In the quest for Omaha gold, the Maroon and White could not have asked for a better start. The Mississippi State baseball team swept Arkansas State over the weekend, a program which has already beaten Kentucky and Ole Miss, to improve to 6-0.
Friday: MSU 9, ASU 5
The Bulldogs opened up Friday’s 9-5 victory with heavy action in the first inning, scoring two runs on four hits before the Indians ever recorded an out. Co-Captain Thomas Berkery began the scoring with an RBI single to score Jeffrey Rea.
Fellow Co-Captain Brad Jones followed Berkery with a double to center field, allowing Ed Easley to score from second base.
The Dawgs tacked on another run before the inning was over, but the 3-0 advantage would not be enough to secure a victory. Arkansas State rallied for one run in the second before exploding for three runs in the third, two coming on a Josh Yates double down the left field line.
“Arkansas State is a good ball club,” State coach Ron Polk said. “Their starter beat Kentucky, and he’s pretty good. Thankfully we scored early.”
The Indians’ lead would not last long, however, as the Bulldogs stormed back in the fifth inning with two runs of their own. The first came on a single from Jones, which knotted the game at four, with Joseph McCaskill driving in the go-ahead run on a single to center field.
The Diamond Dawgs added runs in the bottoms of the next three innings, outpacing ASU 4-1 over that stretch to arrive at the four-run win.
Bulldog pitcher Brooks Dunn admitted that he did not have his best pitches working for him Friday night, but he managed to fight his way to his second win in as many starts, lasting six innings and striking out two.
Jones paced all Bulldog hitters with a three-for-five outing and two RBIs.
“This is what this team has been talking about all year,” Jones said. “We’ve got the confidence level, and we don’t worry or push ourselves when we get down.”
Saturday: MSU 10, ASU 4
With 2,662 on hand for the contest, the Bulldogs continued to impress the masses with their bats, defeating Arkansas State 10-4.
State was out-hit by the Indians 10-8 but was able to field its way out of most potentially dangerous situations.
Jeff Butts and Thomas Berkery each registered multi-hit games for the Maroon and White. Butts led all hitters with four RBIs in the game-three coming from a home run with two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“I was seeing the ball well today, and I was able to connect on him,” Butts said.
By the time Butts crushed his moon shot, however, the outcome was already well in the Bulldogs’ collective grasp. The team had scored pairs of runs in the second, third and sixth innings, in addition to a solo run in the fourth before Butts even stepped into the batters box in the seventh.
“We spaced our hits out, didn’t make any errors and only walked three or four,” Polk said.
Josh Johnson was the pitcher tabbed with keeping the Indians in check, and he did so with great efficiency, allowing only two runs in six innings while striking out eight.
Sunday: MSU 5, ASU 4
Sunday’s 5-4 win closed the book on the second straight sweep for the Dawgs, leaving them the only undefeated team remaining in the SEC.
“This was a good series for us,” Polk said after the final game. “Arkansas State has a nice ball club, and they have shown they are capable of beating good teams. They gave us a tussle this weekend, and today we had to make some plays and pitch well.”
For the second time in three games, the Bulldogs found themselves staring at a losing deficit on the scoreboard.
State took an early two-run lead on a Brad Jones double and a Joseph Hunter sacrifice, but ASU slowly chipped away, scoring single runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings to ascertain a 3-2 lead.
The Bulldogs showed resilience, though, and with two on base in the bottom of the sixth junior transfer Andy Rice was able to slip a probable single through the glove of left-fielder Kevin Kull. Two runs scored on the error, and Rice was later driven in by third baseman Michael Rutledge.
The Indians scored a final run in the seventh but were unable to plate another, falling one run shy of their comeback bid.
John Lalor pitched six strong innings and earned the victory for the Diamond Dawgs, while senior reliever Brett Cleveland pitched a perfect ninth inning for his first save of the year.