Tuesday, March 26
Starkville
6:30 PM
Mississippi State
23-3
18
vs
5
Mississippi Valley State
5-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Miss. Valley State
3
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
5
2
3
Mississippi State
0
1
4
0
2
0
3
8
X
18
17
2
Photo by: Trevor Birchett/MSU Athletics
Baseball Storms Past Mississippi Valley State
March 26, 2019 | Baseball
Liebelt collects first-career win, Eagan tosses two scoreless frames in victory over MVSU
by: Greg Campbell, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – Playing its sixth game in eight days, the No. 2 Mississippi State baseball program played through a slow start to earn an 18-5 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday (March 26) evening at Dudy Noble Field.
MVSU (5-9) took the early 3-0 lead, before MSU (23-3) scored one in the second and four in the third to grab a 5-3 lead. The Delta Devils then knotted the score at 5-5 with two runs in the fourth, before the Bulldogs plated the final 13 runs of the contest.
The Diamond Dawgs piled up 18 runs on 17 hits on the offensive side, while the pitching staff struck out 16 on the night. The Delta Devils plated five runs on five hits, with four hit batters and five walks.
The 18 runs mark the third-straight game that Mississippi State has reached 15 runs, as the Dawgs scored 15 and 20 in the final two games of the series versus Auburn. It is the first time since 1998 that an MSU squad put up 15-plus runs in three straight games. That season, State won games over Mississippi Valley State (27-1), Alcorn State (18-4) and Jackson State (18-0).
Four Bulldogs posted both multiple hits and drove in multiple RBIs in the game, as Jordan Westburg led the way with three hits and four RBIs. Sophomore Rowdey Jordan had four hits and drove in two RBIs, while sophomore Justin Foscue had two hits and two RBIs. Junior Dustin Skelton entered as a defensive replacement and went 2-for-2 with three RBIs on the night. Senior Jake Mangum chipped in two hits, while senior Elijah MacNamee drove in three RBIs.
Senior Jared Liebelt tossed two-thirds of an inning in relief to earn his first career win. Junior Colby White tossed a scoreless frame, redshirt-junior Jack Eagan struck out all six batters he faced and redshirt-junior Spencer Price threw a scoreless ninth inning.
Quotable
Head Coach Chris Lemonis
On where the team's confidence level is
"They trust each other is the biggest thing. Their confidence is high. They have a lot of confidence in each other. They feel like they can beat anybody. I think they're smart enough to realize anybody can beat them. They have a real confidence about them, they've had it all year long. I see them continuing it."
Quick Hitters
Mississippi State
15-Plus – Mississippi State has scored 15-plus runs in three-straight games, marking the first time since 1998 that the program has had that type of offensive output.
Four Multis – Four Diamond Dawgs had both multiple hits and multiple RBIs. Justin Foscue (2 hits, 2 RBIs), Rowdey Jordan (4 hits, 2 RBIs), Dustin Skelton (2 hits, 3 RBIs) and Jordan Westburg (3 hits, 4 RBIs) all accomplished the feat.
Senior Contributions – Jake Mangum had two hits and scored three runs, while Elijah MacNamee drove in three RBIs with one hits to extend his reached base streak to 21 games.
Jack Eagan – On a night where pitching was all over the board, Eagan struck out all six batters he faced in two innings of work.
Mississippi Valley State
Wendell Rieves – Drove in one RBI and scored a run.
Willie Johnson – Reached via walk twice and scored two runs.
Jordan Sawyer – Reached base twice, with a hit and a walk. Scored one run.
Scoring Recap
Top First
A pair of walks, two hit batters and a catcher's interference contributed to a three-run inning for the Delta Devils. The first three batters reached, before starting pitcher Eric Cerantola got the first out via strikeout. After back-to-back RBI hit-by-pitches, Peyton Plumlee entered for MSU and cut down a runner at the plate. A wild pitch accounted for the final run of the frame.
Mississippi Valley State 3, Mississippi State 0
Bottom Second
Justin Foscue got the Diamond Dawgs on the board with his seventh home run of the year, a solo shot to left field.
Mississippi Valley State 3, Mississippi State 1
Bottom Third
Gunner Halter reached on an error by the shortstop and Jake Mangum singled, before Jordan Westburg gave State the lead with a three-run home run. After a walk to Elijah MacNamee and two stolen bases, Rowdey Jordan grounded out to make it a two-run lead for State.
Mississippi State 5, Mississippi Valley State 3
Top Fourth
MVSU scored a pair of runs in the fourth inning to draw even, as a one-out double move to third on a wild pitch. After a walk to Willie Johnson, a double steal plated the next run. A single by Morgan Lomax moved Johnson to third and the second double steal of the inning plated the fifth run of the game for the Delta Devils.
