Bulldogs Pound Elon 12-3
June 04, 2006 | Baseball
* Official Statistics
* Official Statistics (PDF)
CLEMSON, S.C. - Sophomore left-hander Justin Pigott, less than 24 hours after earning a save in State's 5-4 win over UNC Asheville, pitched the Bulldogs to a 12-3 win over Elon (45-18) and into the championship round of the 2006 NCAA Clemson Regional.
Pigott (7-1) scattered five hits and allowed three runs, striking out a season-high seven as Mississippi State eliminated Elon from the Clemson Regional and advanced to a Sunday night championship round matchup with the host Tigers at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
State pounded out 17 hits, scoring six runs in the first two frames and sealing the win with a five-run burst in the fourth.
Brian LaNinfa drew a walk and scored a run in the first inning, , singled in a run during a four-run MSU spree in the second and hit his team-leading 11th home run, a two-run shot in the fourth inning when MSU built its lead out to 12-3. Pigott, after giving up three runs in the third, one on a lead-off home run by Ryan Addison, blanked the Phoenix over the next five innings. Sophomore Trent Hill then retired the three Elon batters he faced in an inning of game-closing relief.
Jeffrey Rea, Thomas Berkery and Brad Jones had three hits each for the Bulldogs while LaNinfa, Mitch Moreland and Joseph Hunter had two hits each.
Mitch Moreland and Joseph McCaskill delivered RBI singles for the Bulldogs in the opening inning off Elon starter Steven Hensley (6-5). Rea, Berkery and LaNinfa had run-scoring hits in the second. Brad Jones laced a run-scoring double in the third inning and singled in another run during a five-run, six-hit fifth-inning surge. LaNinfa's home run, his second in as many games, raised his regional tournament RBI total to nine and his team-leading RBI total to 50. The Venice, Fla., product extended his current hitting streak to a career-best 14 games.
Pigott, making his fifth start of the season, retired Elon in order in the first two frames and in three other innings before leaving the game after eight innings. It was the fifth quality start in as many starts for the MSU southpaw, who leads the SEC with a 1.66 earned run average.
The Bulldogs were scheduled to meet host Clemson in a 7 p.m. (EDT) championship round game Sunday night, though rain was expected to delay the start of the game nearly 2-1/2 hours. Senior right-hander Brett Cleveland, with 69 career relief appearances under his belt, was expected to make his first career start in the Sunday night game for MSU. The Bulldogs must defeat the Tigers Sunday night to force a final championship showdown with Clemson Monday night at 7 p.m. (EDT).
MISSISSIPPI STATE 12, ELON 3
ELON 003 000 000 --- 3- 5-2MSU 241 500 00x --- 12-17-2WP --- Justin Pigott (7-1). LP --- Jesse Hensley (6-5). HR --- Ryan Addison (8), Brian LaNinfa (11). T --- 2:52. ATT --- 3,112.
