Maloney Blanks Bulldogs With Two-Hitter
April 30, 2005 | Baseball
Official Game Statistics (PDF)
OXFORD, Miss. -- Mississippi junior lefty Matt Maloney pitched a complete-game two-hit shutout Saturday as the 22nd-ranked Rebels (31-13, 11-9 SEC) clinched the weekend series with a 5-0 win over No. 26 Mississippi State (28-14, 9-10 SEC).
Maloney held MSU hitless until Brian LaNinfa reached on an infield single in the fifth inning. Freshman Michael Rutledge got the other Bulldog hit with a pinch hit single to left in the ninth inning. Maloney struck out four, did not walk a batter and two batters over the minimum.
The gem by Maloney overshaddowed another solid pitching performance by MSU senior starter Todd Doolittle (4-5). Doolittle gave up and two-out home run to Barry Gunther in the second inning and shut UM out over the next three innings. Doolittle walked Cooper Osteen to open the sixth, and Osteen later came home on Brian Pettway's lone hit of the day, a two-out single up the middle.
Justin Henry opened the seventh with a triple and Barry Gunther singled him in to extend the UM lead to 3-0. Doolittle scattered four hits, walked two and struck out four.
Justin Piggott replaced followed Doolittle to the hill in the eighth, walking three before giving up a two-out, two-run pinch-hit single to C.J. Ketchum.
The Bulldogs and the Rebels conclude their three-game series Sunday at Swayze Field with a 1:30 p.m.
MISSISSIPPI 5, MSU 0
MSU 000 000 000 --- 0-2-0UM 010 001 12x --- 5-5-0
WP --- Matt Maloney (5-1). LP --- Todd Doolittle (4-5). HR --- Barry Gunther (2). T --- 2:04. ATT --- 6,506.
