| 1996 | Oct | Nov | Dec | |||||||||
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| 1997 | Jan | Feb | March | April | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1998 | Jan | Feb | March | April | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1999 | Jan | Feb | March | April | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2000 | Jan | Feb | Mar |
04/30/00
Baseball - No. 12 Mississippi State scored three runs in the sixth inning to down Tennessee 4-2 Saturday night at Dudy Noble Field/Polk-DeMent Stadium.
Mississippi State's win combined with LSU's 6-4 loss to Mississippi moves the Bulldogs into first place in the SEC Western Division.
The Volunteers (35-19, 7-14 SEC) scored in the top of the third to take an early 1-0 lead in the contest, but MSU (32-12, 13-7) tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth on Travis Chapman's RBI groundout. MSU then closed out its scoring behind a three-run sixth in which the Bulldogs only managed to knock one ball out of the infield.
Tennessee closed the gap to 4-2 with an additional run in the eighth, but Bulldog closer Adam Larson came in and pitched a perfect 1.1 innings to earn his SEC-leading 12th save of the year.
Chris Young picked up the win in relief of starter Joey Collums as MSU claimed its sixth SEC series win in eight weekends. Young gave up one run on one hit in three innings of work to improve his record to 4-0 on the year.
Wyatt Allen's record fell to 3-2 on the year as he was hit for four runs on six hits over 3.1 innings in relief of starter Brad Love.
MSU and Tennessee combined for 15 hits in the contest, all of which were singles.
Senior Ryan McGrath paced MSU offensively, going 3-for-4 at the plate with the one RBI. Jamie Rock also had a 3-for-4 outing, scoring one run in the game. Phillip Willingham accounted for two of the Bulldogs' four runs in the contest.
MSU and Tennessee conclude their three-game SEC series with a 1:30 p.m. contest that will be broadcast by Comcast Sports Southeast.
Tennessee 001 000 010 - 2 5 4
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/29/00
Donovan (4-3), after giving up a game-opening double to Chris Burke, retired the next 13 batters, six via strikeout, while the Bulldog offense went to work.
State, helped along by a passed ball and a wild pitch by starter Kurt Scott (1-2), plated four runs on five hits in the third inning, including Travis Chapman's 300th career hit. Ty Martin extended his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games with a single in the third to open a 3-for-4 plate performance. Jamie Bennett came to to record the final out of the inning and finished the game for UT.
Phillip Willingham picked up his second RBI of the night with a run-scoring single during MSU's two-run fourth. Ty Martin doubled and scored MSU's final run in the eighth on Daron Wright's RBI single. All nine Bulldog starters had hits.
Tennessee (35-18, 7-13) mounted a threat in the seventh with three singles and a baserunner on a catcher's interference. But Donovan helped his own cause, snaring a line drive off to start a double play and retiring the next UT batter on a fly ball.
Donovan worked six scoreless innings and scattered seven hits while striking out 10, his fourth double-digit strikeout total of the season. UT starter Kurt Scott gave up four runs on six hits in 2-2/3 innings of work.
Chris Burke paced Tennessee with a 3-for-5 outing that included a ninth-inning RBI single off MSU relief ace Adam Larson.
Mississippi State and Tennessee continue their three-game SEC series Saturday in a 6 p.m. contest to be televised on Comcast Sports Southeast.
Tennessee 000 000 201 - 3 8 1
K. Scott, Bennett (3), and Massey. K. Donovan, Larson (9), and McGrath. W-Donovan (4-3). L-Scott (1-2).
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/27/00 - Mississippi State used a pair of big innings to erase a 4-0 deficit Wednesday night to record a series-evening 8-5 win over Southern Mississippi at Pete Taylor Park. The win gave MSU (30-12) its 18th consecutive 30-win season.
Southern Mississippi (27-17) jumped on MSU starter Jeff Hunter for five hits and a 3-0 lead in the first inning and added a run in the third to go up 4-0.
But the Bulldogs used a walk, a hit batsmen, a pair of USM fielding errors and a leadoff double by Phillip Willingham to score three runs. State completed the comeback in the seventh with four more runs, scoring one run on a dropped fly ball in the outfield, two more on a single by Ty Martin and another on a pinch-hit single by Brian Terry.
The Golden Eagles got solo home runs from Chris Finnegan and Dequincy Scott, who went 4-for-4 with two doubles.
Stephen Castleman (1-1), the last of three USM pitchers, gave up four runs on six hits during his 4-2/3 innings of mound work.
Freshman Chris Young (3-0), who followed Hunter on the mound and allowed one hit in two innings of work, picked up the win. Another freshman pitcher, Steven Dowe, scattered three hits and gave up one run while closer Adam Larson retired the two batters he faced in the ninth to end the game.
The game drew 4,139 fans, the fourth-largest crowd at Pete Taylor Park.
Mississippi State returns to action at Dudy Noble Field Friday at 6:30 p.m., opening a three-game SEC weekend series against the Tennessee Volunteers. All three MSU-UT games are being televised in a seven-state area by Comcast Sports Southeast. Saturday's game has a special 6 p.m. start time while
Sunday's game begins at 1:30 p.m.
WP ---Young. LP ---Castleman. Hunter, Young (5), and Obradovich. Calcote, Barthel (4), Castleman (4), and Welch.
MSU and Samford will meet Wednesday, May 3 at 6 p.m. in Birmingham and host the SU Bulldogs Tuesday, May 9 in a 6:30 p.m. game at Dudy Noble Field. MSU has previously announced the addition of a May 10 (7:05 p.m.) game at UAB.
MSU's REMAINING SCHEDULE
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/26/00
USM took an early 5-1 lead but MSU would bounce back in the top of the fourth to take a 6-5 lead. USM would then re-take the lead with a four-run bottom of the fourth. Included in those four runs was a very important three-run home run by Dusty Haley. All four of USM's runs were scored after two were out.
USM's Chad Christian (2-2), a true freshman out of Laurel, MS., was the winner while MSU's Joey Collums (2-1), a redshirt freshman, was the loser. Christian pitched the last 5.1 innings, giving up no runs on 2 hits.
Other pitchers who saw action for MSU were Justin Estel, Brandon Medders and Tanner Brock.
Mississippi State had ten hits during the game. Three players had seven of those hits. Phillip Willingham and Jon Knott had two hits a piece while Ty Martin had three hits.
MSU is now 29-12 (8-8 on the road) on the season while Southern Miss improved to 27-16 (21-5 at home).
The attendance for last night's game was 4,310, the second highest in USM history. In fact, the fourteen largest home crowds in USM history have been played against MSU.
The two teams meet again Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in Hattiesburg in a game being televised regionally by Comcast Sports Southeast. MSU junior righty Jeff Hunter (4-1) and USM freshman right-hander Colby Calcote (0-4) are the projected starting pitchers.
Keri McCallum turned in a 2-3 performance at the plate with a triple, while two other players managed singles for State. Starter Jennifer Pursell (23-13) hurled her 23rd complete game of the season, striking out one, but gave up a pair of earned runs in the third to take the loss for the Bulldogs.
The outcome gave Samford its first victory in the history of the nine-game series and gave Mississippi State its second five-game losing streak this season. The loss also marked the first time since 1997 that State has failed to record a victory in its final game of its home schedule.
With one out showing on the board after a leadoff groundout by Linda Tehranchi, Kellie Wilkerson misjudged a fly ball to center which allowed Mindy Shunnarah to move into scoring position on a stand-up double. After Michelle Wright reached safely on an infield single, Michelle Ashley laid down a successful suicide squeeze attempt to bring Shunnarah across the plate for the game's first run. After Juliet Shunnarah popped up to put a second out on the scoreboard, Jennifer Graham laced a single to left center to plate Wright for the 2-0 Samford lead.
Mississippi State put runners in scoring position in both the third and seventh innings, but were unable to get a key hit to scratch at the Samford lead.
The Bulldogs, who are currently clutching onto a 13-11 mark inside the conference, will again be in action on Friday when they travel to Gainesville, Fla., for a key SEC doubleheader with the Florida Gators (37-24, 7-12 SEC). First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at the Florida Softball Field and the opener of the twinbill will be televised live on Fox Sports Net.
Samford 2, #20 Mississippi State 0
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/25/00
MSU has moved up to 12th and 13th in the latest polls.
For State's seven seniors, who were honored in a pregame ceremony prior to the Bulldogs' Saturday doubleheader with Alabama, playing in front of the home crowd will never mean more than it does Tuesday evening.
No. 20 Mississippi State (37-20) will conclude a 10-game home stand, as well as its 2000 home schedule, Tuesday evening when Samford (23-29) rolls into a Starkville for a single game at the Mississippi State Softball Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
The game will mark the final time that Mississippi State's class of 2000 - Chris Bushby, Michelle Gates, Nichole Henry, Jenny Hehnke, Kendell Kimbrough, Keri McCallum and Karrie Rider - will play in front of the home crowd. Although she hated to think about it before the season started, head coach Kathy Arendsen is sure that Tuesday evening will be a very emotional occasion.
"This group of seniors came to Mississippi State before that field was even built," Arendsen said. "They jumped into something without knowing what was going to happen and they helped turn our program into a success story. Tuesday night will be the last chance that our team, as well as our fans, will see them play on their home field. It will truly be a momentous occasion."
Despite a four-game series sweep at the hands of Alabama, the Bulldogs head into the game with a .295 batting average after collecting 36 hits against the Crimson Tide hurlers. Both Kellie Wilkerson (.448) and McCallum (.400) will face Samford's pitching still possessing a batting average at or above the .400 plateau. The Mississippi State pitching staff took a hit against the Alabama bats and will head into the final game of the home schedule with a 2.25 team ERA while still being led by freshman ace Jennifer Pursell (23-12, 2.01 ERA).
Fresh off a tournament victory at the Tennessee Lady Vol Classic, a tournament in which Samford defeated the host Lady Vols twice, the Bulldogs from Birmingham will head into the contest with State clutching onto a .244 team batting average, paced by a lone .300 hitter in Jennifer Graham (.344, 22 RBI). Samford possesses a 2.29 team ERA and will likely start Brianne Mertens (17-17, 1.82 ERA) against Mississippi State on Tuesday.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/24/00
Willingham collected a career-high five hits, all singles, as MSU racked six LSU pitchers for 16 hits.
Freed, who held the hot-hitting Tigers to a run and three hits in the first five innings, allowed three runs with seven strikeouts during a career-best 7-2/3 innings mound performance. Closer Adam Larson allowed one hit during his 1-1/3 inning stint, interrupted in the ninth inning by a 39-minute rain
delay.
The Bulldogs out-hit the SEC's top offensive team 16-10 in the game and 47-43 for the series, piling up 20 extra-base hits, nine of them home runs, during the three-game set.
Shane Kelly, who went 10-for-17 (.588) with three doubles and two home runs, put the Bulldogs on the board with his second round tripper of the weekend, a leadoff blast in the third. State then chased LSU starter Jason Scobie (1-1) from the game with a four-run, five-hit burst. The Bulldogs added four more
runs over the next three innings to lead 9-1 in the seventh. Ty Martin and Matthew Maniscalco launched solo home runs to lead off the fifth and sixth innings.
LSU, held to just two home runs during the weekend, got a two-run, eighth-inning home run from Brad Cresse, his 22nd of the year.
Kelly and Travis Chapman collected three hits each while LSU was led by Ryan Theriot's three hits.
Mississippi State opens a two-game road series against Southern Mississippi Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Hattiesburg. Both midweek games at USM and next weekend's three-game series with Tennessee at Dudy Noble Field will be televised regionally by Comcast Sports Southeast.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 001 412 101 --- 10-16-1
Freed, Larson (8) and McGrath; Scobie, Youman (4), Hodges (5), Nugent (6), Guidry (6), Gomez (8) and Jorgensen.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/23/00
The Tigers sent 13 batters to the plate in the first inning, taking a 7-0 lead with three hits, five walks, a wild pitch and two hit batsmen. Cedrick Harris opened a 3-for-5 day at the plate with an RBI single in the first, doubled and scored a run in the second, then singled and scored in the third as LSU raced to a 14-3 lead after three innings.
