In a week filled with mid-terms and study sessions, the Mississippi State baseball team passed its first midweek tests with flying colors, beating Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Monroe by a combined score of 18-3.
Tuesday: MSU 11, La. Tech 1
Tuesday night the Bulldogs logged a season-high eight extra-base hits en route to an 11-1 victory over Louisiana Tech. Andy Rice and Michael Rutledge both had three runs batted in for the Dawgs, and Rutledge led all batters with three hits.
The Bulldogs scored early and often, beginning with two runs on a Rutledge homer in the second. After starting pitcher Jon Crosby sat the Tech Bulldogs down in order in the top of the third, Ed Easley came back in the bottom of the frame with a leadoff home run, setting the stage for a four-run inning.
Jon Crosby struck out five in six innings of work, giving up only one run on a Mims Boyce sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth.
Wednesday: MSU 7, ULM 2
The offensive explosion that powered the Bulldogs to a huge win Tuesday night seemed to have a carry-over effect into the beginning of Wednesday’s contest. The Dawgs began the game with a Jeffrey Rea single, and two batters later a Thomas Berkery grounder scored Rea from second. Three batters later it was Berkery’s turn to cross home plate, thanks to a sacrifice from Rice.
Monroe answered with two runs in the top of the second frame, but that would be the closest to a lead the Indians ever reached. State answered with a run in the bottom of the second and then consecutive two-run innings in the fourth and fifth.
Freshman starter Matt Lea registered the win in his first outing for the Maroon and White, logging five innings and five strikeouts while walking only two. He scattered four hits and allowed only two runs.
Four MSU relievers-Chad Crosswhite, Aaron Weatherford, Justin Pigott and Brett Cleveland-closed the game out, each working a scoreless inning.
Cadence Classic vs Arizona
The Bulldogs will resume play this weekend with the sixth Annual Cadence Bank Classic. This year’s series will be a three-game set against the Arizona Wildcats, a team that took two of three from the Bulldogs in Arizona last year.
The Wildcats haven’t played in Starkville since 1978, 12 years after current MSU skipper Ron Polk served as a graduate assistant and earned a Master’s degree from the Tucson, Ariz.,-based school.
The Bulldogs lead the overall series 5-3.