Game 1–MSU 10, Morehead State 4
Matthew Brinson, Thomas Berkery and Jon Mungle hit home runs for Mississippi State (18-3-1) Tuesday night powering the ninth-ranked Bulldogs to a 10-4 win over Morehead State (7-12) at Dudy Noble Field.
It was the 12th win in the last 14 games for the Bulldogs, who close out the two-game set with Morehead State Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
State jumped on Eagles starter Casey Campbell (0-4) for a run in the first when Mungle walked, Brinson singled up the middle and Brad Corley lashed a single to left. Morehead State staged a two-out rally to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the third.
Bulldog starter Jeff Lacher (3-0), after striking out the first two batters he faced in the frame, gave up an infield single by Roy Gentry, a game-tying double by Brandon Baarstad, and a Kevin Bryant RBI single to right.
The lead was short-lived. Steve Gendron singled to left to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 15 games, and Brinson followed with his team-leading fourth home run of the year. An inning later Berkery sent his third home run of the year, a two-run shot, over the left field fence for a 5-2 MSU lead.
Baarstad and Kevin Bryant drilled run-scoring singles in the fifth inning as the Eagles trimmed the Bulldog lead to 5-4.
But State put the game away in the bottom of the frame with a four-run, four-hit surge triggered by Mungle’s lead-off home run to left. Corley and Brent Lewis then delivered back-to-back RBI singles as the first five Bulldogs reached base in the inning.
Lacher picked up his third win in four starts, allowing four runs on six hits with six strikeouts. Jacob Blakeney replaced Lacher in the sixth and fanned four of the eight batters he faced during two innings of scoreless relief work. Saunders Ramsey and Brian Owens blanked the Eagles over the final two frames to close out the game.
Campbell, the Morehead State starter, was touched for nine runs on 11 hits. Donald Schneider worked the final three innings for the Eagles.
Brinson, Corley, and Berkery had two-hit, two-RBI nights at the plate while Craig Tatum and Brent Lewis also collected two hits apiece.
Baarstad and Bryant also turned in two-hit, two-RBI plate performances for Murray State.
Game 2–MSU 10, Morehead State 3
Ninth-ranked Mississippi State (19-3-1) hit three home runs and scored in six of the first seven innings Wednesday night to notch a 10-3 win over Morehead State (7-13). The win, State’s 13th in its last 15 games, gave the Bulldogs a sweep of the two-game series with the Eagles.
Designated hitter Craig Tatum hit a towering two-run shot over the center field wall as MSU scored three runs off Morehead State starter Greg Wood (1-1). State added two more in the second and led 5-3 when Jon Mungle opened the fourth inning wth his fourth home run of the year. Mungle singled in two more runs in the fifth and added an RBI double in the seventh, matching a season-best with three hits and four runs batted in.
Senior shortstop Matthew Maniscalco, who has hits in 22 of MSU’s 23 games, belted State’s final home run of the night, his third of the season, to lead off the sixth inning.
Freshman right-hander Brad Corley started and worked four innings for State, giving up three runs on four hits. Freshman Brooks Dunn (1-0), who replaced Corley in the fifth, blanked the Eagles with one-hit pitching and struck out a season-high five to earn his first career win. Jamie Gant pitched the seventh and eighth and Robby Goodson fanned two batters in the ninth to close out the game.
Junior third baseman Steve Gendron laced a single up the middle in his first at-bat, extending his team-leading hitting streak to 16 games.
Kevin Bryant, Matt Morris and Ryan Plank had two hits each to account for six of Morehead State’s seven hits. Wood gave up nine runs on 10 hits with four walks and four strikeouts. Donnie Spencer worked the final two innings for the Eagles.
Mississippi State resumes SEC Western Division competition in Oxford this weekend, taking on No. 29 Mississippi (17-7, 5-1 SEC) in a three-game series at UM’s Oxford/University Stadium.
Friday’s series-opener is set for 4 p.m., while the Saturday and Sunday games are scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.