Mississippi State (28-11, 10-7) used the long ball to get back into the game, hitting a season-high five home runs, including consecutive blasts by Travis Chapman and Jon Knott in the third, two by Jamie Rock and a career-first shot by Jason Burkley. Chapman hit two doubles, the second during a five-run,
five-hit MSU rally in the ninth, to cap a 3-for-5, 3-RBI game. Matthew Maniscalco had two singles and a double as MSU out-hit LSU 16-15.
Starting pitcher Brian Tallet (9-2) worked five innings, struck out seven and scattered eight hits to pick up the win, while State starter Tanner Brock (0-2) failed to get an out in the first inning, walking two batters, giving up a pair of singles and hitting one batter. Josh Wooten was the most effective pitcher for the Bulldogs, allowing three runs on five hits over the final four frames.
The two teams conclude their high-scoring weekend series at Alex Box Stadium Sunday at 1 p.m.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 003 220 305 --- 15-16-0
WP --- Scott Tallet (9-2). LP --- Tanner Brock (0-2). HR --- Travis Chapman (4), Jon Knott (11), Jamie Rock-2 (6), Jason Burkley (1), Mike Fontenot (12). Tallet, McMurray (6), Saxon (7) and Hodges (9) and Cresse. Brock, Medders (1), Carroll ( 2), and Wooten (5), McGrath and Obradovich (6).
Karrie Rider hit 3-4 at the plate with a pair of RBI to provide the Bulldogs' only run support. Starter Kasey Whitehead (2-2) worked a complete game, giving up three unearned runs while striking out two, to take the loss for State.
With one out and two runners in scoring position in the opening frame, Ginger Jones laced a single to right field that plated both runners to give the Crimson Tide an early 2-0 lead. Three batters later, Kelley Askew gave the visitors a 4-0 lead on a two-run double to the gap in left center that plated both Jones and Lacy Prejean.
Mississippi State answered in the bottom frame, using a single to left field by Rider to plate Keri McCallum. Rider's RBI triple to left center in the third provided the Bulldogs with their only other run. The Bulldogs had their chances to take the lead in the fifth and seventh innings, but twice left the bases juiced.
In the opener of the doubleheader, the visiting Crimson Tide used a six-run second inning to take Mississippi State out of its game early, then added a single run in the fourth and a pair of runs in the sixth to abbreviate the contest with a 9-0 score.
Four different players recorded hits for the Bulldogs with Michelle Gates and Jennifer Nelson both recording 1-2 performances. Starter Jennifer Pursell (23-12) gave up six earned runs in 1.2 innings before being relieved by Nelson in the second. Nelson worked the remainder of the contest, giving up three runs on five Alabama hits, to get the no decision.
Mississippi State held Alabama scoreless in the opening frame, but the Crimson Tide used a RBI single in the second by Suzanne Olcott and a two-run double by Jennifer Reach to take a 3-0 lead, before Jones belted a three-run homer with two outs that chased Pursell from the circle.
Alabama added a single run in the fourth on a double steal that plated Kelly Kretschman from third, then added a pair of runs in the sixth to provide the final.
Mississippi State will again be in action on Tuesday evening when it wraps up its 2000 home schedule with a single game against the Samford Bulldogs. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at the Mississippi State Softball Field.
Game 1 - #10 Alabama 9, #20 Mississippi State 0 (6 Innings)
Game 2 - #10 Alabama 4, #20 Mississippi State 2
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
04/22/00
The Bulldog leadoff hitter doubled in a run in the second inning, broke a 10-10 deadlock with a solo home run in the sixth, and helped seal the win with a two-run double in the seventh.
MSU had to recover from a rocky start in recording the road win over SEC Western Division-leading Louisiana State (31-12, 12-6). The first five Tigers batters faced by MSU starter Kevin Donovan reached base during a five-hit, four-run burst.
State answered every LSU scoring burst, however, getting doubles from Ryan McGrath, Kelly and a two-run two-bagger by Phillip Willingham to plate four runs in the second off Tiger starter Hunter Gomez.
LSU chased Donovan from the game and reclaimed the lead at 6-4, scoring two runs in the third. State tied the game with two runs in the fourth only to see LSU respond with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Cedrick Harris, one of three Tiger hitters with three hits, drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
A second four-run inning evened the score at 10-10, sparked by Jon Knott's two-run bases-loaded single. And the Bulldogs moved ahead to stay an inning later when Kelly launched a monster solo shot into the wind off Bo Pettit, the fourth of five LSU pitchers.
State added a run in the seventh on a single by Matthew Maniscalco and expanded its lead to 15-10 in the ninth when Ty Martin, capping a three-hit plate performance, tripled and scored on Jamie Rock's infield groundout.
Freshman lefty Steve Dowe scattered five hits and struck out two over a career-longest 4-1/3 inning relief appearance. LSU threatened in the ninth, sending eight batters to the plate and scoring three runs before SEC saves leader Adam Larson got pinch-hitter Jeff Lipari to ground out and end the series opener which lasted three hours and 51 minutes.
A near capacity crowd watched the action, with paid attendance announced at 8,129.
The two teams continue their weekend series Saturday at 4 p.m.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 040 241 301 --- 15-15-2
WP --- Steven Dowe (2-0). LP --- Bo Pettit (3-3). HR --- Shane Kelly (4). Kevin Donovan, Chris Young (3), Steve Dowe (5), Adam Larson (9) and Ryan McGrath. Hunter Gomez, Jason Scobie (4), Shane Youman (4), Bo Pettit (5), Weylin Guidry (7) and Ryan Jorgensen.
For a game writeup (from an LSU perspective) of MSU's 15-13 victory over LSU Friday night, please CLICK HERE....
Kellie Wilkerson turned in a 3-4 performance at the plate with two RBI to pace the Bulldog offense, while Michelle Gates turned in a RBI on a 3-5 performance. Courtney Frank (5-5) came on in relief of Kasey Whitehead in the third and took the loss despite striking out two and surrendering no earned runs.
The Bulldogs took a quick 2-0 lead in the first on the shoulders of RBI singles by Gates and Wilkerson, respectively, but Alabama put together a five-run third to storm out into the lead. Mississippi State added single runs in the bottom of the third and fourth innings, then used RBI singles by Jenny Hehnke and Wilkerson to take a 6-5 lead into the seventh. Kyle's RBI single up the middle in the top of the seventh scored Kelly Kretschman to send the game into extra frames.
In the opener of the twinbill, Alabama put together a pair of multi-run innings, then held back a late Bulldog charge to secure a 5-2 victory.
Keri McCallum (2-3) and Wilkerson (1-4) both hit first inning home runs to provide the Mississippi State offense, while former Alabama player Kasey Whitehead turned in a 2-3 performance at the plate. Starter Jennifer Pursell (23-11) worked a complete game, but gave up five earned runs on 15 Crimson Tide hits to take the loss.
Alabama took a quick 1-0 lead on the strength of a RBI single by Ginger Jones in the top of the first, but State battled back in the bottom of the frame, tieing the game on a solo shot by McCallum with the first at bat, and then taking the lead two batters later on a solo homer by Wilkerson.
Alabama used an RBI groundout by Kyle and a RBI single by Prejean to take a 3-2 lead into the fourth, then added two insurance runs in the seventh on a RBI double by Kyle and a RBI single by Kristi Frenier.
Mississippi State will again be in action on Saturday when they conclude the four-game series with Alabama in a doubleheader set for 2 p.m. at the Mississippi State Softball Field. Saturday's action will be preceded by Senior Day festivites as all of the Bulldogs' seven seniors - Jenny Hehnke, Michelle Gates, Nichole Henry, Keri McCallum, Chris Bushby, Kendell Kimbrough and Karrie Rider - will be honored prior to the first pitch.
Game 1 - #10 Alabama 5, #20 Mississippi State 2
Game 2 - #10 Alabama 7, #20 Mississippi State 6 (9 Innings)
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/21/00
"This has got to be one of the best rivalries in Southeastern Conference softball," said Mississippi State head coach Kathy Arendsen. "Every game between these two teams has been a battle right up to the last out."
For the first time since the opening round of the 1999 SEC Tournament, No. 20 Mississippi State (37-16, 13-7) and No. 10 Alabama (49-8, 17-3) will meet on the softball diamond to settle their differences in a four-game series at the Mississippi State Softball Field. The two will begin the series with a 5 p.m. doubleheader Friday afternoon and will conclude the series on Saturday with a 1 p.m. twinbill. All four games of the series will be broadcast live on 1230/1400 AM.
Unlike any other meeting between the two schools, this season has a different flavor added to the mix. For the first time in the history of the 12-game series, either and both sides are ranked making the outcome that much more important. Both are off to their best starts in school history, with the Crimson Tide already matching their single-season win total set two seasons ago with their 49th victory which, ironically, came against State in the 1998 SEC Tournament Championship game. State needs just one more victory to match their single-season victory total (38) set last season.
Although the Crimson Tide has gotten the best of Mississippi State in eight games of the 12-game-old series, neither side can boast a clear-cut advantage in any offensive category. Alabama holds a career .289 batting average while the Bulldogs counter with a .283 average in the series. Six games have been decided by just one run while another was decided by a pair of runs.
This season, the similarities between the two clubs are even more striking. Both currently possess a .295 team batting average, while Alabama holds the pitching advantage with a 1.69 staff ERA. Mississippi State's hurlers are led by the likes of freshman Jennifer Pursell (23-10, 1.74 ERA) while Alabama's pitching hopes are put behind sophomore Shelley Laird (25-4, 1.43 ERA).
Offensively, Mississippi State will take a pair of .400 hitters into the weekend series with Kellie Wilkerson (.450) and Keri McCallum (.401) in hopes of countering a pair of Alabama hitters over the .400 plateau in juniors Kelly Kretschman (.459) and SEC home run leader Ginger Jones (.403).
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/20/00
Catcher Mike Sanchez doubled in a pair of runs in the second inning to give New Orleans (23-16) an early lead. MSU freshmen Matthew Maniscalco and Mark Obradovich answered in the bottom of the second with two-out, run-scoring singles to knot the score.
Todd Thompson's sacrifice fly put UNO back on top 3-2 in the fourth. That leas was short-lived, with Enrico Jones delivering an RBI triple and scored on a second run-producing hit by Maniscalco.
State added single tallied in the fifth and eighth to stretch the lead to 6-3. But the Privateers used a trio of Bulldog fielding errors to plate two more runs and had two runners on base before relief ace Adam Larson retired John Ballon on a line drive to left field for the final out.
MSU junior Jeff Hunter (4-1) picked up the win, giving up three unearned runs on three hits in five innings of work. Chris Young worked two scoreless innings and Steven Dowe fanned three and was charged with two unearned runs during his 1.2 inning stint.
Only one of the five runs allowed by UNO starter New Orleans starter Rory Shanks (2-3) was earned during his six innings in the game. Shanks struck out four and gave up eight hits. Todd Thompson, Jason Waddell and Ryan Lousteau limited the Bulldogs to one run on one hit over the final two frames.
MSU freshmen Matthew Maniscalco and Mark Obradovich drove in two runs each and senior Ryan McGrath laced a pair of doubles to pace MSU at the plate.
The Bulldogs resume SEC competition this weekend in Baton Rouge, La., testing the sixth-ranked LSU in a key SEC Western Division matchup. The series opens with a 7 p.m. game Friday at Alex Box Stadium.
New Orleans 020 100 002 -- 5 7 4
R. Shanks, Thompson (7), Waddell (8), Lousteau (8) and Sanchez. J. Hunter, Young (6), Dowe (8), Larson (9) and Obradovich. WP - Hunter, 4-1. LP - R. Shanks, 2-3. Sv - Larson (11).
Kasey Whitehead hit 1-1 with a pair of RBI to pace the Bulldog offense while Nichole Henry turned in a 2-3 performance at the plate. Starter Jennifer Nelson (7-1) worked four and two-thirds innings, surrendering two runs on six hits, before Jennifer Pursell came in to work the rest of the game and recorded her fourth save of the campaign.