Mississippi State 5, Mississippi Valley State 5
Bottom Fifth
After Westburg doubled to start the inning, Tanner Allen reached on an error and moved to second on a wild pitch. MacNamee then delivered a two-RBI single to center field to give State the lead back.
Mississippi State 7, Mississippi Valley State 5
Bottom Seventh
Five singles plated three runs, as Allen started the inning with a one-out base hit before MacNamee flew out for the second out. Foscue and Rowdey Jordan each singled to load the bases, before Dustin Skelton delivered a two-out, two-RBI single. Josh Hatcher pushed the third run of the inning across the plate with a base hit, as well.
Mississippi State 10, Mississippi Valley State 5
Bottom Eighth
Thirteen batters came to the plate in the eight-run eighth inning, with Mangum, Westburg and Allen all reaching base twice in the frame. Mangum reached via bunt single to start the inning, before Westburg and Allen walked to load the bases. Sacrifice flies from MacNamee and Foscue put the first two runs on the board, before Rowdey Jordan doubled to score Allen. Skelton pushed the next run across the plate with a single, before Landon Jordan singled and Halter was hit by a pitch to load the bases again. A wild pitch scored the fifth run, before Mangum reached on an error from the shortstop, scoring two more runs. A wild pitch capped the scoring in the frame.
Mississippi State 18, Mississippi Valley State 5
Up Next
Mississippi State will host LSU in a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field, beginning on Thursday, March 28 at 6 p.m. The game will air on ESPNU, with Tom Hart and Kyle Peterson calling the game from the Left Field Lofts. The series continues at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 29 and conclude at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 30.
STARKVILLE – Playing its sixth game in eight days, the No. 2 Mississippi State baseball program played through a slow start to earn an 18-5 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday (March 26) evening at Dudy Noble Field.
MVSU (5-9) took the early 3-0 lead, before MSU (23-3) scored one in the second and four in the third to grab a 5-3 lead. The Delta Devils then knotted the score at 5-5 with two runs in the fourth, before the Bulldogs plated the final 13 runs of the contest.
The Diamond Dawgs piled up 18 runs on 17 hits on the offensive side, while the pitching staff struck out 16 on the night. The Delta Devils plated five runs on five hits, with four hit batters and five walks.
The 18 runs mark the third-straight game that Mississippi State has reached 15 runs, as the Dawgs scored 15 and 20 in the final two games of the series versus Auburn. It is the first time since 1998 that an MSU squad put up 15-plus runs in three straight games. That season, State won games over Mississippi Valley State (27-1), Alcorn State (18-4) and Jackson State (18-0).
Four Bulldogs posted both multiple hits and drove in multiple RBIs in the game, as Jordan Westburg led the way with three hits and four RBIs. Sophomore Rowdey Jordan had four hits and drove in two RBIs, while sophomore Justin Foscue had two hits and two RBIs. Junior Dustin Skelton entered as a defensive replacement and went 2-for-2 with three RBIs on the night. Senior Jake Mangum chipped in two hits, while senior Elijah MacNamee drove in three RBIs.
Senior Jared Liebelt tossed two-thirds of an inning in relief to earn his first career win. Junior Colby White tossed a scoreless frame, redshirt-junior Jack Eagan struck out all six batters he faced and redshirt-junior Spencer Price threw a scoreless ninth inning.
Quotable
Head Coach Chris Lemonis
On where the team's confidence level is
"They trust each other is the biggest thing. Their confidence is high. They have a lot of confidence in each other. They feel like they can beat anybody. I think they're smart enough to realize anybody can beat them. They have a real confidence about them, they've had it all year long. I see them continuing it."
Quick Hitters
Mississippi State
15-Plus – Mississippi State has scored 15-plus runs in three-straight games, marking the first time since 1998 that the program has had that type of offensive output.
Four Multis – Four Diamond Dawgs had both multiple hits and multiple RBIs. Justin Foscue (2 hits, 2 RBIs), Rowdey Jordan (4 hits, 2 RBIs), Dustin Skelton (2 hits, 3 RBIs) and Jordan Westburg (3 hits, 4 RBIs) all accomplished the feat.
Senior Contributions – Jake Mangum had two hits and scored three runs, while Elijah MacNamee drove in three RBIs with one hits to extend his reached base streak to 21 games.
Jack Eagan – On a night where pitching was all over the board, Eagan struck out all six batters he faced in two innings of work.
