009 | Baseball
? Official Statistics (Game 1) (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - A seven-run fifth inning proved decisive at Mississippi State beat South Carolina 13-6 in the opening game of a Southeastern Conference baseball doubleheader Saturday at Dudy Noble Field.
The second contest was suspended due to heavy fog in the Starkville area. When play was halted, the Bulldogs were also leading that game, 4-0 in the third inning. That contest will be completed as a nine-inning game at noon Sunday. The weekend series will then conclude with a seven-inning contest, 30 minutes after the opener is completed.
Both Sunday games can be seen or heard free of charge on Maroon to the Max, MSU's premium streaming service. The series finale will be carried locally on WFCA-FM (107.9) in French Camp, Miss.
With the win, MSU improved to 11-4 overall and 1-0 in league play, while USC fell to 10-3 and 0-1.
Russ Sneed opened the scoring for the Bulldogs with a solo home run in the second inning. USC battled back for a 1-1 tie when Bobby Haney tripled and scored on a wild pitch.
The Bulldogs broke that tie by scoring three runs in the third inning. Grant Hogue started things with a leadoff single. Ryan Collins then reached base when USC failed to get an out on bunt attempt. After a groundout, Jet Butler drove home a pair of runs with a single. Butler later scored on a passed ball.
USC quickly answered with a three-run home run from Andrew Crisp in the top half of the fourth inning.
The Bulldogs grabbed the lead for good with a run in the fourth inning and blew things open with seven scores in the fifth inning - the biggest MSU at-bat this season.
In the big inning, Luke Adkins had a two-run triple and Scott DeLoach had a two-run single.
Winning pitcher Tyler Whitney (2-0) worked five innings, allowing four hits and two runs (one earned), with three strikeouts and two walks. Forrest Moore, who earned his first save, pitched the final four innings, allowing four hits and two runs (one earned), with seven strikeouts and a walk.
The Bulldogs pounded out 15 hits. Adkins, Butler and Ryan Powers each had three hits for MSU. Butler had his second four-RBI game of the season. Sneed also had multiple hits for the Bulldogs.
USC finished with eight hits. Whit Merrifield and Jackie Bradley each had multiple hits for the Gamecocks.
Starting pitcher Sam Dyson (2-1) took the loss for USC. Dyson was chased in the big fifth inning for the Bulldogs. Matt Price and Jordan Propst followed in relief for the Gamecocks.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Whitney, Tyler (2-0)
L: Dyson (2-1)
S: Moore, Forrest (1)
Batting:
2B: Merrifield 1
3B: Haney 1
HR: Crisp 1
RBI: Ebert 1 ; Crisp 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Merrifield 1 ; Bradley, Jr. 1 ; Ebert 1 ; Crisp 1 ; Haney 1 ; Enders 1
Batting:
3B: Adkins, Luke 1
HR: Sneed, Russ 1
RBI: Adkins, Luke 3 ; Butler, Jet 4 ; Sneed, Russ 1 ; DeLoach, Scott 2 ; Powers, Ryan 1
SH: Collins, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Collins, Ryan 2 ; Adkins, Luke 1 ; Butler, Jet 2 ; Powers, Connor 1 ; Sneed, Russ 2 ; Goforth, Mark 1 ; Brownlee, Brent 1 ; Powers, Ryan 2 ; Hogue, Grant 1
SB: Butler, Jet 1
CS: Powers, Connor 1
HBP: DeLoach, Scott 1 ; Hogue, Grant 1
PO: Hogue, Grant 1