After leading off the game with a single and being sacrificed to second by Nelson, Keri McCallum successfully stole third then scored on an errant throw by Yellowjacket catcher Anne Knobbe to give State a quick 1-0 lead. With two outs and two runners in scoring position in the fourth, Whitehead laced a two-run single up the middle to extend Mississippi State's lead to 3-0.
Georgia Tech put together a rally in the fifth, scoring a pair of runs on RBI singles by Lauren Schwartz and Erin Hawley, respectively, before Pursell entered the circle and shut down the rally. Pursell ran into trouble of her own in the seventh, allowing two runners to get into scoring position with just one out showing, but retired Heather Sumrow and Hawley to end the threat.
Mississippi State will again be in action on Friday when they begin a four-game SEC Western Division series with Alabama (49-8) in a doubleheader at the Mississippi State Softball Field. First pitch of the twinbill is set for 5 p.m.
#20 Mississippi State 3, Georgia Tech 2
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/19/00
The Privateers (23-15) exploded for seven runs in the second inning before Mississippi State (26-10) battled back to take the lead. The Bulldogs scored a pair of runs in the fifth on Shane Kelly's third home run of the year, an inside-the-park four-bagger, and completed the comeback with six more runs
during a seven-hit sixth-inning burst.
UNO opened the ninth inning with four consecutive singles, scoring runs on a Bulldog throwing error and Rowland Skinner's single to right off the fourth Bulldog pitcher in the game, Justin Estel (3-2).
Beaux Selznick (1-1) earned his first win of the season blanking the Bulldogs on three-hit pitching over 2-2/3 innings. Jim Plaisance closed the game for UNO to pick up his fifth save of the year.
Kelly collected three hits and drove in three runs. Ty Martin drove in three runs with a double in MSU's six-run sixth, while Jamie Rock came off the bench and enjoyed a season-best 4-for-4 plate performance.
Mississippi State closes out a five-game homestand and a two-game set with the Privateers Wednesday at 3 p.m. State resumes SEC competition this weekend in Baton Rouge, La., with a three-game SEC Western Division Showdown against LSU.
(Printed with the permission of the MSU athletic department)
04/19/00
With current SEC West runner-up Alabama on the immediate horizon this weekend, Mississippi State will look to get its final tuneup before facing the Crimson Tide. However, and head coach Kathy Arendsen is quick to bring the point up, the Yellowjackets are not exactly a team you want to overlook.
"We have to guard against overconfidence Wednesday," Arendsen said. "Georgia Tech is one of those teams that, if overlooked, can beat you hands down. I know that some of our players are excited about what's coming up this weekend, but I hope that they are taking one game at a time."
State and Georgia Tech have met just once in the history of the two programs. In last season's contest, second baseman Jenny Hehnke hit 2-4 with three RBI, including a two-run dinger down the right field line in the third inning, to key a 5-0 shutout victory for the Bulldogs.
Due to offensive explosions during Super Bulldog Weekend, Mississippi State will bring a pair of .400 hitters into Wednesday. Both Kellie Wilkerson (.453) and Keri McCallum (.402) have contributed significantly to State's .294 team batting average. Mississippi State will choose its Wednesday starter from a four-arm pitching staff that currently holds a 2.11 ERA and is led by freshman ace Jennifer Pursell (23-10, 1.74 ERA).
The Yellowjackets will bring a .280 team batting average into Starkville to go along with its 3.58 team ERA. Georgia Tech is led offensively by senior Anne Knobbe (.409, 16 HR, 50 RBI) and sophomore Kori Jacobson (.362, 15 RBI). Tech will likely throw redshirt senior Jamie Smith (14-12, 3.18 ERA) against Mississippi State on Wednesday.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/18/00
It's Louisiana Week for the 15th-ranked Baseball Bulldogs, who play host to one long-time non-conference rival from Louisiana, the University of New Orleans before traveling to Baton Rouge for a three-game SEC Western Division battle with No. 6 Louisiana State.
No. 15 Mississippi State (26-9, 9-6) takes on the UNO Privateers (22-15) Tuesday (6:30 p.m.) and Wednesday (3 p.m.) to wrap up a run of five games at Dudy Noble Field.
Then its off to Alex Box Stadium for a key three-game set with division-leading LSU, which entered the week with a 29-11 overall mark and the second-best SEC record, 12-5. Friday's series-opener (7 p.m.) is being televised live by Collegiate Sports Southeast.
On the mound
Collums, who picked up his second MSU win with two innings of relief work Saturday against Mississippi, will be making his fourth start Tuesday. Hunter, who did not pitch in the weekend series against UM, will take the hill for his fifth start Wednesday.
If you expand it, they will come...
The series-opener drew an MSU Friday night-best 7,185, and a monster gathering of 13,123 packed the Dude for the Saturday game. Another 6,380 passed through the turnstiles Sunday, bringing the series total to 26,688, the largest weekend series attendance in SEC history. It bettered last year's record-setting 23,394 total for the Alabama series.
Saturday's crowd stands as the fourth-largest on-campus baseball crowd in NCAA history and trails three other MSU home crowds topped by the 14,991 that watched MSU and Florida play in 1989.
The three-game series drew more fans than 12 of last year's 16 NCAA Regionals and the average (8,896) topped the average attendance of all 16 regional and eight Super Regional games.
TOP 5 NCAA ON-CAMPUS BASEBALL ATTENDANCES
TOP 5 1999 NCAA REGIONAL TOURNAMENT ATTENDANCE TOTALS
DIAMOND DOG NOTES --- The Baseball Bulldogs captured their fourth SEC series in six weekends with a 2-1 showing at home against instate Southeastern Conference Western Division rival Mississippi. The Bulldogs out-hit the Rebels 9-4 in the series opener but dropped a closely contested 4-1 decision
for their lone blemish in the week. Bulldog baseball fans, who set a school record by purchasing 4,516 season tickets, set another record over the weekend when 26,688 passed through the Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium turnstiles, breaking the SEC three-game series attendance record set by MSU
against Alabama last year (23,394). Saturday's crowd of 13,123 was the fourth largest in Dudy Noble Field history and the fourth-largest college baseball on-campus attendance in NCAA history.
Rain has taken its toll on the MSU schedule this spring. An April 12 game at Samford became the fifth Bulldog game rained out this year. MSU is the only SEC team to have had three league games rained out.
Third-year head baseball coach Pat McMahon is 299-139 in his eighth season as a college head coach, a win away from his 300th career coaching victory.
Relief pitcher Adam Larson picked up his SEC-leading 10th save in Sunday's series finale against Mississippi, tying Van Johnson (1998) and Jay Powell (1991), now with the Houston Astros, for third place among MSU single season saves leaders.
The Bulldogs' two-game series at Southern Mississippi (Apr. 25-26) and three-game set at home against Tennessee (Apr. 28-30) will be televised by Comcast Sports Southeast.
Senior DH Ty Martin went 6-for-11 (.545) with six runs scores, four RBI, a double, his first two home runs of the season, a pair of walks, one HBP to lead MSU at the plate the past week. He was selected as the FOX Sports Net South Player of the Game after going 2-for-3 with 3 RBI and a home run in MSU's series-clinching Sunday win over Mississippi.
Freshman pitcher Chris Young earned his first career save, retiring 10 of the 11 batters he faced --- a career-high seven via strikeout --- in MSU's 10-4 Saturday win over Mississippi.
MSU is four wins away from its 18th consecutive 30-win season.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/16/00
Baseball - Mississippi State sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning and built an early 5-0 lead en route to a 10-4 win over Mississippi Saturday at Dudy Noble Field/Polk-DeMent Stadium.
Freshman Chris Young, the last of three Bulldog pitchers in the game, picked up his first collegiate save in front of 13,123, the fourth largest crowd in MSU history, also the fourth-best NCAA on-campus attendance. Young allowed one hit, struck out seven and retired all but one of the Mississippi
batters he faced.
Mississippi State snapped a four-game losing streak to improve to 25-9, 8-6 in the SEC. Mississippi fell to 23-15, 8-8 in the Southeastern Conference with the loss.
Joey Collums (2-0) earned the win in relief of MSU starter Tanner Brock, allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits in two innings. UM starter Brett Young fell to 2-2 on the year, giving up five runs, one earned, on three hits in two-thirds of an inning.
Shane Kelly reached on a error and scored on Jon Knott's single to open the five-run frame. After Brian Terry was struck by a pitch with the bases loaded, Daron Wright singled in a pair of runs with two outs, and Matthew Maniscalco followed with a run-scoring single.
Following the five-run first inning, the Bulldogs scored a run in each of the next three frames to take an 8-2 lead. The Rebels cut the lead to 8-4, but the Bulldogs added a run in both the seventh and eighth innings to secure the win.
Seven Bulldog players drove in at least one run, paced by Wright's 3-for-4, two-RBI performance. Ty Martin hit his first home run of the year in the fourth inning to highlight a 2-for-4 outing.
The Bulldogs and Rebels meet in the rubber game of their three-game set Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Dudy Noble Field.
MISSISSIPPI 002 002 000 --- 4-8-4
WP --- Joey Collums (2-0). Sv-- Chris Young (1). LP --- Brett Young (2-2). HR ---Ty Martin (1).
Kellie Wilkerson brought in a pair of RBI on a 2-3 performance at the plate, while teammate Keri McCallum added a RBI of her own on a 3-4 performance. Starter Courtney Frank (5-4) worked the first four innings, giving up a pair of unearned runs on three hits, before giving way to Kasey Whitehead who worked the final three innings to record her first career save.
After McCallum singled and was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Jenny Hehnke, Wilkerson gave State a 1-0 lead on a single up the middle that plated McCallum from second base. After Karrie Rider singled to put two runners aboard for the Bulldogs, Michelle Gates laced a two-run triple to left center to give State a 3-0 lead.
The Bulldogs added three more runs in the second, then added a lone insurance run in the sixth to secure the victory.
In the opener of the twinbill, the Bulldogs put together a pair of multi-run innings, then rode the shoulders of its pitching and defense, as Mississippi State extended its win streak to four games with a 6-2 victory over Kentucky.
McCallum highlighted a 3-3 performance with a towering two-run home run in the sixth to pace the State offense. Starter Jennifer Pursell (23-10) went the distance, striking out five and scattering seven hits, to record the victory.
A first inning error by Kentucky third baseman Andi Eilertson allowed McCallum to cross the plate for the early lead, but State broke the game open in the third, using fielding mistakes by the Wildcats to plate two more runs for a 3-0 lead. A sacrifice fly by Gates in the fifth brought Wilkerson home with the Bulldogs' fourth run before McCallum's shot in the sixth provided the game's final runs.
Mississippi State will again be in action on Wednesday afternoon when they continue a 10-game homestand with a single game against the Yellowjackets of Georgia Tech. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
Game 1 - #20 Mississippi State 6, Kentucky 2
Game 2 - #20 Mississippi State 7, Kentucky 3
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/15/00
MSU (24-9, 7-6 SEC) took the early lead on Phillip Willingham's solo home run, his sixth of the season, in the fourth inning, but the Rebels (23-14, 8-7) bounced back the next inning to tie game at 1-1 on
Burney Hutchinson's solo home run, his fifth of the season.
Following Willingham's home run, MSU was unable to score on UM pitching, leaving five runners in scoring position after the fourth frame.
The Rebels scored what proved to be the winning run in the seventh, as Hutchinson scored one of his three runs on a errant throw on a double play attempt, giving Mississippi a 2-1 lead. The Rebels extended the lead with two more runs in the ninth to secure the 4-1 winning margin.
Hutchinson paced the Rebels at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a pair of walks. Willingham scored the Bulldogs' only run on a 2-for-4 plate performance.
Jeff McAvoy (7-2) allowed one run on eight hits over 7-2/3 innings of work. Justin Huisman finished the game, allowing one hit over the final 1-1/3 to notch his ninth save of the year, tying him for the SEC lead with MSU's Adam Larson.
Kevin Donovan (3-3) took the loss in his third consecutive eight-inning pitching performance. Donovan struck out eight, gave up four runs, two earned, and allowed four hits in 8-1/3 innings.
MSU and Mississippi meet in game two of their three-game SEC Western Division showdown Saturday at 5 p.m. at Dudy Noble Field.
