05/30/00 (1:40 p.m.) - Restaurants in and around Clemson.

For all you MSU baseball fans travelling to Clemson, here is a list of restaurants you may be interested in:

On Hwy 123 (aka TIger Blvd - where most hotels are!):
All fast food restaurants.
Pixie and Bill's - pricey but a very good steak.
Ruby Tuesday's.
Ancheaux (cajun, gumbo, burgers) - there is also an Ancheaux in downtown Clemson that specializes in lots of wraps.
Acropolis (greek)
Calhoun Corners (just off 123 behind the train station) - pricey but excellent food!

At intersection of 123 and 76:
Rockhoppers @ Ramada Inn (corner of 123 and 76).
Skins Hot Dogs - just down 76 from the Ramada (a great hot dog!).

Downtown Clemson:
lots of bars = Tigertown Tavern, Esso Club, etc.
The Esso Club (just off downtown on 93 near baseball stadium - this is a real popular spot - an old gas station converted into a bar).
Just Barbecue (off of downtown on 93 near baseball stadium - right next to Esso Club - good barbecue).
Ancheaux - lots of wraps.
Keith Street (on College Ave.) - sandwiches, stir fry, salads, etc.

The Madran Center (on campus hotel and convention center on the golf course & lake) has a nice restaurant called Seasons by the Lake. Lunch for approx. $7; Dinner for @ $20.

Pendleton, SC (3 minutes from Clemson)
If you take Old Pendleton Hwy toward Pendleton (a quaint little downtown square with antiques, etc. - a must see), you have the following restaurants:
Columbo's pizza and calzones (on way to Pendleton).
***Mac's Drive-In (YOU MUST GO HERE! Tell them Polly and Bob Stone sent you! (on way to Pendleton).
Lazy Islander (downtown Pendleton).
Country KEttle (downtown Pendleton).
Ye Olde Sandwiche Shop (downtown Pendleton).
Liberty Hall Inn (just off of downtown Pendleton).
Farmer's Hall(downtown Pendleton).

Central, SC (5 minutes from Clemson)
On Hwy 93 towards Central, SC, you will find most grocery stores as well as a great rib place in front of the winn-Dixie and Los Amigos mexican.

Anderson, SC (10 minutes from Clemson)
If you continue down Hwy 76 and head to Anderson, SC you will find lots of restaurants (Outback, mexican, italian, etc.).

Seneca, SC (10 minutes from Clemson)
If you take 123 across the lake, you will head towards Seneca, SC. Seneca has all the low to medium range chain restaurants (Applebees, Fatz, etc.).

05/30/00 - Mississippi State's 10th-ranked baseball Bulldogs will travel to Clemson, S.C., this weekend, June 2-4, to take on the fifth-ranked Clemson Tigers in NCAA Super Regional play for the right to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

Game times for the weekend will be 7 p.m. ET on Friday and Saturday, with the rubber game, if needed, to be played on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. All games will be contested at CU's Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Tickets for the three-game Super Regional are $30 for an all-tournament reserved seat. They may be purchased by calling the Clemson Ticket Office at 800-253-6766. Only VISA and MasterCard are accepted. State fans are asked to inform the Clemson Ticket Office of their intent to be seated with other Bulldog fans. State (41-18) and Clemson (48-16) have met eight times previously, with the Tigers owning a 5-3 advantage in the series. The teams last met in the 1991 NCAA Northeast Regional in Orono, Maine, with CU taking a 10-9 win. All other games between the schools were regular-season contests in Starkville held between 1968 and 1973.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/29/00 (1:30 p.m.) - Post-game pictures:

MSU:
Jeff Hunter's 1st pitch.
Notre Dame player swinging at a Donovan pitch.
Donovan pitching against Notre Dame.
Fans reacting to Chapman's home run.
Players at home plate waiting on Martin.
Ty Martin crossing home plate.
Reaction to Martin's home run. MSU players celebrating.
MSU players celebrating-2.
MSU players celebrating-3.
MSU players celebrating-4.
MSU players celebrating-5.
Fans celebrating.
The coaches walking toward each other.
MSU post-game press conference.

Notre Dame:
Notre Dame players.
Notre Dame catcher Paul O'Toole.
Notre Dame players on the field after Martin's home run.
Fans congratulating Notre Dame players.
Fans congratulating Notre Dame players.

05/29/00 (11:30 a.m.) - This Notre Dame writer got it right. Please CLICK HERE for an excellent write-up of Sunday's games.

05/29/00 - Ty Martin led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run to give Mississippi State a 10-9 victory over Notre Dame Sunday in the NCAA regional championship game, advancing MSU to Super Regional play next weekend.

State (41-18) will meet Clemson in a three-game series June 2-4 for the right to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. The site of the MSU-Clemson series, which will be on one of the two schools' campuses, will be announced Monday.

Martin's heroics Sunday evening earned him the MVP honor for the weekend.

The Fighting Irish (45-18) had scored two runs in the top of the ninth to tie the score at nine. With two on and two out, Paul O'Toole hit a pop up to short center that Bulldog shortstop Matthew Maniscalco dropped for an error. Both runners scored on the play.

Travis Chapman gave Mississippi State a 9-7 lead in the eighth with a two-run homer off reliever John Corbin (5-4), who also allowed Martin's game-winning shot.

Kevin Donovan (7-4), who threw a 153-pitch complete game Friday night, pitched the final 1 2-3 innings for Mississippi State. Donovan entered in the eighth with the score tied 7-7, one out and the bases loaded. He retired Steve Stanley and Alec Porzel on ground balls to preserve the tie for the Bulldogs.

Jon Knott's towering three-run homer off reliever Matt Buchmeier gave Mississippi State a 6-3 lead in the fourth inning. Knott went 3-for-5 and Chapman was 3-for-3 with three RBI and three runs scored. Mississippi State built a 7-4 lead but could never shake the resilient Irish.

Porzel's two-run single off MSU starter Jeff Hunter in the seventh cut Mississippi State's lead to 7-6. Porzel finished 3-for-5 for the Irish with three RBI and Jeff Felker hit a solo homer. the Irish tied the game in the top of the eighth with one run but left the bases loaded to end the inning.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/29/00 - NCAA Regional pictures from Starkville:

Thursday:
CSSE1
CSSE2
MSU Press Conference
Notre Dame Practice - 1
Notred Dame Practice - 2
Notre Dame Press Conference
Tulane Practice - 1
Tulane Practice - 2
Tulane Press Conference
South Alabama Practice - 1
South Alabama Practice - 2
South Alabama Press Conference
Phil Hartness - MSU Grounds Crew

Friday:
Fans - Game 1
Fans - Game 1
Game 1 Play
Tulane - Notre Dame
Game 1 Press Conference
Event Staffers
Ron Polk in the Press Box
Crowd Waiting for Game 2
Crowd Waiting on Game 2
Fans - Game 2
Fans - Game 2
Fans - Game 2
Fans - Game 2
Fans - Game 2
Fans - Game 2
Fans - Game 2
MSU Bullpen
MSU Press Conference

Saturday:
Sentators Nicky Browning and Allan Nunnelee and College Board Member Scott Ross
The McRaney's, Owners of West Point Radio Station WKBB
The IBBC Tailgate Tent
New Softball Assistant Coach Bo Reid
Coach Sherrill at the game
Left Field Lounge Cook 1
Left Field Lounge Cook 2
MSU Fans
MSU Fans
MSU Fans
Mississippi Press Sportswriter Thomas Warner
Mark Freed getting a strikeout

Sunday:
Phil Silva, broken leg and all
Jeff Hunter warming up
Jeff Hunter's relatives (Uncle and grandparents)
MSU Fans
Jeff Hunter talking to his former high school coach Stacy Hester

More pictures later today.....

05/28/00 - Regional Notes and Updates:

Tulane 4 - South Alabama 3:
Tulane starting pitcher Henry Bonilla hurled nine strong innings as No. 2 seed Tulane eliminated No. 4 seed South Alabama 4-3 in an elimination game during second day play of the NCAA Baseball Regionals.

The Jaguars closed their season with a record of 27-33. The 33 losses set a new school record for defeats in a season, surpassing the previous mark of 32 established in 1985, the last losing record by the Jags.

Tulane (38-21-1) advanced to play No. 3 seed Notre Dame in the 7 p.m. game which was underway as of press time. The Fighting Irish were 8-1 losers to top-seeded Mississippi State earlier in the day. The host Bulldogs will play in Sunday's championship game which is slated for 1:30 p.m.

USA spurted out to a 2-0 first inning lead as the first five Jaguars reached base. Bonilla (9-3) ran into trouble early on walking Cameron Likely and Scott Calahan to start the game. Likely was thrown out stealing for the first out. Brian Groom singled to right to put runners at first and second. Kyle Stanky then delivered a run-scoring single to left. Tony Piccotti, who had his season-tying 15-game hitting streak snapped on Friday, ripped a single to right to plate Groom.

Jag starter Layne Meyer (5-7) was impressive through the first five innings, allowing just three hits. But in the sixth, the Green Wave touched the senior right-hander with three straight hits to start the inning. James Jurries and Jake Gautreau cracked run-scoring doubles to tie the ballgame at 2-2. Jay Herz grounded into a fielder's choice to plate another run that gave Tulane a 3-2 lead.

In the eighth, the Greenies added an important insurance run as Herz lined a single to right. The throw home by Brantley Griffin was close, but just missed the sliding Tulane runner. The Jags cut the deficit to 4-3 after a Brian Groom walk and pinch-hitter Ben Nelson's run-scoring double. Piccotti struck out and Jason Gross popped up to end the inning. In the ninth, pinch-hitter Boo Tsimpides pushed a two-out single past third baseman Jake Gautreau to keep the Jags alive. Bonilla forced Cameron Likely to ground out to end the contest. Meyer took the loss for the Jags after scattering six hits over five innings. Reliever Joe Long gave up three hits and an earned run over the final four frames. Kyle Stanky had two singles to lead the Jag nine-hit attack.

LINESCORE:
TULANE 000 003 010 -- 4 - 9 - 0
SOUTH ALABAMA 200 000 010 -- 3 - 9 - 2
Henry Bonilla and Nick Herz. Layne Meyer, Joe Long (6) and Jason Gross. W - Bonilla (9-3). L - Meyer (5-7). Att.: 2324. T -- 2:34.

Game Quotes:

Tulane University:
Tulane Head Coach Rick Jones:
"We had outstanding defense and Henry Bonilla pitched really, really well. After that first inning, he had just great command of all three pitches. We played so well defensively behind him and James really gave us a lift obviously from an offensive standpoint. We had to play that well to win a close game and good teams do that. We hope it is a new pattern that we have developed. Win and survive or however that is."