Mississippi Valley State
Wendell Rieves – Drove in one RBI and scored a run.
Willie Johnson – Reached via walk twice and scored two runs.
Jordan Sawyer – Reached base twice, with a hit and a walk. Scored one run.
Scoring Recap
Top First
A pair of walks, two hit batters and a catcher's interference contributed to a three-run inning for the Delta Devils. The first three batters reached, before starting pitcher Eric Cerantola got the first out via strikeout. After back-to-back RBI hit-by-pitches, Peyton Plumlee entered for MSU and cut down a runner at the plate. A wild pitch accounted for the final run of the frame.
Mississippi Valley State 3, Mississippi State 0
Bottom Second
Justin Foscue got the Diamond Dawgs on the board with his seventh home run of the year, a solo shot to left field.
Mississippi Valley State 3, Mississippi State 1
Bottom Third
Gunner Halter reached on an error by the shortstop and Jake Mangum singled, before Jordan Westburg gave State the lead with a three-run home run. After a walk to Elijah MacNamee and two stolen bases, Rowdey Jordan grounded out to make it a two-run lead for State.
Mississippi State 5, Mississippi Valley State 3
Top Fourth
MVSU scored a pair of runs in the fourth inning to draw even, as a one-out double move to third on a wild pitch. After a walk to Willie Johnson, a double steal plated the next run. A single by Morgan Lomax moved Johnson to third and the second double steal of the inning plated the fifth run of the game for the Delta Devils.
Mississippi State 5, Mississippi Valley State 5
Bottom Fifth
After Westburg doubled to start the inning, Tanner Allen reached on an error and moved to second on a wild pitch. MacNamee then delivered a two-RBI single to center field to give State the lead back.
Mississippi State 7, Mississippi Valley State 5
Bottom Seventh
Five singles plated three runs, as Allen started the inning with a one-out base hit before MacNamee flew out for the second out. Foscue and Rowdey Jordan each singled to load the bases, before Dustin Skelton delivered a two-out, two-RBI single. Josh Hatcher pushed the third run of the inning across the plate with a base hit, as well.
Mississippi State 10, Mississippi Valley State 5
Bottom Eighth
Thirteen batters came to the plate in the eight-run eighth inning, with Mangum, Westburg and Allen all reaching base twice in the frame. Mangum reached via bunt single to start the inning, before Westburg and Allen walked to load the bases. Sacrifice flies from MacNamee and Foscue put the first two runs on the board, before Rowdey Jordan doubled to score Allen. Skelton pushed the next run across the plate with a single, before Landon Jordan singled and Halter was hit by a pitch to load the bases again. A wild pitch scored the fifth run, before Mangum reached on an error from the shortstop, scoring two more runs. A wild pitch capped the scoring in the frame.
Mississippi State 18, Mississippi Valley State 5
Up Next
Mississippi State will host LSU in a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field, beginning on Thursday, March 28 at 6 p.m. The game will air on ESPNU, with Tom Hart and Kyle Peterson calling the game from the Left Field Lofts. The series continues at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 29 and conclude at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 30.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Liebelt, Jared (1-0)
L: Morgan Lomax (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Jordan Sawyer 1
RBI: Wendell Rieves 1 ; Fredrick Spencer 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Willie Johnson 2 ; Morgan Lomax 1 ; Wendell Rieves 1 ; Jordan Sawyer 1
SB: Willie Johnson 2 ; Morgan Lomax 1 ; Jordan Sawyer 1
HBP: Morgan Lomax 1 ; Aaron Barkley 1 ; Wendell Rieves 1 ; Fredrick Spencer 1
Batting:
2B: Westburg, Jordan 1 ; Jordan, Rowdey 1
HR: Westburg, Jordan 1 ; Foscue, Justin 1
RBI: Westburg, Jordan 4 ; MacNamee, Elijah 3 ; Foscue, Justin 2 ; Jordan, Rowdey 2 ; Skelton, Dustin 3 ; Hatcher, Josh 1
SF: MacNamee, Elijah 1 ; Foscue, Justin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mangum, Jake 3 ; Westburg, Jordan 3 ; Allen, Tanner 3 ; MacNamee, Elijah 1 ; Foscue, Justin 2 ; Jordan, Rowdey 2 ; Skelton, Dustin 1 ; Jordan, Landon 1 ; Halter, Gunner 2
SB: Westburg, Jordan 1 ; MacNamee, Elijah 2 ; Foscue, Justin 1 ; Jordan, Rowdey 1
HBP: Halter, Gunner 1
Game Leaders
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6
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RBI
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3
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2
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
IF/OF
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