No. 1 Diamond Dogs Advance To 17-0 With 6-1 Win Over JSU
March 22, 2006 | Baseball
* Official Statistics
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State (17-0) scored five runs in the final three innings Wednesday night to top Jacksonville State 6-1 and remain unbeaten for the season. The win gave the top-ranked Bulldogs a sweep of their two-game series with the Gamecocks (9-13).
First baseman Brad Jones went 3-for-3 with a walk and Michael Rutledge lashed a pair of doubles to spark the Bulldogs while Bulldog pitching blanked JSU over the final eight games.
Both teams scored in the first inning. Nick Cleckler opened the game with a single off MSU starter Jon Crosby, moved up a base on a wild pitch and scored on Brian Piazza single up the middle. State answered with a run in the bottom of the frame. Edward Easley, Thomas Berkery and Brad Jones had three consecutive singles and Brad Jones scored Easley with a sacrifice fly to center field.
The score stayed knotted until the sixth inning. Matt Richardson, pinch-hitting for Andy Rice, drew a lead-off walk from relief pitcher Tony Drinkard, the third JSU pitcher in the game. Richardson advanced to third on a pair of infield groundouts and raced home when Easley's slow grounder was misplayed at first base. The unearned run, which gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead, was charged to Drinkard (1-2).
State stretched its lead to 4-1 in the seventh inning on Michael Rutledge's two-out double, and Brian LaNinfa capped another two-run Bulldog burst in the eighth with a pinch-hit RBI double. Berkery collected a pair of hits and extended his career-best hitting streak to 14 games, while Easley, who singled and scored State's first run in the first inning, ran his hitting streak to 12 games.
Bulldog starter Jon Crosby scattered four hits over five innings before giving way to a quartet of MSU relief pitchers. Crosby's performance was the 17th straight start of five innings or better for Bulldog pitchers. Sophomore Jesse Carver (1-0) led MSU's relief crew, picking up his first career win after retiring the three batters he faced in the sixth inning. Mike Valentine, Chad Crosswhite and Brett Cleveland each pitched a scoreless inning of relief to successfully close out the game.
Mississippi State returns to SEC play this weekend in Baton Rouge, La., where the Bulldogs take on defending SEC West co-champ Louisiana State in a three-game conference series. Friday's opener at Alex Box Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 6, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
JSU 100 000 000 --- 1-4-2MSU 100 001 220 --- 6-9-1
WP --- Jesse Carver (1-0). LP ---Tony Drinkard (1-2). T --- 2:46 . ATT --- 1,617 (paid: 6,198).
