Tigers Eliminate State With 17-5 Romp
HOOVER, Ala. -- Top-seeded LSU wasted little time in settling Saturday night's bracket championship in the 2003 SEC Baseball tournament. The Tigers scored nine first-inning runs and raced to a 17-5 win over No. 14 Mississippi State, ending the Bulldogs' run in the SEC Baseball Tournament. LSU (40-18-1) advances to Sunday's championship game against Alabama. The game was shortened to seven innings by the 10-run "mercy rule". Mississippi State (40-18-1) now waits to see if it will receive an at-large berth in the 64-team field of the NCAA Tournament.
LSU center fielder Bruce Sprowl went 3-for-4, including two singles in the first inning when 13 batters stepped to the plate. The Tigers ousted MSU starter Todd Nicholas (5-4) five batters into the game. Nicholas gave up two singles, a walk and back-to-back two-run doubles by Clay Harris and Blake Gill that ended his shortest mound stint of the year. LSU totaled six hits in the opening frame and kept the barrage going in the second when 10 batters came to the plate, scoring five runs and staking LSU starter Bo Pettit (9-2) to a 14-0 lead. Pettit struck out nine and scattered six hits in the seven-inning game.
State broke scoring ice with three runs in the fourth inning. Robby Goodson singled in one run and Thomas Berkery laced a double to score two more. State added two more runs in the sixth went Brent Lewis delivered a pinch-hit double and J.B. Tucker followed with his second home run of the year.
Saunders Ramsey followed Nicholas to the hill in the second, giving up nine runs (five earned) and yielding four hits during a 1-2/3 inning stint. Freshman Brooks Dunn, Jonathan Papelbon, Brian Owens, Robby Goodson and Jacob Blakeney each saw mound duty. State pitching gave up a season-high 17 runs, seven unearned thanks to four Bulldog errors. State finished the tournament with nine miscues in four games.
MSU, one of three 40-game winners in the SEC, is among many hopefuls waiting for Sunday's 2:10 p.m. CDT announcement on ESPN revealing the 16 host schools for next week's NCAA Tournament. The full 64-team tournament field and pairings will be announced Monday at 11:30 a.m. CDT on ESPN2. The 16 regional tournaments are scheduled to begin May 30, with Super Regionals set the following weekend.
LSU 17, MSU 5
LSU 950 003 0 -- 17-11-1MSU 000 302 0 -- 5- 6-4
WP -- Bo Pettit (9-2). LP -- Todd Nicholas (5-4). HR -- J.B. Tucker (2). T -- 2:42. ATT -- 12,673.
Todd Nicholas, Saunders Ramsey (1), Brooks Dunn (2), Jonathan Papelbon (4), Brian Owens (5), Robby Goodson (6), Jacob Blakeney (7) and J.B. Tucker. Bo Pettit and Matt Liuzza.