Pitcher Henry Bonilla on his performance:
"I was really anxious in the first, especially when we did not score any runs. But Coach Schlossnagle (pitching coach) and Coach Jones just told me to battle and battle and we did. This year has been up and down for me. Coaches have been working hard with me, especially coach Schloss (nagle). He has worked me hard and not so much mechanically, but having my mind in the game."

Rightfielder James Burgess on team's performance after opening loss:
"Any time you lose it is tough. But I know our team and we like to battle. I knew that if Henry pitched well today then we would win. You see, Henry and I room together and we talk about baseball all the time. I knew talking to him last night that he was excited and ready to go. I had a feeling that we could put together and win and he came out there today and did his job."

University of South Alabama:
Head Coach Steve Kittrell:
"We got another complete game pitched against us. Bonilla did an outstanding job. Tulane did a good job of controlling our running game and they shut it down and their catcher made some good throws. We just didn't get some clutch hits except for the first inning and after that Bonilla shut us down. I tip my hat to Tulane. A nine inning game in that heat is quite a performance by Bonilla.

"I'm sad for our seniors but on the other hand I'm happy that they got to come here. I'd rather be playing than not come at all. Our team got to come in here and see one of the most tremendous atmospheres in college baseball. It's something they will take with them and talk about thirty years from now how there were 20,000 last night rather than 11,000."

Pitcher Layne Myer:
"A couple of my pitches got too much of the plate. I don't think I got tired. They're a good hitting team and they took advantage of the situation."

Kyle Stanky on Bonilla:
"The thing that made Bonilla a much better pitcher later in the game is that he got his off-speed pitches across the plate. Early in the game we were just sitting on his fastball. Later on he was able to open us up with 0-2 sliders and that made him a much more effective pitcher."

Phillip Willingham hit a perfect 5-5 at the plate with a lone RBI and three runs scored to pace the Mississippi State bats. Travis Chapman turned in a three-RBI performance on a 3-4 tally with Jon Knott providing the game's only other multi-hit performance, hitting 2-4 at the plate with a pair of RBI. Three different players recorded lone hits for Notre Dame.

Mississippi State starter Mark Freed (9-1) pitched just his second complete game of the season, scattering four hits, walking two and striking out nine, to capture the victory for the Bulldogs. Notre Dame starter Scott Cavey (6-3) gave up seven runs in four innings of work before giving way to Drew Duff in the fifth. Duff worked the remaining five innings, surrendering just a lone run on four hits, to get the no decision for the Irish.

The Bulldogs capitalized on their opportunities early, using a single and walk to put in its first two at bats before Chapman hit a two-run double to left field, scoring both Shane Kelly and Willingham. Mississippi State erupted for three runs in the next inning to take a 5-0 lead into the third, then took a 8-0 lead on a pair of runs in the fourth and a single run in the sixth, before allowing a Notre Dame run in the bottom of the sixth.

With the victory, Mississippi State, the only undefeated team remaining in the Starkville regional, advances into Sunday's championship game. The Bulldogs opponent will face the winner of tonight's 7 p.m. matchup between second-seeded Tulane and the third-seeded Irish. Notre Dame defeated Tulane 8-4 in the opening game of the Starkville regional.

#1 Mississippi State (40-17).....230 201 000 - 8 14 1
#3 Notre Dame (44-17)...........000 001 000 - 1 4 2

Mississippi State University:
Head Coach Pat McMahon:
"I'm very proud of our effort today against a well coached and outstanding Notre Dame club. Mark Freed was just outstanding today. He was throwing the ball in the strike zone and making quality pitches. Offensively a lot of different guys contributed and we did the little things well. It was another outstanding team effort.

"When you get two complete games in games one and two of the tournament it really opens up the door for the rest of your arms and the rest of your pitching staff. The key there is some guys stepped up and threw the ball in the strike zone. Those are the things we have to do to be successful against one of the two very good clubs that we have to face. The tournament doesn't stop after today."

Right Fielder Philip Willingham:
"The emotion of the play at the plate really helped us go through the game offensively. It got everybody pumped up and got Mark Freed ready to go out there and hold that lead. We were happy to get those two runs but we knew we would have some opportunities to score some more."

On going 5-5 after no hits yesterday:
"I went 5-5 today but some other guys didn't have that great of a day at the plate today. I went 0-5 yesterday with a hat trick (three strikeouts) and the guys picked me up and that's what's great about this team. We don't have any Brad Cresse's or Todd Faulkner's. We have a bunch of guys who are willing to do the little things it takes to get it done."

Third Baseman Travis Chapman:
"I wanted to come out today and settle down today after yesterday's game. We're a good defensive team. Donovan did a great job yesterday of picking me up after those errors and today Mark gave me a couple of really easy ground balls."

Pitcher Mark Freed:
"The fans were working today. That is the loudest I've heard them all year. We scored a couple of runs early. My job is just to throw strikes and I thought I did a pretty good job of that today. Now we have a good opportunity to win the regional."

University of Notre Dame:
Head Coach Paul Mainieri:
"Scott (Cavey) was ready to pitch for us, and he went out early in the game and was overthrowing because he was so charged up. His control, which is usually very good, was not very good at the beginning of the game, and they took advantage of that. They put two on the board right away and put us in the hole right off the bat. I thought he settled in a little bit. Then they started hitting some good pitches. I think you've just got to tip your hat to Mississippi State. Obviously they've got a great ball club and should receive all the credit for this victory."

On the play at the plate in the first inning:
"I think it was just the emotions. (Willingham) broke for the plate and our player threw home and our catcher was trying to catch the ball and block the plate at the same time. It was just a typical baseball play. Their kid did what he was supposed to do, trying to score the run for their team. I think it was just the emotion of the situation."

On the possibility of playing MSU again tomorrow:
"The thing about baseball is that each game is an entity in its own. MSU played a great ball game. If we're fortunate enough to get through Tulane tonight and play them again tomorrow, we'll go into the game with a lot of confidence. We'll go out there charged up and play as hard as we can, and hopefully we'll be able to pull it out in the end."

Starting pitcher Scott Cavey:
"I don't think it had anything to do with playing in front of a crowd. It was just the fact that it was a big game. I felt I tried to go out there and do too much."

On the weather:
"It was pretty hot when the game started, but it does get this warm up in the north, just not for another month or so. It's nothing that I haven't played in before."

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/27/00 (Noon) - Attendance at all regionals through Friday (Home team attendance in parenthesis):
1) MSU - 14,723 (11,127)
2) LSU - 10,004 (7,230)
3) Oklahoma - 7,172 (1 game only)
4) Baylor - 7,080 (4,275)
5) USC - 6,833 (5,509)
6) Ga. Tech - 6,462 (4,233)
7) Clemson - 5,579 (4,378)
8) Arizona - 5,195 (4,313)
9) Houston - 4,335 (1 game only)
--) FSU - 3,380 (1 game only)
--) Miami - 3,218 (1 game only)
--) Cal State Fullerton - 1,788 (1 game only)
--) Stanford - N/A
--) La.-Lafette - N/A
--) Minneapolis - N/A
--) Upper Montclair - N/A

05/27/00 - Regional Game Notes and Updates:

Notre Dame rightfielder Brian Stravisky and second baseman Matt Nussbaum, the Irish's sixth and seventh-hole hitters, combined for four RBI to pace an otherwise stagnant Notre Dame offensive attack. Tulane got a two-hit, two RBI performance from outfielder Matt Groff to pace the Green Wave bats.

Notre Dame starter Aaron Heilman gave up four earned runs in six innings of work before giving way to Matt Buchmier (4-2) in the seventh who worked three hitless innings to notch the victory for the Irish. Tulane starter Jared Berkowitz (12-4) surrendered six earned runs in seven and two-thirds innings of work to take the loss for Tulane.

After Notre Dame took the lead on a pair of sac flies in the opening frame, Tulane put a single run on the board in the fourth, before taking a 4-3 lead on a three-run rally in the sixth. However, with two outs showing in the eighth, Notre Dame's bats came alive, tieing the score on a RBI single by Stavisky, and retaking the lead on a two-run single by Nussbaum.

With the victory, Notre Dame earned the right to face the winner of Friday's late game between top-seeded Mississippi State and fourth-seeded South Alabama Saturday at 3 p.m.

#3 Notre Dame (44-16).....200 001 050 - 8 14 1
#2 Tulane (37-21-1).........000 103 000 - 4 5 3

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

The Bulldogs continue tournament play Saturday at 3 p.m ., meeting Notre Dame, an 8-4 winner over Tulane.

South Alabama (27-32) used three singles, a fielding error and a wild pitch to plate a pair of runs in the third inning as the Jaguars jumped out to a 2-1 lead. But Donovan allowed just one hit and three base runners the remainder of the game, fanning nine and posting his second complete-game pitching performance of the season, a career-longest nine-inning outing.

"What a gutsy performance," said Bulldog coach Pat McMahon. "He pitched his heart out and laid it all on the line for us."

The Bulldogs plated a pair of runs in the fourth to take a 3-2 lead, added single tallies in the fifth and seventh, and iced the game with a four-run eighth-inning burst. Shane Kelly and Ty Martin went 4-for-5 and combined for six RBI to pace MSU's 14-hit attack. Kelly singled a pair of runs in the fourth and drove in two more with an eighth inning triple. Kelly's three-bagger was his seventh of the season, second-highest single season triple total in MSU history.

Martin doubled in the third inning and scored the game's first run on a single by Daron Wright.

Righthander Daniel Head (7-10) took the loss, allowing five runs on eight hits over 6.1 innings.

Travis Chapman lashed his 69th career double in the third inning, raising his career hit total to 319, sixth-highest in SEC history and nine away from the school record 328 hits by Richard Lee.

MSU is expected to send junior lefty Mark Freed to the hill against Notre Dame. The Bulldogs and the Irish have met once previously, with the Irish prevailing 15-1 in the 1993 NCAA East Regional in Tallahassee, Fla.

SOUTH ALABAMA 002 000 000 ---2-4-1
MISSISSIPPI STATE 010 210 14x --- 9-14-3
WP --- Kevin Donovan (6-4). LP --- Daniel Head (7-10). KDonovan and McGrath. DHead,JLong (7), WConway (8) and Gross. Att --- 11,127 (8th-largest at Dudy Noble Field)

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

Fourth-seeded USA (27-32) will meet No. 2 seed Tulane (37-21-1) in an elimination game Saturday morning at 11 a.m. Top-seeded MSU (39-17) clashes with No. 3 seed Notre Dame (44-16) at 3 p.m. The winner of the morning game and the loser of the afternoon game will meet in an elimination game at 7 p.m. Earlier in the day, Notre Dame beat Tulane 8-4. The USA game can be heard on WNSP 105.5 FM and on the internet at http://www.wnsp.com.

Donovan (6-4) kept the Jaguars off-balanced all night long while striking out nine and allowing just three walks. The only Jag runs came in the third when Brett Parker scored on a wild pitch, and Kyle Stanky drove in Cameron Likely with a single.

