Rain rescheduled four of the five games at the National Bank of
Commerce Classic, as the Mississippi State Bulldogs went 2-1 to
start the season.
The Connecticut Huskies waited until the eighth inning to score
on Friday and completed the six-run comeback of the
Birmingham-Southern Panthers in the final frame. BSC’s Wes Letson
silenced the UConn bats with a no-hitter through the first seven
innings. The Husky offense finally came alive in the top of the
eighth with a 5-run inning catapulted by a Dan Trubia homerun.
Trailing 6-5 beginning the ninth, UConn scored a pair of runs and
held on in the bottom half to secure the win.
The Panthers got even with UConn in the first of Saturday’s
games with a 12-7 victory. BSC scored the first nine runs of the
game and wouldn’t relinquish the lead this time.
In the nightcap, the Panthers doubled their pleasure–this time,
4-1 at the expense of the Bulldogs. In front of big league scouts,
BSC southpaw Derek Griffith got the better of MSU lefty Paul Maholm
in a tight pitching duel.
Maholm retired the first six BSC batters while Griffith allowed
three hits in the first two innings but kept the game scoreless.
The Panthers opened up the scoring in the third when Jared Walker
reached scoring position and Adam Pease doubled down the right
field line to bring him home. State answered in its third-inning
turn with a Tyler Scarbrough solo shot to right center.
Michael Cline put the Panthers ahead 2-1 in the top of the sixth
with an RBI single on a perfectly executed hit-and-run. BSC picked
up two more in the eighth when shortstop Matthew Maniscalco dropped
an infield fly ball with two outs and the bases loaded.
Griffith moved to 1-1 on the season with a complete-game victory
in which he scattered six hits for one run.
“This guy was really good tonight,” MSU head coach Ron Polk
said. “Any time you play your first game, you’re not going to feel
as comfortable against the pitchers.”
Maholm took the loss after giving up only six hits and one
earned run in the seven innings.
“I thought Paul Maholm was very sharp tonight as always,” Polk
said. “It’s just a matter of who got the hits at the right time.
Birmingham-Southern, coming in, I knew was a very good ball club.”
A dry Sunday permitted a double-header between State and Uconn, and
the Bulldogs pulled off the sweep.
In the first game, MSU rode the pitching of Alan Johnson, who
gave up six hits for two runs in his seven innings. Playing in his
first game as a Bulldog, Johnson gave up a hit to his first
opponent and retired the next 15 in order.
MSU put up a run in the third when rookie centerfielder Joseph
Hunter tripled, and Maniscalco drove him in with a single. The
Huskies took the lead in the sixth thanks to Brett Burnham’s
two-run homer to left-centerfield.
In the seventh, Thomas Berkery, taking second base duties,
singled and scored on Hunter’s second extra base hit of the game.
After leftfielder John Mungle walked, third baseman Steve Gendron
scored Hunter for the go-ahead run and put Mungle on third with a
single. With two outs, Gendron took off for second and got caught
in a rundown, but not before Mungle sneaked in from third to score
to give the Bulldogs a 4-2 lead.
In UConn’s last chance, Peter Soteropoulos doubled to start
things off. Designated hitter Robby Goodson came in to pitch but
allowed another double from Mike Leonard that scored Soteropoulos.
After Goodson registered a strikeout, Mike McDonough crushed a
single straight up the middle, and Leonard rounded third with a
head of steam. Hunter fielded the ball cleanly and threw a bullet
to Craig Tatum at home plate. Tatum caught the ball and moved his
glove about two feet to tag out the tying run. Goodson walked the
next two batters to load the bases before lowering the curtain with
a second strikeout.
Hunter, a true freshman who played high school ball with Maholm
and Brent Lewis, said he felt confident he could gun Leonard down
at home.
“Once the ball left my hand, I looked up to see where the runner
was, and he wasn’t even halfway, so I knew that I had him,” Hunter
said.
The Bulldogs made sure that the second half of the double-header
wasn’t as exciting, as they handled the Huskies 11-2.
Five MSU pitchers collectively limited the UConn offense to two
runs off six base hits. Todd Nicholas drew the start and held the
Huskies to one run in three innings. However, he walked five
batters, and Jacob Blakeney relieved him and picked up the win.
Every Bulldog in the starting lineup got a base hit. Scarbrough
went yard again in his second game in maroon and white, and J.B.
Tucker, playing catcher, chipped in with a single and a two-RBI
double.
Maniscalco turned in the highlight of the day in the top of the
fourth. With the bases juiced and no outs, Blakeney entered the
game, and D’Argento hit a shot up the middle. The veteran shortstop
dove to field the ball and, with his glove, flung it to Scarbrough,
who tapped the bag and threw to first for the double play. A run
scored on the play, but Blakeney struck out the next batter to
ensure no further damage.
Polk said he’s content to finish the weekend at 2-1.
“I told the guys in pre-game this morning that last year at the
Classic, we were 1-1-1, so if we can play well and win two, we’re
ahead of where we were last year,” Polk said. “I’m sure some of the
guys would like to be 3-0, but I really thought coming into this
weekend it’d be very difficult because we were playing good teams,
and Birmingham-Southern had already played five or six
ballgames.”
The Bulldogs play their next series at home this weekend
beginning Feb. 28 against East Tennessee State.