MISSISSIPPI 000 010 102 --- 4-4-0
WP --- Jeff McAvoy (7-2). SV --- Justin Huisman (9). LP --- Kevin Donovan (3-3). HR --- Phillip Willingham (6); Burney Hutchinson (5). McAvoy, Husiman (8) and Lafferty. Donovan, Estel (9) and McGrath. ATT --- 7,185.
Kasey Whitehead highlighted a 2-2 performance at the plate with a solo homer in the fourth to spark the Bulldog offense. Starter Courtney Frank (4-4) worked the first 5 2/3 innings, giving up a lone run on four hits, before giving way to Jennifer Pursell who worked the final four outs to notch her third save of the season.
With the bases juiced in the second, Tennessee starter Leslie Poole (5-7) delivered a wild pitch over the head of catcher Adrianna Wilson that plated Karrie Rider from third to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. After Cheri Smith was walked to load the bases with no outs, Brooke Best delivered a fielder's choice RBI to plate Michelle Gates for the 2-0 State lead.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 3-0 in the fourth on Whitehead's homer before Tennessee lit up their portion of the scoreboard in the fifth on a solo shot by Wilson.
In the opener of the Friday twinbill, Mississippi State pounded out six runs on nine hits to key an offensive explosion as the Bulldogs ended a four-game SEC losing streak with a 6-1 rout of Tennessee.
Keri McCallum recorded a 4-4 (3B, 2B) performance at the plate with a RBI and three runs scored to pace the Bulldog offense while Kellie Wilkerson added a RBI on a 2-2, one walk performance. Pursell (22-10) went the distance, scattering four hits and striking out one, to get the win for State.
After McCallum led off the game for the Bulldogs with a triple, Wilkerson brought the runner home from third on a sacrifice fly to left field that gave State a 1-0 lead after one. The Bulldogs added runs in the fourth and fifth on RBI singles by Smith and Wilkerson, respectively, then erupted for three runs in the sixth to put the game away.
Mississippi State will again be in action on Saturday when they continue a 10-game homestand with a doubleheader against the Kentucky Wildcats. First pitch of the twinbill is set for 12:30 p.m. at the Mississippi State Softball Field.
Game 1 - #20 Mississippi State 6, Tennessee 1
Game 2 - #20 Mississippi State 3, Tennessee 1
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/14/00 - An email from a source:
Antonio Garth, a freshman at Leland High, is one of the state's best pitchers. He stands 6-3, 167-lbs. His record is 4-1 with 3 complete-game shutouts (including a shutout of Vicksburg HS) and two saves. The one loss came in his first game pitching at the high school level. Antonio has made the Clarion-Ledger Player of the Week honor twice. Antonio will be attending the MSU pitching camp this summer and has also been invited to attend the Univ. of Miami pitching camp in June. Antonio, who is an excellent student, will also be vying for a starting position at quarterback this fall.
04/14/00 - If there was ever a time when the nationally-ranked Mississippi State softball team needed to taste the thrill of victory, the time would be now.
Just two weeks ago, the Bulldogs possessed a 30-10 record, a .306 team batting average and a 1.80 team ERA. Flash forward two weeks and Mississippi State now looks like a completely different team.
"We have played a very difficult schedule over the course of the last six games," said Mississippi State head coach Kathy Arendsen. "We started off with #10 Southern Miss then, two days later, were back in uniform against #10 LSU. I have no doubts about the capabilities of this team and that we are about to show our true colors once again."
After recovering from its first five-game losing streak since 1997 with a 3-2, game-two victory at Louisiana-Monroe Tuesday night, No. 20 Mississippi State jumps back into their home schedule with a pair of doubleheaders against SEC Eastern Division foes.
The Bulldogs (32-16, 9-7 SEC) will kick off Super Bulldog Weekend Friday afternoon with a twinbill against the Tennessee Lady Volunteers (16-21, 4-11). First pitch is set for 3:07 p.m. and both games will be televised live by Comcast Sports Southeast. It will be the first televised game for the Bulldogs since the 1998 SEC Tournament Championship game against Alabama.
Tennessee heads into Starkville holding a 5-2 series edge over the Bulldogs, including a 4-2 victory in the last meeting - a second round matchup in the 1999 SEC Tournament. Mississippi State is hitting .275 against a Tennessee team that looks much different from last season because of the loss of seven starters on the Lady Vol squad, including pitchers Sarah Ayres and Buffy Walker who have combined for all five Lady Vol victories against State.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/12/00 - Conference Call, with Scott McKinney and Max Howell, will be doing their show LIVE from the main entrance to Dudy Noble Field / Polk Dement Stadium this Friday and would love to have all Bulldog fans come by. Their show airs from 5-8 pm. (Central).
04/11/00
Softball - Fresh off a six-game homestand, one in which the Bulldogs split a pair with #10 Southern Mississippi and were swept in a four-game series by No. 8 LSU, No. 19 Mississippi State steps back out of its home schedule to travel to Louisiana-Monroe (22-20) for a Tuesday doubleheader with the Lady Indians. First pitch of the twinbill is set for 2:30 p.m. at Lady Indian Field.
With, by far, its most difficult week-long slate now behind them, head coach Kathy Arendsen has warned her team over the course of the past two days about not overlooking its opponents. Louisiana-Monroe, formerly known as Northeast Louisiana, trails only narrowly in the series, 6-5, and has lost to State three times by two runs or less.
"This, in no way, is a gimme game for us," Arendsen said. "(Head coach) Rosemary Holloway always has her team more than ready to play us. We need to take what we learned this past week and take it down there with us, as well as throughout the rest of this season. This team needs to realize now that every game from here on is very important if we have any aspirations of going to NCAA Regionals."
Although it took a hit in the six-game-long homestand, Mississippi State will take a .289 team batting average into Louisiana to counter the Lady Indians' 2.54 team ERA. However, the Lady Indians' put their strength in a pair of power hitters in Lori Tande (6 HR, 19 RBI) and Casey Goodman (8 HR, 31 RBI).
State will likely counter Tande and Goodman with freshman Jennifer Pursell (21-10, 1.77 ERA), who is holding her opponents to a .210 batting average, and sophomore Courtney Frank (3-4, 3.57 ERA) who has come on as of late, including a one-hit performance against Southern Mississippi on Wednesday.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/10/00
DIAMOND DOG NOTES --- A trio of one-run road losses to second-ranked South Carolina, the last an 11-inning affair, dropped MSU out of first place in the SEC West for the first time this season.
State (7-5) trails Western Division leader LSU (10-4) and owns a slight percentage points lead over Auburn (8-7) in the SEC West.
MSU remained unbeaten at home for the year, downing UAB once and South Alabama twice during the midweek. Red-shirt freshman pitcher Chris Young picked up his first two career wins April 4, winning both halves of a day/night doubleheader (vs. UAB and South Alabama) in a pair of relief appearances. In the same two games, SEC saves leader Adam Larson picked up his eighth and ninth saves. Larson did not fare as favorably in Columbia, S.C., missing out on a pair of save opportunities while absorbing his first two career losses.
Expanded Dudy Noble Field could have its seating capacity tested this weekend (Apr. 14-16) when MSU hosts in-state SEC rival Mississippi in a three-game series highlighting Mississippi State's annual spring homecoming, Super Bulldog Weekend. With more than 600 chair back seats and 18 skyboxes added to the Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium grandstand, seating capacity is expected to rise to nearly 7,500. Including the popular outfield fan area, Mississippi State already owns the NCAA on-campus attendance record with 14,991. Last year's Super Bulldog Weekend crowd drew an SEC-record 23,394 for the MSU-Alabama series. MSU fans have established a school record by buying 4,516 baseball season tickets.
In an impressive pitcher's duel, Mississippi State saw its Southeastern Conference-record consecutive-games scoring steak snapped April 7 by second-ranked South Carolina. Both MSU starter Kevin Donovan and USC's Kip Bouknight recorded 12 strikeouts and allowed five hits in the series-opener at USC's Sarge Frye Field.
Mississippi State enters the week hitting .307 as a team, led by Travis Chapman (.357, 13 doubles, 3 HR and 40 RBI). The Bulldogs' senior co-captain is riding a team-high eight-game hitting streak.
State's 346 hits include 75 doubles, 18 triples and 36 home runs. MSU's pitching corps owns a 3.74 earned run average. Senior LHP Kevin Donovan (3-2, 3.80) followed up his 16-strikeout showing against Kentucky last week with a 12-strikeout effort in a 1-0 loss at South Carolina. He leads the club with 56 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched.
In the last week (6 games), State hit .261 (.350 by true freshman shortstop Matthew Maniscalco), fielding at a .951 rate with 12 errors, and carded a 3.86 team ERA with 54 strikeouts in 53.2 innings pitched.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
04/09/00
The Bulldogs scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings and led 3-2 heading into the eighth inning. But SEC saves leader Adam Larson (3-1), who entered the game with two out and a runner at second, surrendered a game-tying pinch-hit single by Bo Mobley and Janowicz's RBI double to
right-centerfield. It was the fourth blown save opportunity of the year for Larson and resulted in his career-first loss.
Bulldog starter Tanner Brock and USC's Peter Bauer (6-0), the SEC Pitcher of the Week, engaged in a pitcher's dual, with both hurlers registering seven strikeouts in the game. Brock worked a season-longest 5-1/3 innings, scattered six hits and allowed two runs during a three-hit, third-inning burst by the Gamecocks. Brandon Pack singled in two runs for USC in the inning.
The Bulldogs tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth on an opposite-field solo home run by Phillip Willingham, his fifth round tripper of the year. Daron Wright, who singled in the game's first run in the third, put State on top 3-2 in the fifth with his second hit of the game. Freshman southpaw Steven Dowe followed turned in the top pitching performance of his collegiate career, striking out three and retiring the first seven batters he faced during a 2-1/3 inning pitching stint.
Bauer, touched for seven hits in eight innings, left Bulldog base runners stranded in scoring position in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings and gave way to USC closer Scott Barber, who worked around a leadoff fielding error to nail down his seventh save.
Wright, Travis Chapman and Matthew Maniscalco had two hits each for the Bulldogs, including doubles by Chapman and Maniscalco.
The loss dropped the Bulldogs from first place in the SEC Western Division for the first time this season and evened the MSU-South Carolina all-time series at 13-13.
The series concludes Sunday at 12:30 p.m. CDT at Sarge Frye Field.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 001 110 000 --- 0-0-0
WP --- Peter Bauer (6-0). SV --- Scott Barber (7). LP --- Adam Larson (3-1). HR --- Phillip Willingham (5). Brock, Dowe (6), Larson (8) and McGrath. Bauer, Barber (9) and Pack.
Kellie Wilkerson and Kasey Whitehead both tallied a 2-2 performance to pace the Bulldog offense while second baseman Jenny Hehnke (1-3) provided State's lone RBI on a single in the fifth. Starter Courtney Frank (3-4) worked 2 2/3 innings, giving up six hits and five earned runs, before being chased in favor of Whitehead in the third. Whitehead worked the last 4 1/3 innings, surrendering two earned runs and striking out one, to get the no decision.
LSU lit up the scoreboard quickly, using a RBI single by Ashlee Ducote in the first to take a quick 1-0 lead. The Tigers extended their lead to 5-0 in a four-run third inning, then got a pair of insurance runs in the seventh on a solo homer by Tara Asbill and a RBI triple by Stacey Newton, respectively.
In the opener of the Saturday twinbill, LSU used three different multi-run innings, including a four-run third, to defeat Mississippi State 9-4 and clinch the series victory.
Five different players recorded hits for the Bulldogs with Wilkerson (0-2), Karrie Rider (1-3) and Michelle Gates providing the RBI. Starter Jennifer Pursell (21-10) worked 2 2/3 innings before being chased in the third in favor of Jennifer Nelson who worked the remainder of the game, surrendering three runs while striking out two.
Shaunte Fremin gave LSU a quick 2-0 lead on a two-run double in the first that plated both Ashlee Ducote and Dee Douglas. State countered in the bottom of the second on a solo home run by Gates, but LSU put together a four-run third to extend their lead to 6-1. The Tigers would add another run in the fourth on a RBI double by Asbill, but State would put together a rally in the sixth to get themselves back into the game.