"Donovan was the difference in the game," said USA coach Steve Kittrell, whose club tied the record for most defeats (32) in a season, matching the mark set by the 1985 squad. "Donovan was on top of his game, and he made it tough on us."

Kelly and Martin combined for eight of the Bulldogs' 14 hits. Kelly put MSU on top for good with a two-run single in the fourth that gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead. The Jags kept it close until the eighth before MSU erupted for three runs to put it away.

USA's Tony Piccotti saw his 15-game hitting streak end with an 0-for-3 performance.

Daniel Head, one of three Jag hurlers, took the loss to fall to 7-10. The senior allowed four runs on eight hits.

FRIDAY'S RESULTS
No. 3 seed Notre Dame 8, No. 2 seed Tulane 4
No. 1 seed Mississippi State 9, No. 4 seed South Alabama 2

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE
11 a.m. No. 2 seed Tulane vs. No. 4 seed South Alabama
3 p.m. No. 1 seed Mississippi State vs. No. 3 seed Notre Dame
7 p.m. Tulane/USA winner vs. MSU/ND loser

MOBILE, Ala. -- South Alabama star shortstop Tim Merritt underwent a successful procedure to correct Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) Syndrome, USA officials said on Friday.

“I feel great,” said the sophomore from his hospital bed in Mobile on Friday. "(The procedure) went excellent. I should start lifting (weights) and running in about a week."

On Tuesday, Merritt was diagnosed with WPW, an electrical dysfunction in the heart which results in an irregular and rapid heartbeat. Merritt began experiencing breathing difficulties during the championship game of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament last weekend.

"Merritt's condition was corrected, and his long-term prognosis for returning to baseball is excellent," said USA Athletic Trainer Paul Newman.

Merritt was leading the Jags in nearly offensive category including batting average (.347) home runs (8) and RBI (43).

Reprinted with the permission of the USA athletic department

05/26/00 - Regional Notes:

If you have the chance you ought to attend the Tulane / Notre Dame game this afternoon. Notre Dame will be starting junior righthander Aaron Heilman, a 6-5, 210-lb., three-time All-American. Aaron has a fastball that he consistently throws in the 89-91 mph range, topping out at 94 mph. Baseball America projects Aaron as a first-rounder in the upcoming Major League Baseball draft. Tulane will counter with 6-0, 190-lb. Jared Berkowitz, the winningest pitcher in Tulane history. Jared has won 38 games during his career.

Did you know that Notre Dame's head baseball coach Paul Mainieri played for the University of New Orleans during the 1979 NCAA Regional at MSU? He made the last out for New Orleans when they were eliminated by MSU.

Aaron Somes and Jason Crowder will be hosting a post-game wrap-up radio show at Abner's in Starkville about an hour and a half after each Mississippi State regional game. The wrap-up show will be on MSU's flagship radio station WCFA-FM (107.9 on the radio dial). Listen to it while driving home or come on by Abners and ask questions of any guests that they might have.

The awards mark the second and third time in the four-year history of the program that a Bulldog has been decorated with All-America honors. Wilkerson was given Second Team honors last season after a very successful debut as a freshman in Starkville.

"I am, no doubt, very proud of both of these young ladies' accomplishments this season," said Mississippi State head coach Kathy Arendsen. "We had a remarkable season as a team and these two ladies played a very big part of that."

Wilkerson paced the Bulldogs this season with a .431 (78-181) clip at the plate, but her presence was felt in her centerfield position as well where the sophomore committed just two errors in 101 chances to pace her to a .981 fielding percentage. Wilkerson blistered opposing pitchers with 24 extra-base hits, including eight home runs, but displayed her patience at the plate by drawing a school-record 49 walks.

She shared the team RBI lead (43) with senior shortstop Karrie Rider, but led the team with a .663 slugging percentage and a .553 on base percentage.

McCallum finished second on the team with a .412 (100-243) batting average to go along with her 26 extra base hits and 25 RBI. She drew 13 walks and led Mississippi State in hit by pitches, 12 times getting plunked by an inside offering. Her 11 triples paced all players in the Southeastern Conference, while her 31 stolen bases kept her in pace with the conference leaders. She committed just two errors in 250 chances (.992) vaulting her to the position of the top defensive catcher in the conference.

McCallum will exit Starkville as the SEC's career leader in both hits (319) and triples (38). Her career hits count places her 13th on the NCAA's all-time career hits list, while her career triple count moved her into 2nd on the NCAA career list.

HEHNKE, MCCALLUM NAMED GTE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS

Senior second baseman Jenny Hehnke and senior catcher Keri McCallum were named GTE/CoSIDA District VI Academic All-Americans, GTE and the College Sports Information Directors of American announced Thursday morning.

Hehnke paced the team with a 3.60 GPA in History, while also making her presence felt on the field as the team's second hitter in the batting order. Hehnke finished third on the squad with a .310 batting average, but led the Bulldogs with 23 sacrifice hits. The Santa Barbara, Calif., native also shelled out nine doubles, two triples and eight walks, while being successful on seven of eight (88%) stolen base attempts this season.

McCallum kept pace with Hehnke's GPA, turning in a 3.59 in Biological Sciences, joining the second baseman on the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll. The Port Orchard, Wash., native finished second on the team with a .410 batting average, while also pounding out 11 doubles, 11 triples, four home runs and 25 RBI. McCallum was also successful on 31 of 34 stolen base attempts this season and led the team with 12 hit by pitches.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/25/00 - Did you know that MSU senior lefthanded pitcher Kevin Donovan, who will start against South Alabama Friday night, has a Friday night home record of 3-1 with an miniscule 1.17 ERA? In 32 innings of Friday night pitching, he has allowed a total of 4 earned runs, 23 hits, 11 walks, while striking out 42.

05/24/00
Regional Info:
Thursday's Practice Schedules (Practices are open to the public):

Friday's Pregame Warmups:

South Alabama, Notre Dame and Tulane are all staying in Columbus, MS. Notre Dame and Tulane will arrive for the regional today while South Alabama is expected to arrive Thursday.

05/23/00
NCAA Regional game times

Day #1 -- Friday, May 26, 2000
Game #1 -- #2 Tulane vs. #3 Notre Dame, 2 p.m.
Game #2 -- #1 Mississippi State vs. #4 South Alabama, 6 p.m.

Day #2 -- Saturday, May 27, 2000
Game #3 -- Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2, 11 a.m.
Game #4 -- Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2, 3 p.m.
Game #5 -- Winner Game #3 vs. Loser Game #4, 7 p.m.

Day #3 -- Sunday, May 28, 2000
Game #6 -- Winner Game #4 vs. Winner Game #5, 1:30 p.m.
Game #7 (if necessary) -- 5 p.m.

Tournament seedings precede team names.

Official MSU regional site webpage...

Official Team Sites:

05/21/00
Softball - Two first-inning errors led to a game-deciding four runs for Utah (42-22) as the Utes eliminated second-seeded Mississippi State (44-27) from NCAA Regional I play with a 4-1 victory here Saturday afternoon.

Cheri Smith provided the only MSU offense with a fielder's choice RBI in the third, while three different players recorded lone hits for the Bulldogs who struggled with clutch hitting, leaving 10 runners on base, four in scoring position. Starter Kasey Whitehead (4-4) surrendered four runs in one-third of an inning of work to take the loss for the Bulldogs. Jennifer Pursell came on in relief with one out in the first and shut down the Utah offense, scattering five hits and striking out four Utes.

After surrendering a leadoff walk to Lisa Hashimoto-Hall, Molly McLean legged out an infield single to put two runners aboard for the Utes with no outs in the first. Sunny Smith laid down a sac bunt with the next at bat, but Whitehead overthrew first baseman Cheri Smith and rightfielder Kendell Kimbrough misplayed the ball in foul territory allowing both runners aboard to cross the plate with the 2-0 Utah lead. The Utes completed the four-run first with RBI singles by Stacy O'Farrell and Nikki Hayhurst.

After leaving the bases juiced in the second, State loaded the bases again in the third for Smith who delivered a fielder's choice RBI to put the Bulldogs on the board. However, with two outs showing and runners on the corners, Pursell's ground out to first baseman Nicole Wilkinsin forced State to leave their sixth and seventh runners aboard in the game.

NCAA REGIONAL I
Husky Softball Stadium - Seattle, Wash.
May 20, 2000

#22 Mississippi State (44-27)...001 000 0 - 1 3 2
Utah (42-22)...400 000 0 - 4 7 2
MSU - Whitehead (1), Pursell (1) and McCallum. UTAH - Arbogast and Smith. Win - Arbogast (40-18). Loss - Whitehead (4-4). E - MSU: Whitehead, Kimbrough UTAH: Trevis, Wilkinson. LOB - MSU 10, UTAH 5. 2B - MSU: Whitehead. SB - MSU: Gates. UTAH: McLean. CS - UTAH: Hashimoto-Hall. SH - MSU: Hehnke, Smith. UTAH: Monson. Time - 1:37. Att. - 1,685.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/20/00 (3:05 p.m.)
Softball - Second-seeded Mississippi State (44-26) gave top-seeded and top-ranked Washington (60-7) all it could handle, but a middle-inning rally proved to be lethal as the Huskies downed State, 4-1, here Saturday to give the Bulldogs their first loss in NCAA Regional I.

Three different players recorded lone hits for the Bulldogs, with Cheri Smith providing a RBI on a 1-3 performance. Jennifer Pursell (26-16) came on in relief of starter Kasey Whitehead in the fourth and gave up two runs on two hits in two innings of work to take the loss for the Bulldogs.

Washington put a runner in scoring position early as Kelly Hauxhurst moved to second via a one-out infield hit and a sac bunt by Kim DePaul. However, Hauxhurst proved to be too anxious on a pass ball and, after attempting to snag the extra base, was caught when McCallum got the ball to Whitehead in time for a play at the plate.

Mississippi State used the same approach in the top of the second, getting Gates into scoring position by way of a hit to left field and a sac bunt by Whitehead, and put the first run on the board when Smith hit a frozen rope to left centerfield. State's lead lasted until Hauxhurst's next at bat when the junior from Westminster, Calif., took a one-strike offering from Whitehead to straightaway center to knot the game back up at one apiece and chase the sophomore pitcher from the circle.

Jenny Topping welcomed Pursell to the game with a floating double down the left field line to put another runner in scoring position for the Huskies but, after a fly out and a two-out walk to Jennifer Spediacci, Pursell got out of the inning on a fielder's choice groundout. Washington struck again in the fifth, getting Rosie Leutzinger to third on a two-out triple to right center before Hauxhurst laced a RBI single to centerfield to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead. Solo homers by Topping and Jaime Clark in the sixth gave the Huskies insurance runs.

The Bulldogs halted a scoring streak by Washington with the run in the second. In regional play, the Huskies had gone 43 and two-thirds innings without allowing a run until Smith's RBI single brought Gates home from second.

