The 8th-ranked Mississippi State baseball team lived up to its billing and answered a few pitching staff questions this weekend, as they swept the Marist Red Foxes-the 2005 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference-by a three-game-combined-score of 16-6.
Friday
The Bulldogs began the season under sunny skies and weather in the upper 60s, providing a beautiful backdrop for a 9-3 decision over Marist.
State co-captains Brad Jones and Thomas Berkery each hit a home run, championing a 14-hit evening for the veteran squad. 2005 SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player, Jeff Butts, logged two hits to go with his two stolen bases, while Berkery led all players with four hits in the contest.
“We looked good out there today.” Jones said. “Hopefully this is a good sign of what is going to happen this year. We pretty much played a perfect game today.”
Brooks Dunn, voted into the top rotation spot by both his coaches and teammates at the outset of fall ball, mowed down the competition, striking out five and allowing only three runs on five hits.
The Dawgs were ahead 7-0 before the Foxes finally scored a run on Adam Pernasilici’s solo shot in the fourth inning. After giving but two more runs on a Travis Musolf double in the fifth, Dunn shut the door on the Foxes’ rally, and-combined with relievers Chad Crosswhite and Trent Hill-did not allow another Marist hit.
Sunday-Game 1
On Saturday the rains came, setting up a Sunday doubleheader opportunity.
The Bulldogs went with junior righthander Josh Johnson as the starting hurler, and the decision paid dividends to the tune of 6 1/3 innings of shutout baseball en route to a 3-1 MSU victory.
Johnson allowed only one hit in that span, striking out five. Marist scored an unearned run in the eighth off of reliever Justin Pigott to arrive at the final decision. Pigott received credit for the save.
The Bulldog offense took three innings to figure out Marist starter George Heath before outfielder Andy Rice, in only his second game for the Maroon and White, broke the tie game open with an RBI single to left. In the next at-bat, Kevin Grauer misplayed Jeff Butts’ long fly ball, allowing two more Bulldogs to cross home plate.
Rice paced the Bulldogs with the only multi-hit performance of the game, going two for three with one walk.
Sunday-Game 2
The bottom half of Sunday’s doubleheader, a 4-2 victory over Marist which clinched a season-opening sweep, was another chance for Bulldog pitching to shine.
“Pitchers are usually ahead of hitters early in the season,” MSU head coach Ron Polk said, “And today was a pitcher’s type of day.”
John Lalor went 6 2/3 innings for the Dawgs, allowing one run (unearned) and striking out 11 of the 24 batters he faced.
“I was throwing two-seam, four-seam, a changeup and every now and then I’d mix in a breaking ball,” Lalor said. “The plan was to locate the fastball, get ahead and go from there.”
Mitch Moreland worked the next 1 1/3 innings, also giving up only an unearned run, before Aaron Weatherford closed out the game by working the final inning, earning his first save of the campaign.
The MSU offense was marked by a balanced attack, with the team’s four RBIs coming from four different hitters. State struck first in the game, with Brian LaNinfa sacrifice-grounding Brad Jones in from third base.
Joseph Hunter and Ed Easley both registered multi-hit games with two hits apiece.
No Red Foxes logged multi-hit performances, and Travis Musolf scored the team’s only RBI on a sacrifice grounder in the top of the third.