Diamond Dogs Complete Sweep Of Rebels With 8-4 Win

Official Game Statistics

Brad Corley was one of two Bulldogs to finish with three hits on the day.

OXFORD, Miss. -- Matthew Brinson doubled in two runs and Brent Lewis doubled in another as ninth-ranked Mississippi State (22-3-1, 8-1 SEC) erupted for five runs in the seventh inning Sunday afternoon to notch an 8-4 win over No. 29 Mississippi (17-10, 5-4 SEC). The victory sealed a second straight SEC road series sweep against a ranked opponent for the Bulldogs, who have won eight straight and 10 of their last 11.

State sent 11 batters to the plate and roughed up three UM pitchers during the scoring burst. Matthew Brinson's two-run double tied the score at 4-4 and an infield single by Thomas Berkery off relief ace Jeremy Zick (2-3) gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game at 5-4. State added a run on Brent Lewis' pinch-hit double to right and another on a bases-loaded walk issued to Matthew Maniscalco.

Steve Gendron enjoyed a three-hit day and boosted his season batting average to a team-leading .376.

The Bulldogs, who had not trailed in their previous SEC games, twice fell behind by a pair of runs in Sunday's series finale. A two-run blast in the second inning by UM left fielder Charlie Babineaux gave the Rebels an early lead against MSU starter Todd Nicholas and ended a run of 22 innings of scoreless pitching by MSU. In the fifth inning State bunched four singles, including back-to-back run-scoring hits by Brinson and Brad Corley, to knot the score at 2-2 off UM starter Eric Fowler. Fowler struck out eighth and gave up nine hits during his six-inning stint.

UM regained the lead in the sixth with a two-out rally. Chad Sterbens opened with a ground ball single off the third base bag. Babineaux then laced a double down the left field line to plate Sterbens and later touched home on Charlie Waite's single to center field. Brian Owens (1-0), the third of three Bulldog pitchers in the inning, retired pinch hitter Stephen Head to end the UM rally.

Saunders Ramsey closed out the game for State with two scoreless innings.

Owens gave up a single in the seventh and walked the first batter he faced in the eighth before leaving the game. Sophomore Saunders Ramsey successfully closed out the game with two innings of shutout relief work helped along by the third and fourth double plays of the game turned by the MSU infield.

Bulldog starter Todd Nicholas lasted 5-1/3 innings, leaving the game and giving way to Jacob Blakeney after giving up a single and retiring a batter on an infield groundout in the sixth.

The Bulldogs matched a season high with 16 hits -- three each by Steve Gendron and Corley and two each by Berkery and Maniscalco, who extended his hitting streak to a career best-matching 13 games. State stranded 13 base runners, six in the first three innings of the game.

Babineaux went 2-for-3 and drove in three of UM's four runs.

State returns to action Tuesday playing host to UAB in a 6:30 p.m. game at Dudy Noble Field. The Bulldogs then trek to Jackson to meet Mississippi Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the 24th annual Mayor's Trophy Game at Smith-Wills Stadium.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 8, MISSISSIPPI 4

MSU   000  020  510  --  8  16  1UM    020  002  000  --  4  10  2

WP -- Brian Owens (1-0). LP -- Jeremy Zick (2-3). HR -- (UM) Charlie Babineaux (4). T -- 2:50. ATT -- 3,585.

Todd Nicholas, Jacob Blakeney (6), Brian Owens (6), Saunders Ramsey (8) and J.B. Tucker. Eric Fowler, Jeremy Zick (7), Anthony Cupps (7) and Charlie Waite.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Diamond Dogs Complete Sweep Of Rebels With 8-4 Win

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