Wilkerson gave State its first run of the inning on a error by second baseman Stephanie Hastings and Rider helped cut the LSU lead to two runs, 6-4, on a two-run double by Rider. However, LSU got insurance runs in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Stacey Newton and a suicide squeeze by starter Ashley Lewis (15-2) to secure the victory.
Mississippi State will again be in action on Tuesday afternoon when they step back out of their home schedule for a doubleheader at Louisiana-Monroe. First pitch of the twinbill is set for 2:30 p.m.at Lady Indian Field.
Game 1 - #8 Louisiana State 9, #19 Mississippi State 4
Game 2 - #8 Louisiana State 7, #19 Mississippi State 1
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU sports department
04/08/00
Baseball - Tupelo HS vs Vicksburg HS.
04/08/00
Both Bouknight (9-0) and Bulldog senior lefty Kevin Donovan (3-2) recorded a dozen strikeouts and allowed five hits each in the mid-season showdown between SEC divisional leaders.
McBeth delivered what turned out to be the winning blow in the second inning, lacing a one-out solo home run, his sixth of the year, over the left field fence. Teammate Drew Meyer doubled and singled to lead South Carolina at the plate.
Donovan, who struck out a career-high 16 in a 3-2 win over Arkansas a week ago, worked out of a first inning jam and, after giving up the home run in the second, allowed a single base runner in four of the remaining six frames. It was the first career complete-game outing for Donovan, who worked 8-2/3
innings last week, and the first complete-game performance by a Bulldog hurler this season.
Mississippi State stranded seven base runners in the game, leaving runners in scoring position in the sixth and seventh and squandering a leadoff walk by Travis Chapman in the ninth when pinch-runner Enrico Jones was thrown out attempting to steal second. Matthew Maniscalco singled twice to pace Bulldog batters.
Bouknight's magic on the mound was the first shutout of Mississippi State since March 9, 1996 when Florida blanked the Bulldogs 10-0 in Gainesville.
The Bulldogs and the Gamecocks square off again Saturday at 3:15 p.m. CDT in a game regionally-televised by FOX Sports Net South.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 000 000 000 --- 0-5-2
WP ---Kip Bouknight (9-0). LP --- Kevin Donovan (3-2). HR - Marcus McBeth (6). Bouknight and Pack; Donovan and McGrath. Att---3,316. Time: 2:03.
Kellie Wilkerson turned in a 2-3 performance at the plate with two doubles and a run scored to key the Mississippi State offense, while Kasey Whitehead (1-4) added a pair of RBI on a game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh. Starter Jennifer Pursell (21-9) worked all 10 innings, surrendering 11 hits and striking out six, to take the loss for State.
Karrie Rider's RBI double in the bottom of the first plated Wilkerson from second to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead after one. However, LSU countered in the third when Ashlee Ducote delivered a bases-loaded single up the middle that plated both Dee Douglas and Auburne Ziober to give LSU a 2-1 lead.
Wilkerson's errant throw, her first error of the campaign, brought Hastings across for the 3-1 LSU lead.
The Tigers would add another run in the top of the seventh on a RBI double by Stephanie Hastings but, after a leadoff double by Wilkerson in the bottom of the seventh, Whitehead sent a screamer over the fence in left center to knot the game up at four apiece.
In the opener of the twinbill, LSU pounded out 11 hits and put together a three-run third and a four-run fifth to stun State in five innings, 8-0.
Jenny Hehnke and Cheri Smith provided the only hits of the game for Mississippi State, who stranded runners in scoring position in both the third and fourth innings. Starter Courtney Frank (3-3) worked two complete innings, striking out one and surrendering four runs, before giving way to Nelson in the third. Nelson worked the remaining three innings, surrendering four earned runs and striking out one, to earn the no decision.
Starter Ashley Lewis (14-2) gave herself enough run support and gave LSU a 1-0 lead on a solo homer in the second. A pair of RBI singles by Shaunte Fremin and Dee Douglas in the third, coupled with a sacrifice fly by Tara Asbill, gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead after three. The Tigers ended the onslaught in the fourth when Fremin and Peel provided a pair of two-run home runs, respectively.
The Bulldogs and Tigers will again be in action on Saturday when the two conclude their four-game series with a doubleheader at the Mississippi State Softball Field. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live by 1230/1400 AM.
Game 1 - #8 Louisiana State 8, #19 Mississippi State 0 (5 Innings)
Game 2 - #8 Louisiana State 8, #19 Mississippi State 4 (10 Innings)
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic media relations department
04/07/00 - Here are a few stats on several of MSU's signees.
Robby Goodson, Vicksburg High School
Chad Henry, Gulf Coast (FL) CC
Michael Brown, Chipola (FL) CC
Allen Buckley, East Central (MS) CC
In the sixteen-game old series with the Tigers, State has fallen victim to the Tigers 15 times, six by two or less runs. Three other times, Mississippi State has possessed a lead, only to watch the Tigers post a comeback victory.
But, things are beginning to feel different around the Mississippi State Softball Field these days. The Bulldogs achieved a national ranking for the first time in school history a little more than a month ago and are a week removed from achieving its highest region ranking (5th) in program history.
State has also posted its best 42-game mark in school history and are well on pace to post their best mark in the history of the program at year's end. In addition, the Bulldogs have already posted a 9-6 record against ranked teams this season, including victories over then-No. 9 Stanford and No. 10 Southern Mississippi on Wednesday evening.
"Our confidence is really high right now," said Mississippi State head coach Kathy Arendsen. "I think, with the win over Southern Mississippi on Wednesday, that only added a little bit more confidence to what we already had. We just now have to guard a little bit against overconfidence and hope that we take care of business the rest of the way."
No. 19 Mississippi State (31-11, 9-3 SEC) will throw everything into the ring starting Friday when they continue a six-game homestand by hosting a four-game series with the No. 8 and SEC-frontrunner LSU Tigers (33-7, 9-1) at the Mississippi State Softball Field. The two will get action underway in a Friday doubleheader set to begin at 5 p.m. and will conclude the four-game series on Saturday in a 1 p.m. twinbill. All four games of the series will be broadcast live locally by 1230/1400 AM.
LSU will bring the SEC's best team ERA (1.42) and team batting average (.307) into Starkville. Mississippi State will attempt to counter with a handful of .300 hitters, along with 20-game winner Jennifer Pursell (21-8). The Bulldogs possess the SEC's fourth-best team batting average (.296) and sixth-best ERA mark (1.82).
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic media relations department
04/06/00
South Alabama (10-21) cut the lead to 6-3 with two in the second and one more in the third, but MSU (24-5) opened up the lead with a pair of runs in both the fourth and sixth frames.
Travis Chapman and Jon Knott drove in three runs apiece. Chapman was 2-for-4 on the afternoon including his second home run of the season, a two-run shot in the sixth. Knott lashed a two-run single in the Bulldogs six-run first on the way to a 2-for-5 plate performance. State extended its consecutive-games scoring streak to 276 in the first-inning burst.
Brandon Medders (1-1) pitched three innings of one-hit baseball with four strikeouts to earn his first win at Mississippi State.
South Alabama starter Jay Richardson (1-1) failed to record an out in the game and left the game after hitting one batter and walking two others.
MSU hits the road again this weekend, traveling to Columbia, S.C., to take on No. 2 South Carolina in a three-game SEC series. Friday's series opener begins at 7 p.m. EDT.
South Alabama 021 000 001 -- 4 8 0
W - Medders (1-1). L - Richardson (1-1). HR - MSU, Chapman (2).
Michelle Gates hit 1-2 with a triple, including the eventual game-winning RBI in the first, to key the Mississippi State bats, while Karrie Rider also brought a run across the plate on a 1-3 performance. Starter Jennifer Pursell (21-8) worked a complete game, scattering seven hits and striking out four, to earn her second victory this season over a top 10 team.
Kellie Wilkerson drew a two-out walk and stole second to put a runner in scoring position for State in the first, before Rider's dribbler through the right side plated Wilkerson with the 1-0 State lead. Gates' triple to rightfield with the next at bat brought home Rider from third for the 2-0 lead.
Southern Miss put two runners in scoring position with no outs in the fourth and Jennifer Ford hit a RBI single to left field to cut the Golden Eagles' deficit to one run, 2-1. However, with two runners on, Keri McCallum caught Ford on a steal attempt and Pursell retired the next two Southern Miss batters on pop ups to end the inning.
In the opener of the twinbill, starter Courtney Frank (3-2) pitched a dandy, no-hitting Southern Miss for 5 1/3 innings, before Amy Berman delivered a two-run home run to lift the Golden Eagles to a 2-0 victory.
Three different players recorded lone singles for Mississippi State, while Kellie Wilkerson drew a pair of walks. Frank recorded her second complete game of the season, striking out three, but gave up a lone earned run to take the loss for the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State put runners in scoring position in three different innings, including a bases loaded situation in the sixth, but were unable to bring any runners across the plate. With one out in the sixth, an error by Cheri Smith put just the second baserunner of the game aboard for Southern Miss before Berman's late-inning heroics.
Mississippi State will again be in action on Friday when they step back into conference to host No. 8 LSU in a four-game series at the Mississippi State Softball Field. Friday's twinbill will get underway at 5 p.m. and the two will conclude the four-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Game 1 - #10 Southern Mississippi 2, #19 Mississippi State 0
Game 2 - #19 Mississippi State 2, #10 Southern Mississippi 1
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic media relations department
04/05/00 (12:35 p.m.) - Excerpts from a premium page post-game interview with Coach Pat McMahon:
Putting a pitcher out there, especially a freshman pitcher, against two different teams in the same day, that has to be a unique situation?
GS: How about talking about Mark Obradovich's play today?
GS: We have three players, Josh West, Jamie Rock and Ty Martin, who are or have been injured or sick recently. How are each one of them doing at the moment?
04/05/00
Freshman pitcher Chris Young picked up his first career decision for the Bulldogs, working a perfect 1-1/3 innings in relief. Kevin Sommerfeld (1-1) the fourth of six Blazer pitchers used in the game, gave up the three runs in the seventh to take the loss.
Jon Knott doubled and belted his team-leading 10th home run to pace the Bulldogs' 13-hit attack. Travis Chapman and Ryan McGrath drove in two runs each. Chapman earned a place in the MSU record book, reaching base twice as a hit batsman and raising his career HBP total to 37.
MSU extended its consecutive-game scoring streak to 274 games with a run in the first and opened a 4-0 lead after three innings before UAB scored three in the fifth to tie the score at 6-6.
MSU starter Mark Freed allowed four runs on six hits in six innings. But Young, the fourth Bulldog hurler in the game, retired the four batters he faced and relief ace Adam Larson recorded the game's final three outs to earn his SEC-leading eighth save.
UAB 000 130 200 --- 6-8-1
WP --- Chris Young (1-0). SV -- Adam Larson (8). LP -- Kevin Sommerfield (1-1). HR -- Jon Knott (10).
South Alabama (10-20) scored four first-inning runs off MSU starter Jeff Hunter and led 5-2 after two innings. But the Bulldogs pulled ahead with a four-run burst in the third inning, taking a 6-5 lead on a three-run double by freshman catcher Mark Obradovich. Making his fourth start behind the plate, Obradovich also threw out four USA baserunners.
The Jaguars, who out-hit the Bulldogs 12-8, tied the game in the fifth before State scored the winning run on a wild pitch with two outs in the sixth inning.
Redshirt freshman righthander Chris Young, the winning pitcher in State's 9-6 win over UAB earlier in the day, earned his second win with 3-2/3 innings of three-hit relief pitching. Young allowed one run and struck out three. Adam Larson, after giving up an inning-opening single, retired the next three batters he faced in the ninth to earn his second save of the day and his SEC-leading ninth of the year.
Daniel Head (2-6), the last of three Jaguar hurlers in the game, took the tough-luck loss, holding MSU to one hit and one unearned run in three innings. Head was charged with two wild pitches, one which allowed Shane Kelly to score the winning run from third base.