Mississippi State will now hang around Husky Softball Stadium until 3 p.m. PDT (5 p.m. CDT) when they will continue play in NCAA Regional I by playing an elimination game against the winner of the 12 p.m. contest between third-seeded Utah and fifth-seeded Chattanooga.

NCAA Regional I
Husky Softball Stadium, Seattle, Washington

#22 Mississippi State (44-26)....010 000 0 - 1 3 0
#1 Washington (60-7)....000 112 x - 4 9 1
UW - Graves and Topping. MSU - Whitehead (1, 7), Pursell (4), Frank (7) and McCallum. Win - Graves (26-3). Loss - Pursell (26-16). E - UW: Leutzinger. LOB - MSU 4, UW 6. 2B - UW: Topping. 3B - Leutzinger. HR - UW: Hauxhurst, Topping, Clark. CS - Wilkerson. SH - MSU: Hehnke, Whitehead UW: DePaul, Spediacci. Time - 1:35.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/20/00
Softball - Second-seeded Mississippi State (44-25) put together an eight-run sixth inning, then held back a late rally by Utah (40-22) to steal a 11-3 decision from the Utes in winners' bracket play at NCAA Regional I here Friday.

Catcher Keri McCallum hit 3-4 at the plate, including her 11th double of the campaign, to spark the Mississippi State offense. Leftfielder Kasey Whitehead (1-3, 3 RBI) and pinch hitter A.J. Lott (1-1, 2 RBI) also helped to ignite the Bulldog offense. Starter Courtney Frank pitched the first four and two-thirds innings, striking out one while giving up a lone earned run, before being replaced by Jennifer Pursell with two outs in the fifth. Pursell (26-15) pitched the remainder of the game, surrendering a pair of runs, to notch the victory for State.

The multi-run inning marked the second-straight day that Mississippi State has scored six or more runs in a single inning. State used a six-run sixth inning to defeat Tennessee-Chattanooga 6-1 in opening round play on Thursday.

"This was a real quality win for us," MSU head coach Kathy Arendsen said. "For a long time, I was getting a little worried. (Utah pitcher Kristin Arbogast) was making some really good pitches, and we weren't getting a lot of good swings. Once again, we broke out of it with a big inning. I give a lot of credit to our team. They stay very poised and they don't give up."

Senior Nichole Henry led off the fifth with a walk and then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by third baseman Nicole Moschetti. However, Utah third baseman Lindsey Trevis fumbled the bunt and then catcher Sunny Smith sailed the throw down the leftfield line, giving MSU runners at second and third with no outs.

Freshman Jennifer Nelson, batting ninth in the Bulldog lineup, then laced a double to right-center, scoring both runners and opening the floodgates. Keri McCallum followed with another double to score Nelson. Jenny Hehnke and Kellie Wilkerson followed with walks to load the bases, still with no outs. Keri Rider then bounced one to second, which Stacy O'Farrell booted and allowed another run to score.

The scoring continued as Kasey Whitehead drew a bases-loaded walk to put MSU up 6-1. Two batters later, pinch hitter A.J. Lott looped a single into right-center to plate the final two runs of the inning.

However, Utah was not about to go quietly. Smith led off the top of the sixth with a single and then moved to second when Jenny Monson reached on an error. Trevis then doubled to center, scoring both and cutting the lead to five. That was all MSU allowed, though, as reliever Jennifer Pursell got a pair of groundouts and an infield pop-up to get out of the inning.

The Bulldogs put the wraps on the game in the bottom of the sixth, scoring three runs on four hits to invoke the eight-run rule. McCallum led off the frame with a single and moved to second on a Hehnke sacrifice bunt.

The senior catcher then stole third and Wilkerson followed with her third walk of the game. Two batters later, Whitehead singled to score both runners as Wilkerson had moved to second on a groundout.

Cheri Smith and Kendell Kimbrough followed with singles to load the bases. Moschetti then drew a walk, forcing in pinch runner Chris Bushby from third with the game-winning run.

Utah had taken an early lead, posting one run in the top of the first. Leadoff hitter Lisa Hashimoto-Hall reached on an infield single to shortstop Karrie Rider, then advanced to third on a pair of stolen bases. After a Molly McLean walk put runners on the corners for the Utes, a RBI double by Sunny Smith brought Hashimoto-Hall across the plate with the 1-0 Utah lead.

McCallum stole a pair of bases in the game to tie and break the MSU single-season record for thefts. She now has 31 on the season, topping the 30 totaled by Michelle Gates in 1998. Pursell also tied the school record for wins in a season with her 26th.

The win puts MSU in Saturday's semifinal game against top-ranked and top-seeded Washington at 10 a.m. PDT (Noon CT). This will be the first meeting between the two schools, which both added softball during the 1990s. The winner of that game will advance to Sunday's championship game, while the loser will play Saturday at 3 p.m. PDT (5 p.m. CT) against the winner of Saturday's Chattanooga-Utah contest.

NCAA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS - REGIONAL I
Husky Softball Stadium - Seattle, Wash.
Utah Utes (40-22) 100 002 - 3 8 3
#22 Mississippi State Bulldogs (44-25) 000 083 - 11 9 2
WP - Pursell (26-15). LP - Arbogast (38-18). Sv - None. Arbogast and Smith; Frank, Pursell (5) and McCallum. T - 1:48. A - 1144.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/19/00
Baseball - Pitchers Matt Steele and Jeffery Carswell combined for a six-hit shutout Thursday as Georgia (32-25) curtailed No. 10 Mississippi State's stay in the SEC Tournament with a 5-0 win at the Hoover Met.

It marked only the second time Mississippi State (38-17) had been shut out this season and the first time in 76 Southeastern Conference Tournament games.

Steele scattered three hits, walked three and struck out four batters, leaving the game with the bases loaded and two out in the top of the fifth inning. Relief pitcher Jeffery Carswell (5-5) retired Jon Knott on a fly ball to right to end the Mississippi State threat. Carswell gave up three hits the remainder of the game, two on singles by Travis Chapman and Ty Martin in the eighth inning. That Bulldog scoring threat ended when Carswell got Rock to ground into an inning-ending double play.

MSU got a solid pitching performance from junior lefty Mark Freed (8-1), who gave up nine hits and three of the Georgia runs in 6.1 innings of work.

Coach Ron Polk's Georgia Bulldogs plated two runs in the fourth, the first on a fly ball inside-the-park home run to center field by Andy Neufeld. Neufeld and Doc Brooks touched MSU relief ace Adam Larson for run-scoring singles and Josh Dorminy added a sacrifice fly to plate Georgia's three runs during a four-hit seventh-inning burst. Larson retired two of the five batters he faced in the seventh and Steven Dowe gave up one hit in his inning of work in the eighth.

Josh Hudson, Jeff Keppinger, Neufeld and Mark Thornhill had two hits each to pace Georgia's 13-hit plate performance while Ty Martin singled twice and Shane Kelly doubled to lead MSU's six-hit showing. Mississippi State hit 15 fly-ball outs and seven strikeouts in the tournament elimination round game.

Mississippi State's ouster from the tournament was its quickest in 21 SEC Tournaments.

The Bulldogs return to Starkville Friday and begin preparations for next weekend's four-team NCAA Starkville Regional Tournament. The field for the 64-team tournament and complete regional pairings will be announced by the NCAA Monday, May 22 in a 2 p.m. selection show broadcast by ESPN.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 000 000 000 --- 0-6-1
GEORGIA 000 200 30x --- 5-13-0

WP --- Jeffery Carswell (5-5). LP --- Mark Freed (8-1). MFreed, ALarson (7), SDowe (8) and McGrath. Msteele, Jcarswell (5) and Burchett.

Keri McCallum tripled and doubled in the sixth inning alone en route to a 2-3 performance with a pair of RBI to pace the Bulldog bats. Cheri Smith highlighted a 1-2 performance with a two-run single in the sixth to lead a quintet of State players with single hits. Starter Jennifer Pursell (25-15) worked six and two-thirds innings, striking out four and surrendering a lone unearned run, to notch the victory for State. Courtney Frank came on in relief with two outs in the seventh and struck out Dana Reed to end the game.

"We're really pleased with the patience our team showed in staying together," MSU head coach Kathy Arendsen said. "We didn't panic when Chattanooga put some pressure on us early, and we could have because we weren't hitting the ball and we weren't having a lot of quality at bats. But Keri (McCallum) has really been our catalyst all year, and with getting that triple the flood gates really broke open."

For Arendsen, it was career win No. 300 against 221 losses in 11 seasons. While at MSU, Arendsen has amassed a 147-101 record in four campaigns.

In a classic defensive standoff, Mississippi State and Chattanooga both wrestled each other for a majority of the game, going scoreless for the first five and a half innings of play, until a Bulldog rally in the bottom of the sixth. With no hits recorded in the books for State, Keri McCallum's leadoff triple not only turned into Mississippi State's first hit of the contest, but also its first run.

After lacing a shot to left center, the ball was fielded cleanly by center fielder Talya Trudell, but the cutoff throw by shortstop Leah Tucker sailed past third baseman Jessica Hamilton into the Bulldog dugout allowing McCallum to cross the plate with the 1-0 Mississippi State lead. After three consecutive singles and a fielder's choice groundout by Michelle Gates, Kasey Whitehead drew a walk to plate Wilkerson from third for a 2-0 Mississippi State lead.

With the bases still juiced, Cheri Smith broke the game wide open with a two-run single up the middle that plated both Rider and Gates for a 4-0 lead. Pursell's single with the next at-bat loaded the bases for McCallum who belted a two-run double down the right field line that brought both Whitehead and Smith across the plate., completing the MSU barrage with the fifth and sixth runs of the inning, respectively.

"Pursell fought through it," Arendsen said of her starter in the circle. "I don't think it was one of her better outings today. She struggled a little bit with her location and got behind a little bit, but she hung in there and Courtney Frank really closed the door. For us it was a really quality win. Chattanooga is a good team and they gave us a great game."

The win moved No. 22 Mississippi State into the winner's bracket where they will continue their play in NCAA Regional I tomorrow, suiting up to face third-seeded Utah (40-21). First pitch of the contest if set for 5 p.m. CDT.

State and Utah have already met once this season on February 12, 2000 at the Fiesta Bowl Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz. The game was marred by eight errors, five of which were committed by the Utes, but Utah hit a pair of homers, including a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth, to win the meeting 8-6.

DAY ONE NOTES: MSU batted around in the sixth inning for the fifth time this season and the first time since doing so in the fourth inning of a March 9th 6-0 win over North Carolina. Keri McCallum became the first Bulldog this season to get two hits in one inning. All four MSU players with Washington ties played in the game. McCallum and Karrie Rider started, Chris Bushby pinch ran in the sixth and Courtney Frank struck out the games final batter. MSU becomes the third SEC team to win its first-ever NCAA Tournament game. South Carolina was the first, followed by LSU and now the Bulldogs.

