State Ousts Belmont 5-3 To Set Up Sunday Rubber Game

Saturday, February 26

Starkville

2:00 PM

Mississippi State

6-1

Belmont

3-4

Belmont

Mississippi State

State Ousts Belmont 5-3 To Set Up Sunday Rubber Game

February 26, 2011 | Baseball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State sophomore right-hander Chris Stratton threw his second gem of the young campaign Saturday afternoon. Stratton carried a shutout into the eighth inning as the Diamond Dawgs held on for a 5-3 win over Belmont at Dudy Noble Field.

The Bulldogs scored single runs in the second and fourth innings, before Jonathan Ogden cranked his team-best third home run of the season - a two-run blast during a three-run sixth inning.

That would be sufficient offense to allow the Bulldogs (6-1) to even the weekend series with the Bruins at a game apiece. A two-run inside-the-park home run by Dylan Craig lifted Belmont to a stunning 2-1 win Friday night in the series opener.

For a second straight day, the Bruins (3-4) connected for a ninth-inning home run. This time, Tim Egerton blasted a three-run shot with two outs in the ninth inning. That round-tripper halted what would have been MSU's third shutout of the season.

Still, nothing could dampen the performance of Stratton. The Tupelo native struck out 13 - the most by a Bulldog hurler since Todd Doolittle did the same in a 2005 Southeastern Conference Tournament performance against South Carolina.

"Strat was really solid today," MSU head coach John Cohen said. "Right now, we are trying to prepare pitches for conference play. (Victor) Diaz is going to be very, very good. Overall pleased with first-pitch strikes today and the defensive effort was all-around very solid."

Stratton (2-0) left after throwing exactly 100 pitches. In 7.2 innings of work, Stratton allowed four hits and no walks - facing only four more than the minimum.

"We played with a chip on our shoulder today," Stratton said. "We played hard. On the mound, I had better command than last weekend. All-in-all, it was a pretty good outing."

The Bulldogs scored a lone run in the second inning, thanks in part to a pair of Belmont errors. The lead grew on an RBI-single by Ogden in the fourth inning.

In the sixth inning, Jarrod Parks drew a lead-off walk. After back-to-back outs, Jaron Shepherd hit a line-drive RBI-double to center field. Ogden followed with a massive shot into the left field lounge area.

"We have really worked on a lot of things in practice," Ogden said. "Yesterday, we hit the ball well and just didn't catch any breaks. That stuff is going to happen. The team is playing well and the chemistry is definitely up this year."

Luis Pollorena relieved Stratton in the eighth inning. The sophomore left-hander left after a one-out single by Belmont's Craig. Freshman right-hander Victor Diaz entered in relief. Diaz issued a walk and got a strikeout before Egerton dialed deep with his three-run shot. A follow-up groundout snuffed this final Bruin threat.

The Bulldogs finished with nine hits, including Ogden's first three-hit game of the season. Shepherd and Brent Brownlee each added multiple hits.

The Bruins finished with six hits. Egerton finished with one-half of those hits for Belmont.

Starting pitcher Nate Woods (0-2) was lifted after Ogden's home run and took the loss. Dalton Bell finished the game with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.

The Bulldogs and Bruins conclude their series with a 1:30 p.m. start Sunday. Freshman right-hander Evan Mitchell is slated to get the start for MSU. The 14-game homestand resumes with MSU and Alcorn State at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Dudy Noble Field.