Dogs Nip Panthers 3-1; Polk Earns 1000th Win At MSU
February 25, 2005 | Baseball
STARKVILLE - Chalk up another impressive milestone for Mississippi State baseball skipper Ron Polk. With Mississippi State's 3-1 win over Eastern Illinois (0-4) Friday afternoon, Polk picked up his 1,000th win in 26 seasons at MSU. Former MSU and Major League great Bobby Thigpen helped MSU usher in the new season, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
A Dudy Noble Field crowd of 2,390 braved a rather-nippy late-February afternoon to watch the Bulldogs win their season opener for the third time in four seasons since Polk's return to MSU prior to the 2002 season.
"We did a lot of things well enough to win," winning pitcher Alan Johnson (1-0) said. "We made some mistakes early in the game. I felt like I had good control of all my stuff. I felt it was the best job I have done since I've been here as far as having everything working."
After earning 13 starts a season ago, Johnson appears ready to move into the Friday night spot on the ball club's rotation this season. Sophomore righthander Josh Johnson and junior lefty Brooks Dunn will pitch the remainder of the Eastern Illinois series. Senior righthander Todd Doolittle is giving an injured wrist another week off before most likely making his first appearance next weekend.
The Bulldogs made back-to-back infield errors on the first two EIU at-bats of the game. But a strong throw by right fielder Brad Corley retired a Panther at the plate to complete a double play and snuff that first inning threat.
"Getting out of the first inning was big," Johnson said. "If they score there, they have the momentum. It could be a different game."
The Bulldogs settled down after that, playing error-free ball the rest of the way.
Offensively, the Bulldogs scored a lone run in the second inning and two more in the fourth inning. The Bulldogs took the lead in the second when Brad Jones legged out a triple to left-center field and scored on a groundout by freshman Bunky Kateon. Brad Corley singled to open the fourth and scored on an infield groundout by Joseph Hunter. Kateon picked up his second RBI on the day with a sacrifice fly that scored Jones, who had followed Corley's hit with a walk.
The Panthers scored their lone tally in the sixth when Keiji Szalo drew a walk and came home on back-to-back hits by Kevin Carkeek and Erik Huber. Huber's singled struck Johnson on the elbow and ricocheted into left field, scoring Szalo and ending Johnson's stint in the game.
"Alan had a good start," Polk said. "He was up there in the pitch count. That's why we pulled him. It was really good to get the first win. I thought after that first inning, we might make like 95 errors. However, the kids settled down and we beat a competitive ball club."
Mike Valentine completed the sixth inning for Johnson and pitched a hitless seventh and eighth innings. Senior righty Saunders Ramsey came on to close the game out, issuing a two-out walk and a hit by Mark Chagnon before getting a groundout to complete his sixth career save.
Ted Juske (0-2) pitched five innings, allowing three hits and three runs (all earned) for EIU. Juske walked three and struck out two. Brian Long added three innings of no-hit scoreless relief.
Eastern Illinois out-hit MSU 6-4 but was undone partially by 10 stranded base runners, compared to three for the Bulldogs.
Carkeek was the lone multiple hitter with a pair of singles. Three of MSU's four hits went for extra bases, including the triple by Jones and doubles by Jeff Butts and Kateon.
Polk now stands at 1,234-602-2 in 32 seasons as a collegiate head coach. The all-time winningest coach in Southeastern Conference history is now 1,000-490-2 in 26 seasons at MSU.
"I guess I've been honored for 1,000 wins three different times," Polk said. "It's just a number. All 1,000 wins means is that you haven't died yet and you've coached a long time. We have some really great players here but I haven't had time to reflect back on that success yet."
In the postgame ceremonies, MSU athletic director Larry Templeton presented Polk with a plaque and the team served up a cake commemorating the milestone win.
"We didn't feel any added pressure," Johnson said. "Coach Polk didn't mention it to us one time. However, we knew we were at 999, going for the big win. It feels good to win the first game but it also feels really good to be a part of Coach Polk's 1,000th win."
The Bulldogs and Panthers play again at 2 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