NCAA SOFTBALL REGIONAL I
No. 5 Chattanooga (46-25)...000 000 1 - 1 7 2
No. 2 Mississippi State (42-25)...000 006 0 - 6 7 2
WP Pursell (25-15). LP Connie Ness (14-4). Ness, Alexander (6), Trudell (6) and Welsh; Pursell, Frank (7) and McCallum. 2B - McCallum (10). 3B - McCallum (11). LOB - UTC 7, MSU 5. A - n/a. T - 1:43. Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/18/00
Baseball - 10th ranked Mississippi State and Alabama got together in an SEC Baseball Tournament game 10 a.m. Wednesday morning. Wakeup call came at 6 a.m. for both teams but the real wakeup call came for Alabama during the top of the 7th inning when Alabama scored seven runs, with help from the MSU pitchers, to put the game away 9-3, which would be the final score.

The game started off quietly enough with Alabama going scoreless in the first inning.

MSU, in the bottom of the first, loaded the base with one out, but in what would turn out to be one of the two most crucial plays in the game, Ty Martin's ground ball shot down the first base line was grabbed by Bama first baseman Jeremy Brown who threw the ball to home plate for the second out of the inning.

"Jeremy Brown's play at first base was an outstanding defensive play. If that ball gets by him it goes down the line and starts a big-run inning for us," said MSU coach Pat McMahon.

Jamie Rock ended the Bulldog threat by being called out on strikes on a ball that appeared, from my angle, to be a little low and out of the strike zone. MSU would have difficulty adjusting, pitching-wise and hitting-wise, to home plate ump A. J. Lostaglio the entire game.

After the disappointing bottom of the first for MSU, Alabama would strike early in the 2nd with a lead-off home run by Kelley Gulledge to put the Tide up 1-0.

Alabama would hold onto to the precarious 1-0 lead until the 4th inning. During the top of the 4th, Bulldog starter Kevin Donovan, now 5-4 on the season, issued a pair of walks and a single to load the bases before Aaron Clarke would knock in Bama's 2nd run of the morning affair with a sacrifice fly to right field to give Bama a 2-0 lead.

MSU, after loading the bases in the first and not scoring a run, could do nothing with Lance Cormier until Shane Kelly was hit by a pitch with two outs in the bottom of the 5th inning. Phillip Willingham, on a 2-1 count, would knock Kelly in with a game-tying home run to left field.

MSU would earn their first lead of the day with an 6th inning RBI single to left field by Daron Wright. MSU had a chance to score additional runs during the inning but Alabama reliever Bryce Heath would shut the door on the Bulldogs by getting Matt Maniscalco to line out to right field with men on 1st and 3rd.

Alabama would come right back with the big 7th inning offensive showing to put the game out of reach for the Bulldogs. The inning started out routinely enough with a fly ball to right field. MSU starter Kevin Donovan would then struggle with his control, walking two batters and allowing two hits before giving way to reliever Brandon Medders.

"I felt strong. The situation came up where we needed to get someone else in," according to Kevin Donovan.

Brandon would walk the two batters he faced and give way to Josh Wooten. Josh would fare no better giving up two walks and two hits. Before Ryan Carroll came in to strike out Casey Lambert for the 3rd out, Bama would score seven runs on four hits and six walks. Included in the four hits was a low line-drive shot toward MSU third baseman Travis Chapman that Travis could not come up with. This was the 2nd crucial play of the game.

"Bozanich hit it real hard at me. I'll be the first one to say that I should have made that play," said Travis Chapman. "It had some movement on it and kind of knuckled away from him and squirted away from him," according to Alabama hitter Sam Bozanich.

Neither team would score during the remainder of the game.

MSU, which had 9 hits on the day, was led in the hitting department by Travis Chapman, 2-for-4, and Daron Wright, also 2-for-4.

Alabama, which had 13 hits, was led in hitting by Darren Wood, Kelley Gulledge, Aaron Clark and Scott McClanahan, all with 2 hits a piece.

MSU, with junior left-hander Mark Freed on the mound, will now take on former MSU head baseball coach Ron Polk's Georgia Bulldogs, 11-3 losers to LSU, in another 10 a.m. affair Thursday morning. Alabama will play LSU at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Although the Alabama game was a very disappointing loss, MSU coach Pat McMahon said, "this club has done a wonderful job of focusing game by game, never looking ahead or behind all year and I know that we will show up tomorrow."

05/17/00
Baseball - Mississippi State (38-15) opens its postseason run Wednesday morning in Hoover, Ala., taking on longtime SEC Western Division foe Alabama (36-20) at 10 a.m. in the opening game of the 2000 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament. MSU's Wednesday and Thursday games will be televised on College Sports Southeast.

The Bulldogs, runners-up in the SEC Western Division, are seeded third in the double-elimination, eight-team tournament while the Crimson Tide, which won two of the three regular season meetings with MSU in Tuscaloosa, enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed.

The SEC Baseball Tournament utilizes a College World Series-style bracket, with No. 1 seed South Carolina, No. 8 seed Kentucky, No. 4 seed Florida and No. 5 seed Auburn grouped in one bracket and No. 2 seed LSU, No. 3 seed Mississippi State, No. 6 seed Alabama and No. 7 seed Georgia competing in the other bracket. Bracket winners meet Sunday in a 3 p.m. championship game.

Coach Pat McMahon is expected to send senior lefthander Kevin Donovan (5-3, 3.64) to the hill in Wednesday's tournament opener. The winner of the MSU-Alabama game meets the winner of the LSU-Georgia game at 5 p.m. Thursday, while the losing teams in the other opening round games in the bracket meet at 10 a.m. Thursday in an elimination game.

The winner of Sunday's 3 p.m. SEC championship game receives the league's automatic berth in the 2000 NCAA Baseball Tournament, set to begin May 26 at 16 regional sites nationwide. Mississippi State is already assured of continuing play in the NCAA Tournament. Monday the NCAA selected Mississippi State as one of the 16 first round regional tournament hosts. The 64-team tournament bracket will be announced Monday, May 22 at 2 p.m. on ESPN.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/16/00
Softball - Just thought I would give you guys a chance to read one of the premium site columns by Gene's Page free-lance correspondent Bill Findley. CLICK HERE to go to it.

Baseball - Good news came in pairs for Mississippi State's Baseball Bulldogs Monday afternoon. Shortly after the announcement that the 11th-ranked Bulldogs had been selected as one of next weekend's 16 regional tournament hosts came word that two Diamond Dogs had earned 2000 All-Southeastern Conference honors.

Senior third baseman Travis Chapman from Jacksonville, Fla., and senior outfielder Shane Kelly from Petal, Miss., are included on this year's all-conference team, selected in a vote of the league's 12 baseball coaches.

Chapman was named to the All-SEC first team. He earned SEC All-Tournament Team honors as a junior and owns a .341 batting average with a team-leading 19 doubles, six home runs, 56 runs batted in and a school-record 17 HBPs. The MSU co-captain has set the school career doubles record with 68, third-highest in SEC history, and ranks seventh in the SEC and second at MSU with 315 career hits.

Kelly, in his second season with the Bulldogs after starring two seasons at Meridian Community College, carries a .323 batting average with 44 RBI into this week's SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Ala. A second-team All-SEC pick, he shares the team lead with 29 extra-base hits, including 14 doubles, a team-leading six triples and nine home runs and paces the club with 16 stolen bases.

Third-seeded Mississippi State (38-15) opens competition in the 2000 SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Ala., Wednesday at 10 a.m., taking on Alabama (35-20) at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/15/00
Baseball - Junior lefthander Hayden Gliemmo struck out seven of the first eight Bulldog batters he faced Sunday afternoon as No. 11 Auburn (40-16, 17-13) posted a series-clinching 9-5 win over seventh-ranked Mississippi State (38-15, 17-10) at Plainsman Park.

Gliemmo (4-1) blanked the Bulldogs on four hits over the first six innings and left the game after giving up a towering solo home run to Jon Knott in the top of the seventh.

The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead off junior righthander Jeff Hunter (6-2). Gabe Gross and Todd Faulkner lashed two-out doubles and Brett Burnham an RBI single in the inning.

Auburn used three walks and consecutive singles by Dominic Rich, Mailon Kent and Gross to score four more and take a 6-0.

State closed the gap to 6-4, scoring three in the seventh on Knott's home run, a wild pitch and Dominic Rich's fielding error at second base and added another run in the eighth when Jamie Rock singled home Ty Martin.

Bulldog relief ace Adam Larson entered the game in the eighth, but was unable to keep the deficit at two runs. Larson hit one batter, gave up a single to Gabe Gross and a three-run home run by Todd Faulkner.

MSU freshman Matthew Maniscalco belted a solo home run to right in the ninth, but it was the last run allowed during a three-inning relief appearance by Brent Speigner, who picked up his first save of the campaign.

Jamie Rock went 3-for-4 and Chapman and Knott collected two hits apiece to lead MSU at the plate. Gabe Gross had three hits and Faulkner three RBI for Auburn.

Ty Martin's career-best 21-game hit streak came to an end when his eighth-inning drive off the outstretched glove of centerfielder Mailon Kent was changed from a double to a two-base error.

The Bulldogs travel to Birmingham, Ala., Tuesday, opening play as the No. 3 seed in the 2000 SEC Baseball Tournament Wednesday at 10 a.m. MSU meets No. 6 seed Alabama (36-20, 16-14) in the opening game of the eight-team, two-bracketed, double-elimination tournament at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 000 000 311 --- 5-9-2
AUBURN 002 004 030 --- 9-12-2

WP --- Hayden Gliemmo (4-1). SV --- Brett Speigner (1). LP --- Jeff Hunter (6-2). HR --- Knott (15), Maniscalco (4), Faulkner (22).

Baseball
Last week's results: 2-2
May 10 --- MSU 18, UAB 7 (Birmingham, Ala.)
May 12 --- Auburn 6, MSU 3 (Auburn, Ala.)
May 13 --- MSU 10, Auburn 9 (Auburn, Ala.)
May 14 --- Auburn 9, MSU 5 (Auburn, Ala.)

This week's schedule:
May 17 vs. Alabama (SEC Baseball Tournament @ Hoover, Ala. - 10 a.m.)
May 18 vs. LSU or Georgia (SEC Tournament @ Hoover, Ala. --- 10 a.m. or 5 p.m.)
May 19-21 TBA

Mississippi State posted a 2-2 record in a regular season-ending four-game road to neighboring Alabama, throttling UAB 18-7 in Birmingham and taking one of three games played in a season-ending three-game SEC series at Auburn. State, after bowing 6-3 in a Friday night game, erased a 9-4 deficit to top the Tigers 10-9 Saturday. Auburn held off a late State rally to claim a 9-5 win in the series finale. State finished a game behind SEC West champ LSU and is seeded third in this week's SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Ala.

