State Pounds Out 15-5 Win Over Georgia In Series Opener
April 07, 2006 | Baseball
* Official Statistics
* Official Statistics (PDF)
Senior Jeff Butts set a career-high for hits with a 5-for-5 plate performance and both Jeffrey Rea and Joseph Hunter collected three hits each to pace Mississippi State. Moreland, with his first career grand slam in the sixth inning, drove in a career-best five runs.
Shortstop Thomas Berkery, after going hitless in his first two plate appearances and drawing walks in his next two, beat out an infield single in the sixth inning to extend his hitting streak to an SEC-leading 26 games.Moreland stepped to the plate next with the bases loaded, sending his third home run of the year over the Dudy Noble Field green wall to highlight the night.
Senior Brooks Dunn (6-1) picked up the win in six innings of work. He gave up seven of his 10 hits and three runs in the first three innings. He finished with two walks and five strikeouts.
State starter Brooks Dunn worked around lead-off singles by Georgia in the first two innings but couldn¹t get out of the third unscathed. Joey Side and Jonathan Wyatt opened the inning with singles and Josh Morris laced a one-out single down the third base line to plate the game¹s first run. Wyatt then scored on Jason Jacobs¹ infield groundout. And after Dunn walked Matt Robbins to put runners at the corners, Gordon Beckham singled sharply to left, scoring Morris and staking starter Brooks Brown to a 3-0 lead.
MSU pulled even in the home half of the third with a four-hit burst of its own. Michael Rutledge and Jeff Butts singled to open the inning, Jeffrey Rea was struck by a pitch to load the bases, and Edward Easley lofted a pop fly single to shallow right that scored both Rutledge and Butts. Brown struck out Thomas Berkery, but right-fielder Mitch Moreland singled to left, scoring rea and tying the score. Brown struck out the next two batters to keep the score tied at 3-3.
An inning later State bunched back-to-back hits by Rutledge, Butts and Rea to take its first lead of the game. Georgia got the run back in its next trip tot he plate. Jacobs reached on a two-out infield single, advanced to second on a disputed balk call, and scored on a Matt Robbins single to center field.
State erupted for three more runs and chased Brown from the game in the fifth. Joseph Hunter opened the frame with an infield single and scored on a Brian LaNinfa double into the right-center gap. Butts and Easley followed with RBI singles to expand the MSU lead to 7-4.
The Bulldogs salted the game away with a seven-run, seven-hit explosion in the sixth inning, highlighted by a streak-extending single by Thomas Berkery followed by a grand slam over the center field wall by Mitch Moreland.
Brown took the loss for Georgia, giving up seven runs on 12 hits with nine strikeouts in 4-2/3 innings. Adam McDaniel followed Brown to the hill in the fifth, working out of a jam before being roughed up in the seven-run sixth-inning State scoring spree.
Morris and Ryan Peisel had three hits each to lead Georgia¹s 13-hit attack.Morris belted a solo home run in the ninth to cap Georgia scoring.
Sophomore Justin Pigott pitched the seventh and Starkville native Jesse Carver the eighth and ninth to finish the game for MSU.
Polk tied former Fresno State head coach Bob Bennett for ninth place among college baseball all-time winningest coaches with his 1,300th win. Only five other active college baseball coaches have reached the 1,300-win milestone.
The series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. with State sending junior right-hander Josh Johnson (4-1, 2.79) to the hill opposite Georgia senior lefty Mickey Westphal (2-0, 5.84).
MISSISSIPPI STATE 15, GEORGIA 5UGA 003 010 001 --- 5-13-1MSU 003 137 01x --- 15-22-2WP --- Brooks Dunn (6-1). LP --- Brooks Brown (3-3). HR --- Mitch Moreland (3), Josh Morris (10).T --- 3:31. ATT --- 4,890 (7,930 paid).
BASEBALL | NCAA Starkville Highlights vs. Cincinnati - 5/30/26
Sunday, May 31
BASEBALL | Brian O'Connor, Reed Stallman & Tomas Valincius Cincinnati Postgame Press Conference - 5/30/26
Sunday, May 31
BASEBALL | NCAA Starkville Highlights vs. Lipscomb - 5/29/26
Saturday, May 30
BASEBALL | Brian O'Connor, Duke Stone & Vytas Valincius Lipscomb Postgame Press Conference - 5/29/26
Friday, May 29