Brian LaNinfa Homers Twice, Memphian Joseph Hunter Belts Game-Winning Double In MSU's 5-3 Win At AutoZone Park
April 19, 2006 | Baseball
* Official Statistics (PDF)
MEMPHIS. Tenn. - Designated hitter Brian LaNinfa belted a pair of solo home runs and Joseph Hunter delivered a two-run double Wednesday night as No. 15 Mississippi State (28-9) topped Memphis 5-3 to complete a sweep of its two-game midweek series with the Tigers. The game drew 5,122 fans to AutoZone Park in downtown Memphis. State claimed Tuesday's series-opener 12-8 and has now won six straight in its series with Memphis.
LaNinfa opened the sixth inning with his first blast, knotting the score at 2-2. An inning later the Bulldogs took their first lead of the night when Edward Easley opened the frame with a double, Joseph McCaskill singled and Hunter followed with a double off the left-center field wall at AutoZone Park.
Sophomore Justin Pigott (3-0) picked up the win in relief with 3-1/3 innings of scoreless middle inning relief, while freshman Aaron Weatherford earned the save with 2-2/3 innings of game-closing pitching.
Memphis parlayed a lead-off single by center fielder K.K. Chalmers, two wild pitches and a Will Petersen sacrifice fly into a 1-0 lead in the first inning off first-time MSU starting pitcher Chad Crosswhite. State tied the game in the second without the benefit of a hit. Brad Jones was struck by a pitch, Matt Richardson drew a walk, Jeff Butts advanced Jones to third with an infield groundout, and a balk called against UM starter Brach Davis sent Jones home with the Bulldogs' first run.
Memphis plated an unearned run to take a 2-1 lead in the third. Crosswhite struck out the first two batters he faced in the frame but Chalmers reached on an error, stole second and raced home when Bill Moss singled to right. Crosswhite scattered four hits and allowed two runs, one earned, in his three-inning stint.
Sophomore Justin Pigott took the hill in the fourth, shutting out the Tigers while registering four strikeouts over 3-1/3 innings. The Bulldog lefty got out of a jam in the fifth inning with the aid of the Bulldog defense. Petersen, who reached on a two-out error, attempted to score from first base when Moss lashed a double off the left field wall. But left fielder Jeff Butts threw the ball to Brooks Tinsley, making his second start at shortstop. Tinsley then made a clean relay throw to Joseph McCaskill in time to nail Petersen at the plate.
LaNinfa led off the sixth for State, ending a run of five innings without a hit by sending his fourth home run of the year over the center field fence off former MSU player Ben Grisham, the second of three Memphis pitchers in the game.
State opened the seventh off Grisham with three consecutive hits, the big blow a two-run double to the left-center gap by Memphis native Joseph Hunter that put State on top 4-2.
The teams traded solo home runs in the ninth, with LaNinfa launching his second blast of the game and fifth of the year for a 5-2 MSU lead and Joseph Lieberman opening the bottom of the ninth with his team-leading 10th home run. But freshman relief pitcher Aaron Weatherford, who replaced Pigott in the game with one out recorded in the seventh, got a fly ball out and recorded his fifth and sixth strikeouts of the game to end the contest and earn his second save, MSU's first since March 28. Lieberman's home run was the lone hit allowed by Weatherford.
LaNinfa went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs and Hunter added a two-run double to lead the Bulldogs. Memphis out-hit State 8-7, getting six of those hits in the first five innings. Adam Amar took game honors with a 3-for-4 plate performance while Bill Moss had a double and a single.
Mississippi State returns to Southeastern Conference play this weekend, entertaining No. 12 Arkansas in a three-game weekend series at Dudy Noble Field. Friday's series-opener is set for 6:30 p.m.