Senior DH Ty Martin, the team's hitting leader with a .351 batting average, ran his career-best and team season-high hitting streak to 21 games before going hitless in the series finale at Auburn.

Junior first baseman Jon Knott hit his 14th and 15th home runs and drove in six runs over the past four games. Jamie Rock paced the Bulldogs at the plate, hitting .588 (10-for-17).

Junior relief pitcher Josh Wooten (3-0, 6.08) picked up his first SEC win, blanking the explosive Auburn club on two hits in a season-longest 4-2/3 inning relief pitching performance.

Senior third baseman Travis Chapman added seven hits to his record-setting career total to move ahead of Alabama's Joe Caruso and LSU's Todd Walker with 315 hits, the seventh-most in SEC history.

Ty Martin has been named to the GTE-CoSIDA Academic All-District VI team.

Junior pitcher Mark Freed (8-0, 4.20) is the first Bulldog pitcher to post an 8-0 record since Bobby Reed in 1989.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

"This is so exciting," said Mississippi State head coach amid a mixture of screams and tears in the Mississippi State Television Center Sunday evening where the team had gathered to watch the selection show just four hours after returning from the SEC Softball Tournament in Columbus, Ga. "This is a culmination of four years of hard work. I am so happy for this team right now."

The third team announced in the NCAA Selection show, State will make its first-ever appearance in the national tournament. Number two-seed State's first round opponent in Regional 1 is #5-seed Chattanooga (46-25), whom the Bulldogs defeated 7-5 earlier this season in the Mississippi State Bulldog Classic.

The Bulldogs and Mocs will square off in the second game of the regional at 2:30 p.m. PST Thursday afternoon. Number three-seed Utah (39-21) will play in the regional's first game against #4-seed Western Illinois at 8 a.m., while host and #1-seed Washington (56-7), who is currently at the top of the national polls, will square off against #6-seed Army (27-16) at 1 p.m.

Mississippi State joined four other Southeastern Conference teams in the NCAA Regionals announced Sunday evening. South Carolina, who received an automatic bid after defeating LSU 1-0 in the SEC Tournament Championship game on Sunday, will represent the SEC as the #3 seed in Regional 2 in Tucson, Ariz., while Arkansas also received a #3 seed at Regional 3 in Norman, Okla. Alabama will be a #2 seed in the Arizona State-hosted Regional 5, Florida is the #4 seed in the Fresno State-hosted Regional 6, while LSU is the host and #1 seed in Regional 7.

Seventeen of State's 2000 opponents received NCAA Regional bids Sunday evening. With MSU receiving a bid to the NCAA Softball Championships, four women's spring sports have now advanced to the NCAA tournament this year. Ironically, three of the four were sent to Pac-10 schools for their respective regional.

Regional #1 - Seattle, Wash.
#1 Seed Washington (56-7)
#2 Seed Mississippi State (42-25)
#3 Seed Utah (39-21)
#4 Seed Western Illinois (46-14)
#5 Seed Chattanooga (46-25)
#6 Seed Army (27-16)

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

Click here for additional softball championship information.

05/14/00
Baseball - No. 7 Mississippi State erased a 9-4 deficit and plated the winning run on a suicide squeeze play in the ninth inning Saturday as the Bulldogs (38-14, 17-9) downed No. 11 Auburn 10-9 at Plainsman Park. The MSU win evened the series at a game apiece and assured the Bulldogs of at least a No. 3 seed in next week's Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Ala.

With the score knotted at 9-9, Daron Wright opened the ninth with a fly ball double down the left field line off Auburn relief ace Colter Bean (9-4), the last of four Tiger pitchers in the game. He advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan McGrath and then scored the game winning run on a suicide squeeze bunt single by freshman Matthew Maniscalco.

Maniscalco's run-scoring hit made a winner of junior sidearm pitcher Josh Wooten (3-0), who entered the game in the fifth, worked out of a bases-loaded jam, and blanked the high-powered Tigers on three hits over a career-longest 4-2/3 innings. The Star, Miss., native walked two batters and hit another, but also got Auburn to hit into a pair of crucial double plays.

Jon Knott and Ty Martin hit back-to-back solo home runs off Auburn starter Chris Bootcheck in the second inning as Mississippi State jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Shane Kelly singled in one run and Phillip Willingham plated another with a sacrifice fly to center field in the inning.

But Auburn (39-16, 16-13) answered with a solo home run by Bobby Huddleston in the second and tied the game on Todd Faulkner's 21st home run of the season, a two-run blast to left during a three-run Auburn burst. The Tigers got seven consecutive hits and plated five more runs in the fourth, taking a 9-4 lead and chasing MSU starter Mark Freed from the game.

With Wooten silencing the Auburn bats, the Bulldogs started their comeback with a run in the fifth. State added three more in the sixth on a towering three-run home run over the left field wall by Shane Kelly, and knotted the score in the seventh when Ty Martin singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch by Bean.

Ty Martin went 4-for-5 and extended his career-best and team season-longest hitting streak to 21 games with his second inning home run. Shane Kelly finished the day with four RBI while catcher Ryan McGrath went 2-for-2 and reached base twice as a hit batsman.

Auburn matched MSU's 15-hit effort and got a 3-for-4 outing from Mailon Kent.

With the win, MSU remained in the hunt for the SEC Western Division, needing a win over Auburn in Sunday's 1:30 p.m. series finale and an Alabama win at LSU.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 040 013 101 --- 10-15-1
AUBURN 013 500 000 --- 9-15-1

WP --- Josh Wooten (3-0). LP --- Colter Bean (9-4). HR --- HR --- Kelly (9), Knott (14), Martin (6), Faulkner (21), Huddleston (1). MFreed, Estel (4), Wooten (5) and McGrath. Cbootcheck, BSpeigner (6), BMayfield (6), Cbean (7) and Huddleston.

Kellie Wilkerson highlighted a 1-3 performance at the plate with a key two-run dinger in the first, while Michelle Gates chipped in with a solo homer on a 1-3 tally to pace the Bulldog bats. Starter Jennifer Pursell (24-15) worked a complete game, but surrendered three earned runs to take the loss for State.

Mississippi State wasted no time in putting a runner on base when McCallum trotted to first base after being hit by pitch on the game's first offering. After a sacrifice bunt by Jenny Hehnke moved McCallum into scoring position, Wilkerson gave State a quick 2-0 lead, taking a two ball, one strike offering from Alabama starter Shelley Laird over the centerfield fence.

After Pursell retired the first eight Crimson Tide batters in order, Kierstin Arntsen managed an infield hit, but Pursell did not flinch, getting All-American Kelly Kretschman to line out to centerfield. After Laird began the fourth by getting Karrie Rider to fly out to left field, Gates extended the Bulldogs lead to 3-0 when she hit a solo blast to straightaway center.

Mississippi State, again, got its leadoff batter on in the fifth when Jennifer Nelson drew a walk to put a runner on for the Bulldogs, but Laird settled down retiring the next three State batters to get out of the inning.

Alabama posed its first real threat in the fifth, getting its first runner in scoring position after a one-out double by Jennifer Reach, but Pursell got the Alabama eight and nine hitters to ground out to the left side of the Bulldog infield. Kretschman gave Alabama its first run of the ballgame in the sixth, getting ahead in the count before belting a solo homer down the right field line and over the fence.

The Crimson Tide used consecutive singles to put two runners on with no outs in the seventh, before a Jennifer Reach single, couple with an error by Wilkerson, brought both runners across the plate to tie the game.

Mississippi State will now play a waiting game to see if it will get its first-ever bid to NCAA Regionals. The team will adjourn Sunday evening at the MSU Television Center to await its fate. The 2000 NCAA Regional Selection show will begin at approximately 8:30 p.m.

2000 SEC Tournament Loser's Bracket Game - #11

Alabama 4, #22 Mississippi State 3
#22 Mississippi State (42-24) 200 100 0 - 3 4 2
#11 Alabama (60-11) 000 001 3 - 4 8 0
Win - Laird (33-6). Loss - Pursell (24-15). E - MSU: Hehnke, Wilkerson. LOB - MSU 3, UA 5. 2B - MSU: Whitehead UA: Reach. HR - MSU: Wilkerson, Gates UA: Kretschman. SB - UA: Kretschman. SH - MSU: Hehnke. Time - 1:44. Att. - 610.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/13/00
Baseball - No. 14 Auburn scored three runs in its last two at-bats Friday night to snap a 3-3 tie and record a 6-3 win over seventh-ranked Mississippi State at Plainsman Park.

Todd Faulkner doubled and scored the go ahead run on Hayden Gliemmo's sacrifice fly in the seventh inning and the Tigers added a pair of runs in the eighth to take the series opener. Auburn improved to 39-15 overall and 16-12 in the SEC, while Mississippi State fell to 37-14 and 16-9.

The Tigers got a sterling pitching performance from freshman Levale Speigner (2-2), who gave up four hits and all three Bulldog runs in the fourth inning during his eight-inning, five-strikeout outing. Brandon Mayfield and Colter Bean worked the final frame, with Bean earning his fourth save. Including a ninth inning double play, Tiger pitching retired the Bulldogs in order in eight of the nine innings.

Auburn broke on top in the first inning when Mailon Kent singled, stole second, and scored on a Todd Faulkner's single up the middle. The Tigers made it 2-0 in the second off MSU starter Kevin Donovan on John Tyler's solo home run to left.

Tiger starter Levale Speigner, after retiring the first 11 Bulldog batters he faced, ran into problems in the fourth. Travis Chapman and Jon Knott delivered two-out singles to left, Ty Martin extended his hitting streak to 20 games with an RBI single to center field, and Jamie Rock followed with a two-run single.

Auburn got a leadoff single by Gabe Gross, who advanced on an infield groundout and a wild pitch and scored the tying run on an infield single by Hayden Gliemmo.

Kevin Donovan scattered nine hits and was touched for three runs. He was replaced in the seventh by Chris Young (4-1), who gave up three runs on five hits in the last two innings and absorbed his first career loss.

MSU and Auburn continue the series Saturday in a 3:15 p.m. game that will be regionally televised by FOX Sports Net South.

MSU 000 030 000 --- 3-4-1
AUBURN 110 001 012 --- 6-14-1

WP --- Levale Speigner (2-2). SV --- Colter Bean (4). LP --- Chris Young (4-1) . HR --- John Tyler (1). KDonovan and McGrath, CYoung (7) and Obradovich. LSpeigner, BMayfield (9), Bean (9) and Huddleston.

Jenny Hehnke sparked the Bulldog bats with a 2-4 tally at the plate with a RBI and three runs scored, while Keri McCallum also recorded a 2-4 performance with a run scored. Whitehead's grand slam was her only hit of the game as the sophomore transfer turned in a 1-3 hitting tally. Starter Jennifer Pursell (24-14) went the distance, striking out two while surrendering a pair of unearned runs, to notch the victory for Mississippi State.

