Midweek opponents continued to nag the Mississippi State Diamond Dawgs on Tuesday as they dropped a 10-inning contest to the Memphis Tigers at AutoZone Park. Cole Shelton’s two-run base hit in the bottom of the tenth sealed the deal for the Tigers (12-19) to give them a 9-8 victory over the Bulldogs (14-18).
Memphis head coach Daron Schoenrock said he thought the end result of the game was a sign of his team’s dedication and growing maturity.
“That’s something this team has always done, and that’s fight,” Schoenrock said. “We haven’t always gotten the big hit, and we finally had one fall for us tonight. Our guys are starting to grow up a little bit.”
Pregame festivities at AutoZone Park included the Tigers honoring soon-to-be-retired MSU head coach Ron Polk by presenting him with a fishing pole and a tackle box, which each player helped fill with cigars as they walked to the plate to shake his hand.
The Bulldogs had erased a 7-3 deficit at one point in the game and rallied back to take an 8-7 lead in the top of the tenth inning off sophomore catcher Ryan Duffy’s solo home run to left field.
That would be the third home run of the game for the Bulldogs as sophomore third baseman Conner Powers and junior first baseman Tyler Moore hit roundtrippers of their own.
Freshman right-hander Michael Busby took his second loss of the season after working the tenth inning. Busby allowed two earned runs on two hits and walked two batters.
The Bulldogs struck first in the contest, scoring two runs in the second inning after Duffy singled to right field and SEC-leading base stealer Grant Hogue was hit by a pitch from Tigers starter Marc Ashley.
Memphis came back to add three runs to the board in the third inning, chasing Bulldog starter Tyler Whitney after two and two-thirds innnings.
Powers tied up the game in the fifth inning with his 10th home run of the year, but Memphis would come back to score four runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 7-3 lead.
The Bulldogs came back with four runs of their own in the seventh inning on a Russ Sneed RBI double and Moore’s three-run homer, his sixth of the year.
Mississippi State finished with 14 hits, as Duffy and junior outfielder Mark Goforth each recorded three hits.
Junior closer Aaron Weatherford worked two and two-thirds innings of hitless relief in his third appearance back since injury, striking out four and walking one.
The Bulldogs return to Dudy Noble Field for their next SEC series, beginning a three-game set with the Vanderbilt Commodores on Friday.
The two teams met only in the SEC tournament last year, when the Commodores and No. 1 draft pick David Price ousted Mississippi State from the tournament with a 3-2 win.
Sophomore second baseman Brandon Turner will be sidelined for at least another month and possibly the rest of the season after tweaking his recurring hamstring injury again during last weekend’s series loss at Kentucky.
Polk said injuries have been the main factor in the Bulldogs struggles this season.
“It’s a game of luck, and we just haven’t been very lucky this season,” Polk said. “I don’t think the baseball gods are liking me anymore.”
Polk confirmed the weekend’s pitching rotation would consist of junior right-hander Chad Crosswhite on Friday, sophomore right-hander Ricky Bowen on Saturday and senior right-hander John Lalor on Sunday, who would make his first start of the season.
On the forefront of the Diamond Dawgs’ minds is the rumors of a possible suspension of Polk after his ejection in three straight games at Kentucky.
MSU outgoing athletic director Larry Templeton said on Monday Polk’s actions are still under review with the SEC and MSU, and a suspension has yet to come down.
“It’s just one of those things. I guess I was in a slump, and I don’t know,” Polk said. “I don’t like to have that happen because I like to stay with our ballclub, especially on the road, especially against a good Kentucky team.