Dogs Top Rebs 4-1 For Win No. 40
HOOVER, Ala. -- Mississippi State notched its 40th win of the season and stayed alive in the 2003 SEC Baseball Tournament Saturday, topping instate rival Mississippi 4-1 at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The win advanced MSU (40-17-1) to an 8 p.m. Saturday rematch with top-seeded Louisiana State.
The Bulldogs got solid pitching performances from starter Jeff Lacher and relief hurler Jamie Gant (5-1). Lacher blanked the Rebels over the first four innings before UM struck for three hits in the fifth. Matt Tolbert reached on a one-out infield single, Jonathan Swearingen followed with a single up the middle, and Seth Smith sent Tolbert home on a single to left-center. State went to its bullpen and turned the game over to Gant, who retired Stephen Head on a line drive to left to end the inning and then set down the next eight Rebel batters in order. Gant worked around a two-out single in the eighth and and walk and single in the ninth to nail down the win.
Mississippi freshman starter Mark Holliman (4-7) danced in and out of trouble in the first four innings when the Bulldogs put runners in scoring position in each inning. Holliman issued a one-out walk to Jon Mungle, gave up a single to Steve Gendron and advanced the runners to second and third with a wild pitch in the first inning. But the UM rookie got out of the jam by striking out Matthew Brinson and Craig Tatum. Robby Goodson and Brad Corley drew inning-opening walks and Jeff Butts reached on a catcher's interference to load the bases to open the second inning. The Bulldogs could get but one run across, that coming on Thomas Berkery's double play groundout. Holliman closed out the inning retiring Matthew Maniscalco on a called third strike.
Holliman dodged trouble after walking two batters in the third, but gave up a run on three consecutive hits to open the fourth. Brad Corley doubled to left-center, Jeff Butts reached on a smash single at third base, and Thomas Berkery drove Corley home with a single to left. The UM hurler ended the inning with three strikeouts and after Berkery's RBI single fanned six of the next seven batters he faced.
The Bulldogs struck for two more runs in the sixth. Jeff Butts opened the rally with a single to left and Berkery followed with a single to right that ended Holliman's stay in the game. Relief pitcher Nick Bradshaw retired Matthew Maniscalco on a grounder that advanced the runners into scoring position. Both Bulldogs scored a batter later when Jon Mungle's smash to first base was mishandled by Stephen Head, expanding the MSU lead to 4-1.
MSU, out-hit 9-7, got two-hit outings from Corley, Butts and Berkery. Corley's double, his 15th of the season, was the lone extra-base hit of the game.
Mississippi State senior shortstop Matthew Maniscalco earned a place in the MSU career record book. His four at-bats raised his career total to a school-record 970.
The win was Ron Polk's 40th in 20 SEC Tournaments while head coach at Mississippi State.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 4, MISSISSIPPI 1
UM 000 010 000 --- 1-9-2MSU 010 102 00x --- 4-7-0
WP -- Jamie Gant (5-1). LP -- Mark Holliman (4-7). T -- 2:47. ATT -- 7,568
Mark Holliman, Nick Bradshaw (6) and Charlie Waite. Jeff Lacher, Jamie Gant (5) and Craig Tatum.