McCallum's leadoff single to start the game for the Bulldogs helped her shatter the MSU single-season record in that category. The previous record of 90 was set last season by Wilkerson in her freshman campaign for the Bulldogs. In addition, Mississippi State set or tied six SEC Tournament records in the victory over Auburn Friday.

Mississippi State jumped on Auburn early, taking advantage of a costly Auburn error to plate a pair of unearned runs. Following a leadoff single and a stolen base by McCallum, a hard hit by Jenny Hehnke bounced off the glove of Tiger shortstop Jen Hammock into centerfield allowing McCallum to cross the plate safely with the game's first run. After Hehnke advanced to third on a groundout by Wilkerson, Rider's sacrifice fly to deep centerfield gave State a 2-0 lead heading into the second.

Auburn answered in the top of the third, using a throwing error by Michelle Gates to plate Jodi VanOoyen all the way from second base to cut its deficit. The Tigers manufactured another run in the fourth, loading the bases with one out showing before Jen Kraemer's sacrifice fly to left field brought Michelle Martin home with the game-tying run, but not without a close play at the plate. Following the fly to left field, Jen Nelson's throw was on target, but the ball took a bounce off a divot in the batter's box and went over the glove of the catcher McCallum.

Mississippi State used two consecutive singles to put two runners on in the fifth for Hehnke who delivered a RBI single, bringing home Jennifer Nelson from third to give the lead back to the Bulldogs, 3-2. With the bases still juiced and nobody out, Auburn starter Jennifer Lofton got the first two outs of the inning on groundouts but, with the next at bat, Whitehead took a three ball, one strike offering over the fence for a grand slam to extend the lead to five, 7-2.

Auburn scratched the scoreboard again in the sixth, using a RBI groundout by Kimball Pratt to plate Mary Petrie from third, but State brought its lead back to five runs in the bottom of the frame on a sacrifice fly by Rider that plated Hehnke from third. A passed ball by the Auburn catcher, Martin, brought Wilkerson home to provide the final.

State will continue play in the 2000 SEC Softball Tournament on Saturday when they suit up for an elimination game against the loser of the Alabama/South Carolina matchup Friday at 5 p.m. Saturday's action for the Bulldogs is set to begin at 1 p.m. CST.

SEC Tournament Loser's Bracket - #5 Mississippi State 9, #8 Auburn 6
Auburn Tigers (34-31) 001 101 0 - 3 6 2
#22 Mississippi State Bulldogs (42-24) 200 052 0 - 9 11 1
Win - Pursell (24-14). Loss - Lofton (14-16). E - AU: Hammock, Petrie MSU: Gates. LOB - AU 5, MSU 7. DP - MSU 1. 2B - MSU: Wilkerson. HR - MSU: Whitehead. SB - McCallum 2, Wilkerson, Gates. SF - AU: VanOoyen MSU: Rider 2. Time - 2:18. Att. - 380.

SEC Tournament Records Set Saturday By MSU Against Auburn:

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/11/00

Saturday, May 27th, Jackson Academy. Grades 9-12 (unsigned seniors). 1 day pro-style workout camp with complete player evaluations by both TP Sports and college recruiters. Pre-registration $75, On-site $85 (SSK bat bag included). In Jackson area contact Tom Luke at (601) 924-8593 or call Tim Hendrix (318) 325-5335 for registration forms. All Top Prospects camps are part of a six-state, 10 camp network delivering complete results and evaluations to over two dozen colleges in seven states throughout the year.

Travis Chapman and Jamie Rock went 4-for-5 and Jon Knott drove in four runs to pace MSU at the plate in its final regular-season non-conference game of the year.

MSU sent nine batters to face UAB starter Jon Burgett (4-2), scoring six runs in the first frame, and batted around during a four-run second-inning burst. Knott, who drove in the game's first run with a bases-loaded walk, delivered a bases-loaded three-run double during MSU's five-hit, second-inning uprising. Chapman roped a solo home run in the fifth. Chapman raised his career hits total to 312, climbing past Alabama's Joe Caruso and LSU's Todd Walker into seventh place among the SEC's all-time hits leaders.

Ty Martin doubled in his sixth at-bat to extend his career-best and team season-high hitting streak to 19 games.

MSU starter Jeff Hunter (6-1), the first of six Bulldog pitchers in the game, blanked UAB on two hits while striking out six. State hurlers matched a team season-high with 16 strikeouts.

Mississippi State continues its regular season-ending road trip in Alabama Friday, opening a three-game SEC weekend series at Auburn.

MSU 640 011 042 --- 18-19-3
UAB 000 110 023 --- 7-10-5

WP --- Jeff Hunter (6-1). LP --- Jon Burgett (4-2). HR --- Travis Chapman (6). JHunter and McGrath, JCollums (4), Bmedders (6), CYoung(7), SDowe (8), Rcarroll (9) and Obradovich. JBurgett, KSommerfeld (2), Aparks (3), Tshaw (7) and Paxton, Jallen (9) and Belcher.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

"Our players need to realize that we can't overlook the SEC Tournament even though we are in good standing to get a bid to NCAA Regionals," said Mississippi State head coach Kathy Arendsen. "Nothing is definite yet. I'm sure there is still some doubt in some of the committee members' heads about whether or not we deserve to be in. That is why these games have become so important for us."

Fifth-seeded Mississippi State (41-23) will open its portion of 2000 SEC Softball Tournament play Thursday evening when it suits up to go head-to-head with the 4th-seeded Arkansas Lady Razorbacks (40-27). First pitch of the first-round contest is slated to begin at approximately 5 p.m. at South Commons Stadium in Columbus, Ga.

Thursday's late afternoon meeting between the Bulldogs and Lady Razorbacks will mark the fifth meeting this season between the two squads. State took three games of a four-game series earlier this season in Fayetteville with Jennifer Pursell putting the finishing touches on the series win, hurling a no-hitter through six and one-third innings in a 4-0 victory in the series finale.

However, Mississippi State may see a very different Arkansas team this time around. After maintaining a gridlock on third place in the SEC Western Division, Arkansas put together a eight-game winning streak to end the regular season and snatch the fourth seed in the tournament away from the Bulldogs.

"I hope that our players realize that this game is going to be much tougher than any that we played in Fayetteville," Arendsen said. "Arkansas is playing very well right now and we need to go into the tournament both mentally and physically prepared. Every team in this tournament is just as hungry as we are."

The Bulldogs were welcomed into Columbus late Wednesday afternoon with the announcement that three players had garnered All-Southeastern Conference honors. For the fourth-straight season, catcher Keri McCallum garnered All-SEC honors. McCallum, who was the only unanimous choice for First Team honors, joins Tara Asbill as the only two players in Southeastern Conference history to capture All-SEC honors four times. McCallum heads into SEC Tournament play on Thursday holding onto a .405 clip this season. The current SEC career-hits and triples leader, McCallum needs just one more hit this season to shatter the MSU single-season record... Centerfielder Kellie Wilkerson captured All-SEC honors for the second time in as many seasons, joining McCallum on the first team after turning in a .446 batting average at the conclusion of the regular season. Wilkerson collected SEC All-Tournament team honors in the 1999 SEC Softball Tournament... Shortstop Karrie Rider was decorated with Second Team All-SEC honors Thursday after turning in a career year for Mississippi State. A .264 career hitter heading into this season, Rider currently possesses a .335 average and is second on the team in RBI behind Wilkerson. She is also second in the league in fielding percentage at her position.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/10/00
Baseball - Parklane Academy has a big-time baseball prospect in senior-to-be Les Dykes. Les is a 6-4 and 190-lbs lefthanded pitcher who Major League Baseball and many, many colleges have already taken noticed of. His family has strong MSU connections.

"I am very proud of the way that these individuals have balanced their classwork with their hard work on the field this season," said Mississippi State head coach Kathy Arendsen. "This shows the commitment that our program, as well as the entire Mississippi State athletic department, has to academic excellence."

Chris Bushby, Jenny Hehnke, Kendell Kimbrough, Keri McCallum, Robyn Schlagheck, Michelle Gates, Nichole Henry, A.J. Lott and Karrie Rider were all recognized on the SEC Academic Honor Roll for their achievements in the classroom during this past season. It was the third-such honor for Bushby, Hehnke, Kimbrough, McCallum and Rider, with Schlagheck, Henry and Lott earning the award for the second time in their careers.

Leading the way for the Mississippi State honorees was Hehnke with a 3.60 in History, McCallum with a 3.59 in Biological Sciences and Lott with a 3.58 in Accounting. Sophomore Kasey Whitehead currently holds a 3.09 GPA, but is ineligible for the award due to her transfer from Alabama prior to this season.

To be eligible for the award a student-athlete must: 1) have a 3.0 grade point average for either the past year (two semesters or three quarters) or a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for their career; 2) be a sophomore or higher in terms of academic classification; and 3) have 24 semester or 36 quarter hours toward a degree.

Mississippi State players have been no stranger to conference academic honors. In 1998, the Bulldogs sent 12 players to the academic honor roll which still stands as the highest total in league history. Last season, State continued its tradition of academic excellence by having eight players named Academic All-SEC.

State will be in action this weekend when they travel to Columbus, Ga., for the 2000 Southeastern Conference Softball Tournament. The #5-seeded Bulldogs are slated to open up their portion of tournament play on Thursday with a matchup against #4-seeded Arkansas. First pitch of the first-round contest between the Bulldogs and Lady Razorbacks is set for 5 p.m. at South Commons Stadium.

2000 SEC Softball Academic Honor Roll (MSU Players)
Chris Bushby (3.14 - Teaching/Coaching)
Jenny Hehnke (3.60 - History)
Kendell Kimbrough (3.44 - Fitness Management)
Keri McCallum (3.59 - Biological Sciences)
Robyn Schlagheck (3.34 - Teaching/Coaching)
Michelle Gates (3.00 - English Education)
Nichole Henry (3.07 - Psychology)
A.J. Lott (3.58 - Accounting)
Karrie Rider (3.18 - Fitness Management)

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/09/00
Baseball - The Mississippi State-Samford baseball game scheduled Tuesday night at Dudy Noble Field has been cancelled by mutual consent of both teams.

Final examinations for the spring semester are currently underway at Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs (36-13, 16-8), ranked seventh in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll,10th by Baseball America and 11th in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll, travels to Birmingham, Ala., Wednesday to meet UAB (7:05 p.m.) prior to closing out the regular-season schedule with a crucial SEC weekend series at Auburn.

Senior third baseman Travis Chapman is this week's SEC Player of the Week after helping the seventh-ranked Bulldogs win their seventh conference series in nine weekends. The Jacksonville, Fla., native went 7-for-12 against Florida with three walks and seven runs scored in MSU's finale home conference series of the season.

