The same electrical failure that Mississippi State students experienced Wednesday night created a bit of chaos for the baseball players. For them, though, it put the cap on a two-game series sweep of the Memphis Tigers (18-16).
In the top of the sixth with the Bulldogs (24-14, 6-9 SEC) leading Memphis 7-2, an explosion behind the leftfield wall delayed and eventually ended the game.
After waiting an hour, MSU coach Ron Polk and Memphis coach Dave Anderson agreed to call the game because officials told them it there would be an even greater delay.
Game 1
MSU put up a six-spot in the seventh inning Tuesday night and beat Memphis 10-2.
Brad Corley launched homeruns No. 12 and No. 13 out of the yard Tuesday night in consecutive innings.
Corley turned on the first pitch of the sixth inning and sent it over the left field wall to give MSU a 3-1 advantage. In the very next inning, with a ball and two strikes, he drilled a changeup for a three-run shot to center field.
“They’d been throwing me fastballs in and changeups away, and I was missing them,” Corley said. “I was sitting on changeup both at bats, and I extended and hit it.”
Jeff Butts picked up the other three RBI’s of the inning when he came to the plate and delivered a double with two outs and the bases loaded.
“He (UM pitcher Brandon Rowan) had gotten me the pitch before,” Butts said. “I looked back to see how he was working me, and he came back with the same pattern, and I just turned on the pitch and hit it to right field.”
Since starting the season slowly, Butts has picked up his game offensively in recent weeks.
“I’m seeing the ball a lot better, and I’m just feeling more comfortable at the plate,” he said.
Josh Johnson (4-1) earned the win for the Bulldogs, scattering five hits for one run in six innings. Johnson struck out four and walked two.
Game 2
Brad Jones continued to smoke the ball Wednesday and crushed his sixth homerun of the season in State’s 7-2 abbreviated victory.
The Bulldogs had already put up a run in the top of the first when Jones entered the batter’s box. With two on and two out, Jones let two balls go by and took the third pitch deep.
“I knew he was going to come right after me with a 2-0 count,” Jones said. “So I just put a good swing on it, and homerun is just how it ended up.”
Jones seemingly caught fire on a road trip earlier in the month. In the Bulldogs’ comeback win of Southern Mississippi, he pulled off the hat trick with three long balls.
Jones was batting .292 for the season before the trip to Hattiesburg, but since then he’s hit .465.
“Everything’s just starting to click right now,” he said. “In baseball, you have to be patient. I’ve been hitting balls hard all year, pretty much, and they’re finally starting to fall for me.”
Jamie Gant got back on track with his first win since the Louisiana State series. It was also his first win as a reliever since last year when he was a freshman.
Gant pitched three and one-third innings, allowing three hits and no runs before abruptly notching the win.
“It was a step toward getting my confidence back,” said Gant, whose struggles as a starter made him want to return to the bullpen. “I was just too up and down, so I just wanted to go back to something that felt comfortable.
“Starting, you kind of have to pace yourself. I’m the type of pitcher who only knows one speed, and it’s full-speed ahead.”
Gant said everything in his arsenal was working for him, which meant the game’s sudden ending was a slight disappointment.
“I had just got in a really good rhythm, and then the light blew,” he said.
Fortunately, Gant said optimistically that he should be able to maintain that rhythm going into the weekend at Auburn.