Diamond Dogs Down Volunteers, 11-7 Behind Duffy, Stratton; Sunday Rubber Game Set

Saturday, April 17

Starkville

1:00 PM

Mississippi State

18-17, 4-10

Tennessee

18-18, 4-10

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
UT	0	0	0	1	4	0	0	1	1	7	8	0
Mississippi State	2	0	0	0	3	0	6	0	X	11	13	1

Diamond Dogs Down Volunteers, 11-7 Behind Duffy, Stratton; Sunday Rubber Game Set

April 17, 2010 | Baseball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

• Official Statistics
• Official Statistics (PDF)

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State freshman right-hander Chris Stratton threw his squad's first complete game of the season and Ryan Duffy launched a pair of home runs Saturday afternoon as the Bulldogs defeated Tennessee 11-7 in Southeastern Conference baseball action at Dudy Noble Field.

A season-best crowd of 11,089 was on hand as the Maroon and White evened their Super Bulldog Weekend conference series at a game apiece. It was the 14th largest crowd ever at Dudy Noble Field and the 24th time a crowd of 10,000 or better has attended a baseball game on the MSU campus.

MSU improved to 18-17 overall, while UT fell to 18-18. Both teams own 4-10 league records.

Stratton (4-3) scattered eight hits and allowed seven runs (six earned), with seven strikeouts and four walks. His pitch count topped out at 144. Offensively, Stratton was backed by three MSU home runs, including a multi-homer game by Ryan Duffy.

"The key to this game is we were able to start with a lead," said MSU pitching coach Butch Thompson, who served as acting head coach following the Friday night ejection and one-day suspension of head coach John Cohen. "That helped us out a lot today. Chris struggled in the fifth inning when we fell behind 5-2, but we came right back and tied it. That was really big. Once we got it tied up, it gave him new life."

The Bulldogs actually held a 2-1 lead before giving up four scores in the top half of the fifth inning. Blake Forsythe tied the game with a solo home run and both Zach Osborne and Khayyan Norfolk legged out triples during a four-run spree that gave Tennessee its first and only lead of the day. The Bulldogs answered with a three-run burst in the bottom of the fifth, with Duffy delivering the first of his two home runs to open the frame and Jaron Shepherd knotting the score at 5-5 with a two-run single.

The Bulldogs then pulled away with six runs in the seventh inning. Nick Vickerson hit a three-run home run for the Bulldogs. Later in the same inning, Duffy hit a towering no-doubter - a three-run shot to right field. It was the second multi-home run game of the season and career for Duffy and the fourth this season for Mississippi State. First baseman Connor Powers, who entered the day with an SEC-leading 50 RBI, has the other two.

The Bulldogs finished the afternoon with 13 hits. Duffy had his first four-hit game of the season, while Powers totaled three hits and Russ Sneed added two, including a first inning single that gave MSU a 2-0 lead.

The Volunteers collected eight hits, including solo home runs by Blake Forsythe and Charley Thurber. Forsythe, Thurber and Zach Osborne turned in multi-hit plate performances for UT.

Nick Blount (1-2) took the loss for UT. Starting pitcher Stephen McCray worked the first six innings, before giving way to Blount, the second of four UT hurlers in the game.

The series finale is set for 1:30 p.m. Sunday. MSU then concludes its nine-game homestand by hosting Alcorn State at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.