The Bulldogs extended their on-going consecutive-game scoring streak to 275 games and have now won all 14 of their games this season at Dudy Noble Field.
MSU closes out its current homestand Wednesday, hosting South Alabama at 3 p.m. State then travels to Columbia, S.C., opening a three-game SEC series against No. 2 South Carolina Friday at 7 p.m. (EDT) at Sarge Frye Field.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic media relations department
04/04/00
Softball - Mississippi State Softball senior catcher Keri McCallum, a Port Orchard, Wash., native was decorated Monday with SEC Player of the Week honors after keying #19 Mississippi State to a 3-1 series victory over Arkansas in Fayetteville this past weekend, the league office announced Monday afternoon.
The award marks the first time this season, and the second time in her career, that McCallum has garnered such honors from the Southeastern Conference. The award is also the third given to a Mississippi State player this season - the highest single-season number in the history of the Bulldog program.
"I'm very proud for Keri because I think it is a well-deserved honor," said Mississippi State head coach Kathy Arendsen. "She has been one of the main keys to our success this season, especially this past weekend. She's our team catalyst. When she gets on base, good things happen."
In the four-game series against the Lady Razorbacks in Fayetteville, Ark., McCallum hit .615 (8-13) with two walks, three stolen bases and four runs scored - two of which were game winners. In addition, the catcher hit safely in all four games of the series to extend her career-high hitting streak to 19 games - five shy of the school record set last season by centerfielder Kellie Wilkerson.
A .374 hitter last season, McCallum is currently second on the club with a .403 (56-139) batting average to go along with her one home run, seven triples, six doubles and 13 RBI. She has been successful on 19 of 20 stolen base attempts this season and has drawn eight walks and six hit by pitches in recording a .458 on base percentage.
With her 56 hits this season, McCallum is currently retaining her spot at the top of the SEC's career list with 275 hits. She also sits at the top of the SEC career triples list with 35 in her four years in Starkville.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic media relations department
04/03/00 (4:30 p.m.)
The 15th-ranked Baseball Bulldogs have added two games with Conference USA foe UAB, the first scheduled 3:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon (Apr. 4) at Dudy Noble Field. The game will be the first half of a day/night doubleheader, with MSU hosting South Alabama (10-19) at 6:30 p.m. The Bulldogs and USA Jaguars close out their two-game mid-week set Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Reserved seat tickets for the April 4 MSU-South Alabama game will be good for admission to both games Tuesday.
Mississippi State and UAB have also scheduled a 7:05 p.m. game May 10 at UAB's Young Field in Birmingham, Ala.
Rain has forced cancellation of four Mississippi State games this year, three against SEC opponents that cannot be rescheduled as league games.
Following the three mid-week games, Mississippi State hits the road to Columbia, S.C., for a three-game series against No. 2 South Carolina, beginning with Friday's 7 p.m. EDT game at Sarge Frye Field. Saturday's game has a 4:15 p.m. start time and is the featured telecast of FOX Sports Net South's SEC Game of the Week series.
MSU has also made one game time change during the MSU-Tennessee baseball series at Apr. 28-30. The Saturday game April 29 has been moved to 6 p.m. to accommodate a weekend cable telecast on Comcast Sports Southeast. All three of the MSU-Tennessee games and the two MSU-USM games in Hattiesburg Apr. 25-26 will be broadcast live by Comcast Sports Southeast. Only the Saturday
game required a change in game time.
MSU BASEBALL ON COMCAST SPORTS SOUTHEAST
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic media relations department
04/03/00
This week's schedule:
The Bulldogs split a pair of closely-contested 3-2 games to close out competition for the month of March, but Mother Nature stepped in to delay play for the month of April, wiping out a pair of Southeastern Conference home games with heavy rain and storm weather.
State owned a 2-0 lead over in-state SEC rival Mississippi through five innings in the 21st annual Mayor's Trophy Game at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson, Miss. But the Rebels, out-hit 7-3 in the game, got two of those three hits, a pair of walks and a hit batsman to score their three runs in the sixth inning to earn the win. And in the only game played in the rain-shortened MSU-Arkansas series, State broke open a dandy pitcher's duel with three runs in the eighth and held on for a 3-2 win. Senior lefty Kevin Donovan turned in the pitching performance of his collegiate career, striking out a career-high 16 and scattering six hits in a career-best and MSU staff season-high 8-2/3 innings. Donovan retired the final 12 batters he faced, the last four on strikeouts, before giving way to closer Adam Larson, who loaded
the bases and gave up a run before nailing down his SEC-leading seventh save on first baseman JON KNOTT's leaping game-saving grab of a line drive. Arkansas out-hit the Bulldogs 8-6.
MSU DIAMOND NOTES: The Bulldogs have had three of their first 12 scheduled conference games rained out. MSU has had four games cancelled by weather this season ... A Dudy Noble Field season-high 4,073 watched the series-opening 3-2 MSU win over Arkansas ... Mississippi State has scored in 273 consecutive games, the third-longest active and seventh-longest all-time scoring streak in college baseball ... Travis Chapmen's second-inning double against Arkansas was the 61st of his career (second-most at MSU) and his 282nd career hit (third-most at MSU) ... The Bulldogs are 13-0 at Dudy Noble Field in 2000 ... Saturday's MSU-South Carolina game marks the first of two Bulldogs
appearances on the SEC Baseball game of the Week series televised by FOX Sports Net South. State later tangles with Auburn May 13 in the final regular season game of this year's TV package ... Two other FOX Sports Net South Sunday game dates have also been added to the MSU lineup --- vs. Mississippi
April 16 (1:30 p.m.) and vs. Florida May 7 (1:30 p.m.) ... MSU enters the week with a .317 team batting average, a 3.72 team ERA and a .973 team fielding percentage ... State hit just .213 (13-for-61) in its two games and managed but two extra-base hits in two games last week, Chapman's team-leading 11th double and a team-leading fourth triple by Shane Kelly. State did play 18 innings of error-free defense.
04/02/00 (3:30 p.m.)
Mississippi State closes out its rain-shortened homestand Tuesday (6:30 p.m.) and Wednesday (3 p.m.), playing host to South Alabama.
The Bulldogs, now with three of 12 league games wiped out by rain, resume SEC competition this weekend in Columbia, S.C., taking on the fifth-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. Friday's series opener is set for 7 p.m. (EDT).
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletics media relations department
04/02/00
The game between the No. 11 Bulldogs (21-5, 7-2 SEC) and Razorbacks (15-17, 2-8) has been rescheduled as part of a Sunday doubleheader beginning at Noon. Both games will be seven-inning contests.
All season ticket holders are asked to bring their Sunday tickets for admission into Sunday's two seven-inning games. Gates will open at 10:30 a.m. for the final two games of the Arkansas series.
Tanner Brock (0-1, 6.66 ERA) is scheduled to get the start for MSU in game one against Arkansas' Mike Moriarity (2-1, 4.50 ERA). Mark Freed (5-0, 1.67 ERA) will likely get the starting nod in the second game of the twinbill for State, while Arkansas will counter with Cliff Lee (4-0, 3.29 ERA).
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic media relations department
4/01/00 (10:30 a.m.) - Post-game Interview with MSU coach Pat McMahon:
I am very proud of Kevin Donovan. When you start to talk about tonight's game, you have to talk about him. You talk about how his performance was just superlative.
GS: Could you explain your reasoning for taking out Kevin in the 9th inning?
You manufactured some runs in the bottom of the 8th and caused them to go to the bullpen.
GS: Considering how well Arkansas played tonight, does their overall record surprise you? (They were 15-16 coming into tonight)
Kevin had a great game and you didn't have to use your bullpen much at all tonight.
In the bottom of the 8th what was the talk in the dugout prior to the beginning of that inning?
04/01/00 - Kevin Donovan struck out a career-high 16 batters, and the Bulldog offense scored three runs in the eighth as No. 11 Mississippi State took a 3-2 win over Arkansas Friday night at Dudy Noble Field/ Polk-DeMent Stadium.
Mississippi State moved to 21-5, 7-2 in the Southeastern Conference as they snapped the Razorbacks' six-game winning streak and moved to 13-0 at home this season. Arkansas fell to 15-17, 2-8 in the conference with their eighth-straight SEC loss.
After giving up an Arkansas run on five hits in the first four innings, Donovan allowed only two baserunners in his final 4.2 innings of work to improve his record to 3-1 on the year. Adam Larson picked up his SEC-best seventh save in front of a Dudy Noble Field season-high crowd of 4,073.
Arkansas scored their lone run in the fourth inning on Brad Hagedorn's RBI single that gave the Razorbacks an early 1-0 lead.
After being held scoreless most of the game, the Bulldogs found the offensive spark in the eighth with a three-run inning. Jon Knott put MSU on the board with his RBI single that scored Matthew Maniscalco. Travis Chapman knocked home Shane Kelly on his sacrifice fly ball to center field before Phillip Willingham closed out the scoring with his RBI single that brought home Ty Martin.
Razorback starter Gary Hogan, Jr. (2-2) took the loss for the Razorbacks, allowing one run on four hits with four strikeouts in a career-high-matching seven innings of work.
MSU and Arkansas meet in game two of their three-game SEC Western Division showdown Saturday at 5 p.m. at Dudy Noble Field/ Polk-DeMent Stadium.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic media relations department
Mississippi State 000 013 00X - 4 10 0
Baseball - No. 12 Mississippi State (31-12, 12-7) scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning and rode a solid eight-inning pitching performance by senior lefthander Kevin Donovan to a 7-3 win over Tennessee Friday night in the SEC weekend series opener at Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium. The win lifted the Bulldogs to second place in the SEC West.
Mississippi State 004 200 01X - 7 12 1
Mississippi State and Samford have rescheduled their two-game baseball series after rain wiped out the scheduled first game April 12 in Birmingham.
Friday, April 28 --- Tennessee (Dudy Noble Field) 6:30 p.m. TV - Comcast Sports Southeast
Saturday, April 29 --- Tennessee (Dudy Noble Field) 6 p.m. TV - Comcast Sports Southeast
Sunday, April 30 --- Tennessee (Dudy Noble Field) 1:30 p.m. TV - Comcast Sports Southeast
Wednesday, May 3 --- at Samford (Birmingham, Ala.) 6 p.m.
Friday, May 6 --- Florida (Dudy Noble Field) 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 7 --- Florida (Dudy Noble Field) 6 p.m. TV - Sunshine Network
Sunday, May 8 ---Florida (Dudy Noble Field) 1:30 p.m. TV - Sunshine Network/FOX Sports
Tuesday, May 9 --- Samford (Dudy Noble Field) 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 10 --- at UAB (Birmingham, Ala., 7:05 p.m.)
Friday, May 12 --- at Auburn (Auburn, Ala.) 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 13 --- at Auburn (Auburn, Ala.) 3:15 p.m. TV - FOX Sports Net South
Sunday, May 14 --- at Auburn (Auburn, Ala.) 1:30 p.m.
Baseball - Southern Miss defeated Mississippi State 10-6 last night. MSU had defeated USM four straight times coming into last night's game.
Softball - Samford (24-29) scraped together a two-run third inning, then used its pitching to shut down Mississippi State's (37-21) offense as the visiting Bulldogs defeated State 2-0 Tuesday evening at the Mississippi State Softball Field.
Samford (24-29)...............002 000 0 - 2 6 0
Mississippi State (37-21).....000 000 0 - 0 4 0
Win - Mertens (18-17). Loss - Pursell (23-13). LOB - SU 5, MSU 4. 2B - SU: M. Shunnarah (11). 3B - SU: M. Shunnarah (2) MSU: McCallum (9). SB - SU: Wright (5), Middleton (4). CS: SU: Wright (1). SH - SU: Ashley (11) MSU: Hehnke (16). Time - 1:35. Att. - 137.
Baseball - MSU's Shane Kelly was this week's SEC Player of the Week for his performance this past week. Shane hit .519 (14-for-27) for the week with 10 RBI, four doubles and three
homers. CLICK HERE for the entire story....
Softball - Although none of them have kept track, it has been more than 100 times that they have played in the confines of the Mississippi State Softball Field. Fifty-eight times opponents have left with a sour taste in their mouth. Just less than 20 times, those same opponents have left a goose egg on the scoreboard.
