Smith Collects Three Hits, Swipes Three Bases, In Gray's 3-2 Victory
September 26, 2015 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - A day after freshmen bats stole the show, veteran left-handed pitcher Vance Tatum dominated on the mound to lead Gray to a 3-2 victory against Maroon in Mississippi State's seventh scrimmage of the fall. The seven-inning exhibition took place at Dudy Noble Field.
Strong pitching from both teams ruled the day, with Gray finally breaking through in the bottom of the third inning on a single up the middle from senior outfielder Michael Smith that scored freshman outfielder Jake Mangum from third. After Smith swiped second, junior outfielder Reid Humphreys ripped a single to left field that brought Smith home and capped the inning. Smith finished the day 3 for 3 with a run scored and three stolen bases.
Tatum tossed four shutout innings with three strikeouts, one walk and one hit. Sophomore Ryan Rigby and redshirt freshman southpaw Andrew Mahoney relieved Tatum to toss three innings. The pair allowed two runs on three hits and four strikeouts.
Maroon staged a comeback in the fifth after junior catcher Jack Kruger singled through the four hole and stole second. Junior catcher Gavin Collins pinch ran for Kruger and scored on a wild pitch after moving to third when the bases were loaded on a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
Maroon forced extra innings in the sixth with a leadoff triple from junior outfielder Tanner Poole and a one-out game-tying double down the left field line from senior infielder Luke Reynolds.
With freshman Hunter Stovall on second base in the bottom half of the final inning due to international tiebreaker rules, sophomore Ryan Gridley stepped to the plate and delivered a single to right field. Gridley attempted to stretch the single into a double, before a throwing error from senior catcher Josh Lovelady brought home Stovall from third for the game-ending run.
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2015 Mississippi State Fall Scrimmage Schedule
Scrimmage 1 - Gray 3, Maroon 1 (Reynolds 3 RBIs, Rooker HR)
Scrimmage 2 – Maroon 4, Gray 3 (Hudson 1 ER in 3.0 IP, Rooker 2 for 3 with 2 R)
Scrimmage 3 – Maroon 9, Gray 6 (HR by Barfield and Rooker)
Scrimmage 4 – Gray 8, Maroon 5 (James 1 ER in 3.0 IP, HR by Stovall)
Scrimmage 5 – Maroon 5, Gray 1 (Small/Hughes: 9 K in 7 IP, 1 ER)
Scrimmage 6 – Maroon 6, Gray 2 (HR by Alexander and Gordon)
Scrimmage 7 – Gray 3, Maroon 2 (Tatum 0 ER in 4.0 IP, M. Smith 3 for 3 with 3 SB)
Scrimmage 8 – Sunday, Sept. 27 (11 a.m. first pitch)
Scrimmage 9 – Tuesday, Sept. 29
Scrimmage 10 – Sunday, Oct. 4
Scrimmage 11 – Monday, Oct. 5
Scrimmage 12 – Tuesday, Oct. 6
Scrimmage 13 – Friday, Oct. 9
Scrimmage 14 – Saturday, Oct. 10*
Scrimmage 15 – Sunday, Oct. 11
Scrimmage 16 – Wednesday, Oct. 14
Scrimmage 17 – Friday, Oct. 16 (Game 1 of Bulldog World Series)
Scrimmage 18 – Saturday, Oct. 17* (Game 2 of Bulldog World Series)
Scrimmage 19 – Sunday, Oct. 18 (Game 3 of Bulldog World Series)
* = Will take place before or after MSU football's home game
NOTES: All dates are subject to change due to weather. All schedule changes and game times will be announced on Twitter at @HailStateBB. Admission to all scrimmages is free and open to the public.
