Mississippi State
12-4, 0
South Carolina
10-4, 0
State Takes Series From South Carolina
March 15, 2009 | Baseball
? Official Statistics (Game 2) (PDF)
? Official Statistics (Game 3)
? Official Statistics (Game 3) (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State continued its offensive assault Sunday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field. The Bulldogs piled up 13 hits in a 10-3 Southeastern Conference win over South Carolina at Dudy Noble Field.
The victory clinched the conference season-opening weekend series for the Bulldogs. MSU takes a conference series from USC for the first time since 2001. The visiting Gamecocks did battle back to salvage the final game of the series, with a 5-4 win in Sunday's nightcap.
MSU is now 12-5 overall and 2-1 in league play, while USC is now 11-4 and 1-2.
In Sunday's opener, the Bulldogs returned to the ballpark with a 4-0 lead. That is where the contest was halted in the third inning Saturday night by heavy fog.
MSU quickly stretched that lead with three more scores in the fourth inning. After USC had closed within 7-3, the hosts put the contest back out of reach by scoring three more times in the eighth inning.
After racking up 15 hits in the series opener, MSU kept swinging the sticks, as Russ Sneed, Ryan Duffy, Cody Freeman and Grant Hogue all had multiple hits.
A three-run double by Butler had boosted MSU into a good start before the fog hit on Saturday night. A two-run single by Sneed was the big blow in the three-run fourth inning.
Nick Routt started on the mound and worked 4-2/3 innings, allowing three hits and two runs (both earned), with six strikeouts and a walk. Greg Houston (1-0) earned the win, with 1-1/3 innings of relief work. Chad Crosswhite pitched the final three innings to earn his fourth save.
Nick Ebert and Andrew Crisp each had two hits for USC, which finished with seven hits.
In the seven-inning nightcap, both teams had numerous offensive chances. USC pounded out 14 hits and stranded 13 base runners. MSU only had five hits but received 11 walks and stranded 14 base runners.
USC scored twice in the sixth inning to take the series finale. An RBI-single by Jackie Bradley, Jr. tied the game 4-4. Three batters later, pinch hitter Justin Dalles lined an RBI single to place the Gamecocks in the lead.
The Bulldogs then failed at two different attempts to answer. MSU left the bases loaded in the sixth inning and stranded two more runners in the seventh inning.
For USC, Ebert had his first career four-hit game. Kyle Enders and Bobby Haney also had multiple hits for the Gamecocks.
Alex Farroto (2-0) earned the win with 3-1/3 innings of relief work, following starter Alex Westmoreland. Grimes Medlin got the game's final out for his first save.
Justin Bussey (1-2) was the fourth of five MSU pitchers and took the loss. Starting pitcher Devin Jones was lifted after a one-out double in the third inning.
MSU returns to action Tuesday night with a battle against in-state rival Southern Miss (11-5) at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The Bulldogs host UAB (10-6) Wednesday at Dudy Noble Field. Each of those midweek games start at 6:30 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Houston, Greg (1-0)
L: Cooper (1-2)
S: Crosswhite, Chad (4)
Batting:
2B: Rihn 1
RBI: Crisp 1 ; Bangs 1 ; Rihn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ebert 1 ; Mack 1 ; Crisp 1
Batting:
2B: Butler, Jet 1 ; Sneed, Russ 1
HR: Hogue, Grant 1
RBI: Brownlee, Brent 2 ; Butler, Jet 3 ; Rawdow, Frank 1 ; Sneed, Russ 2 ; Hogue, Grant 2
SH: Butler, Jet 1 ; Powers, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Collins, Ryan 2 ; Adkins, Luke 2 ; Brownlee, Brent 1 ; Duffy, Ryan 1 ; Freeman, Cody 1 ; Hogue, Grant 3
SB: Collins, Ryan 1 ; Hogue, Grant 2
HBP: Butler, Jet 1
PO: Sneed, Russ 1