Baseball - Outfielder Phillip Willingham and pitcher Mark Freed turned in career-best performances Sunday afternoon, leading No. 14 Mississippi State (29-11, 11-7) to a series-clinching 10-3 win over No. 6 Louisiana State (32-13, 13-7). The win gave MSU its fifth SEC series in seven
weekends and its first series win in Baton Rouge since 1994.
LOUISIANA STATE 001 000 02 0 --- 3-10-3
Baseball - No. 6 LSU (32-12, 12-6) struck for seven runs in the first inning Saturday afternoon and held off a late Bulldog charge to register an 18-15 win over No. 14 Mississippi State at Alex Box Stadium. The win evened up the high-scoring series that has seen LSU out-score Mississippi State 31-30 in two games.
LOUISIANA STATE 725 100 12x --- 18-15-2
Softball - No. 10 Alabama (53-8, 21-3 SEC) took a 4-0 lead into the second inning, then kept No. 20 Mississippi State (37-20, 13-11) at bay for the rest of the game as the Crimson Tide completed a four-game series sweep of the Bulldogs with a 4-2 victory in game two Saturday afternoon at the Mississippi State Softball Field.
#10 Alabama (52-8, 20-3 SEC)...............060 102 - 9 10 0
#20 Mississippi State (37-19, 13-10 SEC)..000 000 - 0 4 1
Win - Laird (27-4). Loss - Pursell (23-12). E - MSU: Smith (8). LOB - UA 6, MSU 4. 2B - UA: Olcott (7), Reach (10), Kretschman (15). HR - UA: Jones (14). HBP - UA: Prejean. SF - UA: Kyle (2). SB - UA: Kretschman (31), White (12). Time - 2:30. Att. - 410.
#10 Alabama (53-8, 21-3 SEC)...............400 000 0 - 4 9 2
#20 Mississippi State (37-20, 13-11 SEC)..101 000 0 - 2 11 1
Win - Lindner (10-1). Loss - Whitehead (2-2). Save - Laird (5). E - UA: Frenier 2 (11) MSU: Best (11). LOB - UA: 9, MSU 11. 2B - UA: Olcott (8), Askew (6). 3B - MSU: Rider (1). SH - MSU: Hehnke (15). CS - MSU: Nelson (2). Time - 1:55. Att. - 410.
Baseball - Senior centerfielder Shane Kelly went 4-for-5 and drove in four runs Friday night to lead No. 14 Mississippi State (28-10, 10-6) to a 15-13 win over sixth-ranked Louisiana State at Alex Box Stadium.
LOUISIANA STATE 402 310 003 --- 13-18-1
Softball - Lacy Prejean's RBI single in the top of the ninth brought Christy Kyle across the plate with the winning run as #10 Alabama (51-8, 19-3 SEC) completed a doubleheader sweep of #20 Mississippi State (37-18, 13-9) with a 7-6 victory in the nightcap.
#10 Alabama (50-8, 18-3 SEC)................102 000 2 - 5 15 0
#20 Mississippi State (37-17, 13-8 SEC).....200 000 0 - 2 8 1
Win - Laird (26-4). Loss - Pursell (23-11). E - MSU: Best (8). DP - MSU 1. LOB - UA 10, MSU 8. 2B - UA: Kyle (11) MSU: Rider (11). HR - MSU: McCallum (3), Wilkerson (6). SH - MSU: Hehnke (14), Smith (5). Time - 2:00. Att. - 670.
#10 Alabama (51-8, 19-3 SEC)................005 000 101 - 7 12 2
#20 Mississippi State (37-18, 13-9 SEC).....201 102 000 - 6 13 6
Win - Bautista (16-2). Loss - Frank (5-5). Save - Laird (4). E - UA: Jones (7), Bautista (9) MSU: Wilkerson (2), Gates (14), Whitehead (1), Best 2 (10), Nelson (7). DP - MSU 1. LOB - UA 9, MSU 11. 2B - MSU: Gates (7), Best (2). HR - MSU: McCallum (4). CS - UA: DeBruin (2). SH - UA: Kyle (6), Rider (9) MSU: Whitehead (9), Best (3). Time - 2:40. Att. - 670.
Softball - To sum it up, the series is like a feud in its pure and simplest form. Although it may not be at the same level as the Hatfields and McCoys, when Mississippi State battles Alabama in softball, it is sure to be a war.
Baseball - No. 14 Mississippi State held off a last-inning New Orleans rally Wednesday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field/Polk-DeMent Stadium to record a 6-5 win over the Privateers, giving MSU head coach Pat McMahon his 300th career coaching victory.
Mississippi State 020 210 01X -- 6 9 6
Softball - No. 20 Mississippi State (37-16) put together two runs in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead, then held off a late Georgia Tech (25-27) rally to slip by the Yellowjackets, 3-2, Wednesday afternoon at the Mississippi State Softball Field.
Georgia Tech (25-27).............000 020 0 - 2 8 1
#20 Mississippi State (37-16)....100 200 x - 3 8 0
Win - Nelson (7-1). Loss - Smith (14-13). Save - Pursell (4). E - GT: Knobbe. DP - GT 1. LOB - GT 7, MSU 5. 2B - GT: Jacobson MSU: Wilkerson (12), Henry (4). SB - MSU: McCallum (23). CS - Gates (4). SH - GT: Schwartz, Frost MSU: Nelson (4), Whitehead (8).
Baseball - New Orleans scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to overcome a one-run deficit and take a 9-8 win over Mississippi State Tuesday night at Dudy Noble Field/ Polk-DeMent Stadium.
Softball - No. 20 Mississippi State (36-16) continues a 10-game homestand Wednesday afternoon as the Bulldogs suit up to host Georgia Tech (25-26) in a single game at the Mississippi State Softball Field. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
Baseball- This week's schedule
Tuesday, April 18 --- Univ. of New Orleans (Dudy Noble Field, 6:30 p.m.)
Wednesday, April 19 --- Univ. of New Orleans (Dudy Noble Field, 3 p.m.)
Friday, April 21 --- at Louisiana State (Baton Rouge, La.)
Saturday, April 22 --- at Louisiana State (Baton Rouge, La.)
Sunday, April 23 --- at Louisiana State (Baton Rouge, La.)
Freshman lefty Joey Collums (2-0, 2.74) and junior righty Jeff Hunter (3-1, 2.25) have been tabbed for starting midweek mound duty.
An expanded stadium, rain-free weather, a full Super Bulldog Weekend schedule and a visit from instate SEC rival Mississippi combined to help Bulldog fans establish a new SEC weekend series attendance mark over the weekend.
1. 14,991 (MSU vs. Florida, 1989)
2. 14,378 (MSU vs. LSU, 1988)
3. 13,761 (MSU vs. Arkansas, 1992)
4. 13,123 (MSU vs. Mississippi, 2000)
5. 12,708 (MSU vs. Florida State, 1990)
1. 42,730 (Texas A&M) 7 games
2. 36,195 (Baton Rouge, La.) 7 games
3. 33,037 (Wichita, Kan.) 8 games
4. 29,596 (Fayetteville, Ark.) 7 games
5. 19,923 (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) 6 games
Softball - MSU softball is number three in the SEC West at 13-7 (36-16 overall). They trail
Alabama 17-3, and LSU 16-2. Arkansas is right behind MSU at 11-7, followed by Mississippi 5-14 and Auburn (3-13). In the East, Kentucky leads with a 8-8 record, followed by South Carolina 11-12,
Florida 7-8, Tennessee 5-14 and Georgia 3-13. As you can see the West is much tougher than the East. MSU has a HUGE series this weekend at the Mississippi State Softball Field with Alabama. The Friday DH starts at 5 p.m. with the Saturday DH starting at 2 p.m.
Before you read the write-up of yesterday's baseball game between MSU and Ole Miss please read this: Freshman Chris Young, the last of three Bulldog pitchers in the game, picked up his first collegiate save in front of 13,123, the fourth largest crowd in MSU history, also the fourth-best NCAA on-campus attendance. Yep, Mississippi State owns all four of them. Congrats fellow MSU fans, you can be very proud of yourselves. Now on to the write-up.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 511 100 11x --- 10-12-5
Softball - No. 20 Mississippi State (36-16, 13-7) brought three runs across the plate in both the first and second innings to overpower visiting Kentucky (26-22, 8-8) and complete the sweep of the Wildcats with a 7-3 victory in game two.
Kentucky (26-21, 8-7 SEC)..................000 002 0 - 2 7 2
#20 Mississippi State (35-16, 12-7 SEC)...102 012 x - 6 7 2
Win - Pursell (23-10). Loss - Camunas (15-11). E - UK: Eilertson 2 (9) MSU: Best 2 (7). LOB - UK 6, MSU 6. 2B - UK: Kwiatkowski (8), Kruse (13) MSU: McCallum (8). HR - MSU: McCallum (2). SB - UK: McCallum (22), Wilkerson (15), Gates (15). CS - MSU: Whitehead (2). SH - MSU: Hehnke (12), Rider (8), Goodwin (1). SF - MSU: Gates (2). Time - 1:50. Att. - 1,017.
Kentucky (26-22, 8-8 SEC)..................101 001 0 - 3 6 3
#20 Mississippi State (36-16, 13-7 SEC)...330 001 x - 7 10 3
Win - Frank (5-4). Loss - Marr (5-6). Save - Whitehead (1). E - UK: Jones 2 (18), Dardis (6) MSU: Rider (13), Gates (13), Smith (7). DP - MSU 1. LOB - UK 6, MSU 7. 2B - MSU: Hehnke (7). 3B - Gates (4). SB - MSU: Wilkerson (16). CS - UK: Angus (1) MSU: Nelson (1). SH - UK: Fogle (6) MSU: Hehnke (13), Nelson (3). SF - MSU: Wilkerson (2), Rider (3). Time - 1:46. Att. - 1,017.
Baseball - Mississippi State suffered its first home loss of the season as Mississippi scored four runs over the final five innings to take a 4-1 win over the Bulldogs in front of a season-high crowd of
7,185 Friday night at Dudy Noble Field/Polk-DeMent Stadium.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 000 100 000 --- 1-9-3
Softball - No. 20 Mississippi State (34-16, 11-7 SEC) strung together two runs in the bottom of the first, then rode the shoulders of two different pitchers, to steal a 3-1 game two victory from visiting Tennessee (16-23, 4-13) and complete the doubleheader sweep of the Lady Vols Friday evening.
Tennessee (16-22, 4-12 SEC)..................000 000 1 - 1 4 4
#20 Mississippi State (33-16, 10-7 SEC).....100 113 x - 6 9 0
Win - Pursell (22-10). Loss - Beavers (8-12). E - UT: Phillips (8), Torres (3), Wilson 2 (2). LOB - UT 3, MSU 7. 2B - UT: Koshell (10) MSU: McCallum (7). 3B - MSU: McCallum (8). SB - MSU: McCallum (21), Schlagheck (4), Kimbrough (8). SH - MSU: Hehnke (11), Whitehead (6). SF - MSU: Wilkerson (1). Time - 1:39. Att. - 538
Tennessee (16-23, 4-13 SEC)..................000 010 0 - 1 4 1
#20 Mississippi State (34-16, 11-7 SEC).....020 100 x - 3 6 0
Win - Frank (4-4). Loss - Poole (5-7). Save - Pursell (3). E - UT: Torres (4). DP - UT 1. LOB - UT 4, MSU 4. 2B - UT: Venable (7). HR - UT: Wilson (5), Whitehead (5). CS - UT: McCallum (2). SH - Whitehead (7). Time - 1:31. Att. - 538.
Baseball - MSU in the polls:
16th in Baseball Weekly and Baseball America
18th in Collegiate Baseball
Baseball - This week's schedule
April 12 --- MSU at Samford (Birmingham, Ala. --- 6 p.m.)
April 14 --- Mississippi at Mississippi State (Starkville, Miss. --- 6:30 p.m.)
April 15 --- Mississippi at Mississippi State (Starkville, Miss. --- 5 p.m.)
April 16 --- Mississippi at Mississippi State (Starkville, Miss. --- 1:30 p.m.) --- FOX -TV
Baseball - Yesterday's game from an USC perspective:
COLUMBIA, SC South Carolina scored two runs in the bottom of the 11th inning Sunday, the second coming on a bloop single to right field by Marcos Rios, to defeat Mississippi State 7-6 and sweep a three game Southeastern Conference baseball series. Full Story....
04/09/00
Baseball - According to a source in the know, MSU signee Allen Buckley (East Central CC) has had a productive season this year despite his record. Although his last outing was a little rocky all in all he has pitched well this season. In fact, one of his losses came at Hinds in which he only gave up 4 or 5 hits. My source mentioned there is no question that he has a major love for the game and he wants to win more than anyone. His stuff is very good. He has a good fastball, good slider, and a great change up. If he is on, he's tough. My source feels that Buckley was a good pick up for the Bulldogs.
Baseball - South Carolina left fielder Nate Janowicz went 4-for-5 and doubled in the winning run in the eighth inning Saturday as second-ranked South Carolina (31-4, 11-3) rallied past No. 11 Mississippi State (24-7, 7-4) at Sarge Frye Field. The start of the regionally televised game was delayed
for one hour and 45 minutes due to rain.
SOUTH CAROLINA 000 200 02x --- 0-0-0
Softball - No. 8 LSU (37-7, 13-1 SEC) pounded out five hits in a four-run third inning that put the game out of reach as the nationally-ranked Tigers completed a four-game series sweep of No. 19 Mississippi State (31-15, 9-7) with a 7-1 victory in game two of a doubleheader Saturday afternoon.
#8 Louisiana State (36-17, 12-1 SEC).....204 100 2 - 9 9 3
#19 Mississippi State (31-14, 9-6 SEC)...010 003 0 - 4 5 1
Win - Lewis (15-2). Loss - Pursell (21-10). E - LSU: Newton 2 (3), Ziober (2) MSU: Best (5). DP - LSU 1. LOB - LSU 4, MSU 4. 2B - LSU: Douglas, Asbill 2 (9), Fremin 2 (6) MSU: Schlagheck (1), Rider (9). HR - MSU: Gates (2). SB - LSU: Douglas (25), Deslettes (4), Newton (6) MSU: Wilkerson (14). SH - LSU: Hastings (8), Lewis (3) MSU: Hehnke (10). SF - LSU: Newton (1). Time - 2:01. Att. - 277.
#8 Louisiana State (37-7, 13-1 SEC).....104 000 2 - 7 11 0
#19 Mississippi State (31-15, 9-7 SEC)..000 010 0 - 1 7 2
Win - Sneed (15-5). Loss - Frank (3-4). E - MSU: Hehnke (9), Gates (12). DP - LSU 1. LOB - LSU 6, MSU 7. 2B - LSU: Fremin 2 (8) MSU: Wilkerson (10). 3B - LSU: Ducote (3), Newton (1). HR - LSU: Asbill (8). SB - LSU: Douglas (26), Ducote (13), Deslettes (5), Newton (7), Peel (14) MSU: Gates (13). CS - MSU: Gates (3). Time - 1:57. Att. - 277.
Baseball - Second-ranked South Carolina (30-4, 10-3) parlayed a sterling pitching performance by junior right-hander Kip Bouknight and Marcus McBeth's second-inning solo home run to claim a 1-0 pitcher's duel over No. 11 Mississippi State Friday night at Sarge Frye Field. The Bulldogs (24-6,
7-3) saw their SEC-record consecutive-game scoring streak end at 276 games.
SOUTH CAROLINA 010 000 00x --- 1-5-0
Softball - No. 8 Louisiana State (35-7, 11-1 SEC) put together a four-run 10th inning, then shut down the bats of No. 19 Mississippi State (31-13, 9-5) in the bottom of the frame to take an 8-4 victory and secure the doubleheader sweep Friday evening at the Mississippi State Softball Field.
#8 Louisiana State (34-7, 10-1 SEC)......013 04 - 8 11 1
#19 Mississippi State (31-12, 9-4 SEC)...000 00 - 0 2 2
Win - Lewis (14-2). Loss - Frank (3-3). E - LSU: Fremin (2) MSU: Gates 2 (11). DP - LSU 1. LOB - LSU 5, MSU 3. HR - LSU: Fremin (4), Lewis (2), Peel (2). CS - LSU: Ducote (4), Peel (2). SF - LSU: Asbill (4). Time - 1:26. Att. - 527.
Win - Sneed (14-5). Loss - Pursell (21-9). E - LSU: Ducote (9) MSU: Wilkerson (1), Hehnke (8). LOB - LSU 8, MSU 10. 2B - LSU: Douglas (2), Hastings (7), Asbill (7), Lewis (3) MSU: Hehnke (6), Wilkerson 2 (9). HR - Whitehead (4). SB - LSU: Douglas 2 (24), Hastings (11), Peel (13), Gates (12). CS - LSU: Douglas (1). SH - MSU: Whitehead (5), Smith (3), Gates (5). Time - 2:37. Att. - 527.
BA - .525
HR - 4
RBI - 25
W-L - 3-1
S - 2
ERA - 2.13
BA - .372
HR - 3
RBI - 22
BA - .322
HR - 8
RBI - 40
W-L - 0-3
S - 1
ERA - 4.71
OBA - .223
Softball - It has been just a case of hard luck for Mississippi State over the past three years when it comes time to play SEC-foe LSU.
Baseball - No. 11 Mississippi State exploded for six runs in the first inning en route to a 10-4 win over South Alabama Wednesday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field/ Polk-DeMent Stadium. MSU improved to 16-0 at home this year.
Mississippi State 600 202 00X -- 10 11 2
Softball - No. 19 Mississippi State (31-11) strung together two first-inning runs, then rode the shoulders of strong pitching and a stingy defense, to key a 2-1, game-two upset victory over Southern Miss (35-10) and forge a split with the visiting Golden Eagles Wednesday evening at the Mississippi State Softball Field.
#10 Southern Mississippi (35-9).....000 002 0 - 2 1 0
#19 Mississippi State (30-11).........000 000 0 - 0 3 2
Win - Blades (27-5). Loss - Frank (3-2). E - MSU: Smith (4), Frank (3). LOB - USM 1, MSU 6. 2B - MSU: Hehnke (5). HR - USM: Berman (9). SB - MSU: Wilkerson (12), Gates (11). CS - MSU: Gates (2), Kimbrough (3). Time - 1:51. Att. - 387.
#10 Southern Mississippi (35-10).....000 100 0 - 1 7 0
#19 Mississippi State (31-11)..........200 000 x - 2 3 0
Win - Pursell (21-8). Loss - Gonzales (7-4). LOB - USM 6, MSU 2. 2B - USM: Johnson (7). 3B - MSU: Gates (2). SB - MSU: McCallum (20), Wilkerson (13). CS - Ford (2). Time - 1:39. Att. - 387.
Coach McMahon: It is. In fact it is the reason that we took him (Chris Young) out of the first game. As the first game unfolded, we knew the matchups that we felt were important in the second game were matchups he could pitch against. He is stepping forward. He is throwing the ball in the strike zone. He is not afraid to challenge a hitter. This is a very positive step for him which is going to help the ballclub.
Coach McMahon: Mark is a young man we are very excited about. Ryan has really taken him under his wing. He is learning what it takes to compete at this level. He has done so well. He is doing a good job in the bullpen handling our pitchers. He can really swing the bat. We are so proud of Mark Obradovich and very proud of his efforts tonight.
Coach McMahon: Today was Ty's first day to play in the field. That was a positive sign because it gives us some flexibility. Jamie is getting his strength back. When you lose 14 pounds in a short period of time, it is tough on you. He is coming along. Josh is a ways away. It is his hamstring again. He reinjured it during practice. He is a really tough loss and we don't know when he will be back.
Baseball - No 11 Mississippi State (22-5) scored three runs in the seventh inning Tuesday afternoon to record a 9-6 win over UAB in t he first game of a day/night doubleheader at Dudy Noble Field. The win was the 14th consecutive at home for the Bulldogs, who were scheduled to play South
Alabama Tuesday night.
MSU 121 020 30x --- 9-13-2
Baseball - No. 11 Mississippi State rallied from a 5-2 deficit Wednesday night to beat South Alabama 7-6 and complete a sweep of the day/night doubleheader at Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium. Earlier in the day MSU (23-5) topped UAB 9-6.
Baseball - MSU is 11th, 15th and 17th in the latest polls. Baseball Weekly has them 11th, while Baseball America has them 15th and Collegiate Baseball 17th.
Baseball - Mississippi State's baseball schedule this week has become a busy one thanks to heavy rain that wiped out a pair of Bulldog home games over the weekend.
TUESDAY, April 25 *6:30 p.m. --- at Southern Miss (Pete Taylor Park)
WEDNESDAY, April 26 *6:30 p.m. --- at Southern Miss (Pete Taylor Park)
FRIDAY, April 28 *6:30 p.m. --- Tennessee (Dudy Noble Field)
SUNDAY, April 29 *6:00 p.m. --- Tennessee (Dudy Noble Field)
SUNDAY, April 30 *1:30 p.m. --- Tennessee (Dudy Noble
Baseball - Last week's results:
March 29 Mississippi 3, Mississippi State 2 (Jackson, Miss., Mayor's
Trophy Game)
March 31 Mississippi State 3, Arkansas 2 (Dudy Noble Field)
April 1 MSU-Arkansas (ppd/rain & rescheduled as DH April 2)
April 2 MSU-Arkansas-DH (cancelled/rain & unplayable field)
April 3 South Alabama (Dudy Noble Field, 6:30 p.m.)
April 4 South Alabama (Dudy Noble Field, 3 p.m.)
April 7 at South Carolina (Columbia, S.C. / 7 p.m. EDT)
April 8 at South Carolina (Columbia, S.C. / 4:15 p.m. EDT --- FOX Sports
Net South TV)
April 9 at South Carolina (Columbia, S.C. / 1:30 p.m. EDT)
Baseball - Sunday afternoon's scheduled Southeastern Conference baseball doubleheader
between No. 11 Mississippi State (21-5, 7-2) and Arkansas (15-17, 2-8) has been cancelled due to unplayable field conditions brought on by heavy rains in North Mississippi. SEC rainout policy does not allow for future rescheduling of conference games not played due to weather.
Baseball - Mother Nature played an April Fool's Day joke on Mississippi State and Arkansas, turning a pleasant Saturday morning into a stormy late afternoon and raining out the second game of the
Bulldog-Razorback baseball series at Dudy Noble Field/ Polk-DeMent Stadium.
You are making a habit of these close games?
Coach McMahon: Close ballgames are fun to play in. We talk about the fact that they are a magnification of the little things. When clubs can understand the little things and the significant of them, then they realize that all of those things can be huge as the game unfolds.
Coach McMahon: You try to manage a game with the best interest of the ballclub in mind. You get matchups that you think are important. Kevin's pitch count was up, as high as it has been all year long. And we had a guy in the bullpen that had been outstanding. It was probably not a very popular decision but one we felt was in the best interest of the team. Fortunately it worked out for us.
Coach McMahon: We did and forced the bullpen to work. I think that Matthew Maniscalco did a great job of getting us a jumpstart. His sacrifice bunt was outstanding. Another great at-bat was Ty Martin's. What a quality at-bat. Daron Wright also had a great at-bat. Jon Knott had a clutch AB to drive the ball to the right side. Travis Chapman does what he has to to drive a run in. A lot of guys contributed in that inning.
Coach McMahon: Arkansas is a good ballclub. They are an athletic ballclub and they have some outstanding pitching. They have been snake bitten in a lot of ways in that they have lost so many close ball games. Those things can turn around in a heartbeat as we all know.
Coach McMahon: Kevin put us in a position where we now feel we have some arms to utilize.
Coach McMahon: The want factor in the eyes of our guys was exciting. We needed someone to jump start it. We talked about someone taking it on their own shoulders to get the job done. Matthew Maniscalco had hit the ball hard all season long and deserved that. He is a guy if you talk about a hard luck hitter that is him.