The Bulldog co-captain went 3-for-3, drove in four runs and scored five runs in MSU's series-opening 20-7 win over the Gators. He lashed three doubles in the final two games of the series to break the Mississippi State career doubles record previously held by Richard Lee (1995-98). Chapman's 68 two-baggers ties for third place among the SEC's all-time career doubles leaders. Chapman went 8-for-17 during the week, raising his career hits total to 308, second-highest in MSU history and the ninth-highest career hits total among SEC players.

Chapman, who has set the MSU single season (17) and career (42) records as a hit batsman, leads the team with 19 doubles and ranks second on the club with 63 hits and 54 RBI.

The honor is the second for Chapman, who earned the SEC Player of the Week award April 12, 1999. Two weeks ago MSU senior centerfielder Shane Kelly was tabbed as the SEC Player of the Week.

No. 7 Mississippi State (36-13, 16-8) and Samford have cancelled a Tuesday game in Starkville. But the Bulldogs visit UAB Wednesday (7:05 p.m.) prior to opening a regular season-ending three-game SEC weekend series Friday at Auburn. Mississippi State has won nine of their last 11 conference games and hold a slim percentage points lead over LSU atop the SEC Western Division.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/08/00

Sunday SEC Baseball Scores:
MSU 12 (H) - Florida 7
Kentucky 7 (H) - LSU 4
Alabama 13 (H) - Auburn 4
Tennessee 3 (H) - Vanderbilt 1
Mississippi 6 - Georgia 3 (H)
Arkansas 9 (H) - South Carolina 3

Baseball - No. 7 Mississippi State closed out the 2000 home conference schedule with a 12-7 win over Florida Sunday at Dudy Noble Field/Polk-DeMent Stadium. With the win the Bulldogs clinch two of three games from the Gators and seven of their nine SEC series to date.

The Gators (34-20-1, 15-11-1 SEC) opened an early 2-1 lead through the first two innings, but the Bulldogs (36-13, 16-8 SEC) took the lead with three runs in the second and third innings each. MSU capped their scoring behind two-run seventh and eighth innings.

MSU starter Mark Freed picked up the win to improve to 8-0 on the year. Freed pitched 6.1 innings, allowing five runs on 12 hits with seven strikeouts. Josh Wooten came in and closed the door in the ninth to earn his first save, pitching a perfect two-thirds of an inning with a strikeout.

UF starter Craig Mosher took the loss as his record fell to 0-3. Mosher was struck for seven runs on four hits in 2.2 innings of work.

Shane Kelly and Phillip Willingham paced the Bulldogs at the plate. Kelly was 1-for-4, with his three RBIs coming on his eighth home run of the year, a second inning blast that put MSU on top for the first time in the contest. Willingham drove in three runs on a 2-for-3 hitting performance.

MSU senior Travis Chapman collected a pair of hits to move him past Auburn's Casey Dunn into ninth place among the SEC's all-time hits leaders with 308. Fellow senior Ty Martin extended his hitting streak to 18 games with his leadoff single in the Bulldogs' two-run seventh inning.

Mississippi State closes out the 2000 home season Tuesday, taking on Samford in a nighttime affair set to begin at 6:30 p.m.

Florida 120 000 211 -- 7 16 1
Mississippi State 133 001 22X -- 12 14 2

CMosher, Simon (3), Rojas (7) Birch (8) and Socarras. MFreed, Estel (7), Dowe (8) Wooten (9) and McGrath. W-Freed (8-0). L-Mosher (0-3). Sv-Wooten (1). HR-Kiger (7); Kelly (8).

Baseball - MISSISSIPPI STATE BASEBALL UPDATE

Last week's results: 3-1
May 3 --- MSU 20, Samford 7 (Birmingham, Ala.)
May 5 --- MSU 20, Florida 2 (Dudy Noble Field)
May 6 --- Florida 9, MSU 6 [11 innings] (Dudy Noble Field)
May 7 --- MSU 12, Florida 7 (Dudy Noble Field)

This week's schedule:
May 9 --- Samford at Mississippi State (6:30 p.m.)
May 10 --- Mississippi State at UAB (Birmingham, Ala. --- 7:05 p.m.)
May 12 --- Mississippi State at Auburn (Auburn, Ala. --- 6:30 p.m. CDT)
May 13 --- Mississippi State at Auburn (Auburn, Ala. --- 3:15 p.m. CDT)
May 14 --- Mississippi State at Auburn (Auburn, Ala. --- 1:30 p.m. CDT)

DIAMOND DOG NOTES --- Mississippi State out-scored No. 22 Florida 38-18 and closed out a 3-1 week by winning its seventh SEC series in nine weekends this spring. After posting a 20-7 win at Samford, State took the Florida series with 20-2 and 12-7 wins. The lone blemish on the weekend and for the week was a 9-6 11-inning loss to the Gators.

With one weekend remaining in conference play, Mississippi State (36-13, 16-8) hold a slim percentage points lead over LSU (37-16, 17-9) for first place in the Southeastern Conference's rugged Western Division. State travels to Auburn while LSU hosts Alabama on the final weekend of regular season play.

The weekend series drew 18,588 fans to Dudy Noble Field.

Senior co-captain Travis Chapman sizzled at the plate for State during the weekend series. The Jacksonville, Fla., product went 7-for-12 (.583) with three doubles, his fifth home run, 3 walks, a school-record-setting 18th HBP and 6 RBI. Chapman's three doubles helped him break the MSU career doubles record with 68, tying him for the third-most career doubles in SEC history. He also raised his career hits total to 308, second-most at MSU and the ninth-best mark in SEC history.

Ty Martin went 7-for-21 with three doubles and seven RBI to extend his career-best and team season-best hitting streak to 18 games.

Jon Knott drove in 11 runs during a 5-for-14 week, four on his second grand slam of the season (vs. Samford, May 3), to take the team RBI lead with 55. Travis Chapman is second with 54.

Junior lefty Mark Freed (6-0, 3.27) picked up his eighth win in as many decisions with a seven-inning start against Florida (May 7).

Another MSU lefty, Kevin Donovan, blanked Florida on six hits and struck out eight in a strong seven-inning start to pick up a series-opening win over the Gators.

State has now won 9 of its last 11 SEC games and enters a midweek home schedule finale with a 24-3 record.

The Bulldogs will open up their portion of tournament play with a first round game on Thursday against #4 seed Arkansas who finished two games ahead of Mississippi State in the SEC's Western Division. The first-round meeting will mark the fifth meeting between the two schools this season. Previously, the Bulldogs captured a 3-1 series victory earlier this season in Fayetteville.

The Bulldogs are one of five Western Division teams who will make the trip to Columbus beginning Tuesday evening. LSU will represent the West as the No. 1 seed, while Alabama (#3), Arkansas (#4) and Auburn (#8) will also make the trek to Columbus. Kentucky will represent the Eastern Division as the #2 seed with Florida (#6) and South Carolina (#7) also qualifying for tournament play.

The Southeastern Conference softball tournament is a double-elimination format. The champion of the weekend tournament will get the SEC's automatic bid to the 48-team NCAA Women's Softball Regionals to be played at campus sites beginning May 18 and concluding May 21. The winners of eight separate regionals will qualify for the NCAA Women's College World Series, May 24-29, in Oklahoma City.

2000 Southeastern Conference Softball Tournament

First Round (Thursday, May 11, 2000)
Game 1 - #3 Seed Alabama vs. #6 Seed Florida (12 p.m.)
Game 2 - #2 Seed Kentucky vs. #7 Seed South Carolina (2 p.m.)
Game 3 - #4 Seed Arkansas vs. #5 Seed Mississippi State (6 p.m.)
Game 4 - #1 Seed LSU vs. #8 Seed Auburn (8 p.m.)

Second Round (Friday, May 12, 2000)
Game 5 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (12 p.m.)
Game 6 - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (2 p.m.)
Game 7 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (6 p.m.)
Game 8 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 (8 p.m.)

Third Round (Saturday, May 13, 2000)
Game 9 - Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8 (12 p.m.)
Game 10 - Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7 (2 p.m.)
Game 11 - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9 (6 p.m.)
Game 12 - Winner Game vs. Winner Game 10 (8 p.m.)

Fourth Round (Sunday, May 14, 2000)
*Game 13 - Winner Game 11 vs. Loser Game 11 (10:30 a.m.)
*Game 14 - Winner Game 12 vs. Loser Game 12 (10:30 a.m.)
Game 15 - Championship Game (1 p.m.)

All Times Eastern

* - If Necessary

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/07/00
Saturday SEC Scores:
Florida 9 - MSU 6 (H)
LSU 6 - Kentucky 3 (H)
Auburn 6 - Alabama 3 (H)
Tennessee 15 (H) - Vanderbilt 5
Georgia 5 (H) - Mississippi 4
Arkansas 11 (H) - South Carolina 7

Baseball - Florida scored three runs in the top of the 11th inning to claim a 9-6 win over No. 7 Mississippi State Saturday and even the three-game series at 1-1.

State (35-13, 15-8 SEC) took the early lead on Shane Kelly's lead-off home run, his seventh of the year, to put MSU on top 1-0. The Bulldogs opened a 4-1 cushion through the first three innings, but Florida (34-18-1, 15-10-1) bounced back behind a three-run fifth inning to take the lead at 5-4.

The Gators extended the lead to 6-4 with a run in the eighth, but MSU responded in their half of the frame to knot the score at 6-6. Florida then claimed the winning margin behind their three runs in the 11th inning.

Florida's Jay Belflower picked up the win to improve his record to 6-3 on the year. Belflower pitched four scoreless innings and posted five strikeouts in relief of starter Jeff Cardozo.

Adam Larson's record dropped to 3-3 with the loss. Larson gave up the deciding three runs on three hits in three innings of relief work.

Travis Chapman notched a pair of doubles to give him 67 for his career and move him ahead of Richard Lee's previous career-best 66 doubles.

Six different Bulldogs drove in a run, paced by Jon Knott's 2-for-4 plate performance. Senior Daron Wright also went 2-for-4 on the evening, with his lone RBI a single that scored Ty Martin with the tying run.

Kevin Estrada paced the Gators at the plate, going 3-for-6 with three RBIs. Estrada plated the final UF run on a single that brought home Peter Nystrom. Nystrom capped a 1-for-2 evening with his seventh home run of the year, a two-run blast in the fifth inning.

Florida 001 130 010 03 -- 9 13 1
Mississippi State 112 000 020 00 -- 6 14 1

JCardozo, Belflower (8) and Socarras. JCollums, Young (3), Dowe (6), Larson (9) and McGrath. W-Belflower (6-3). L-Larson (3-3). HR- UF, Nystrom (7), MSU, Kelly (7).

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/06/00
Baseball - No. 7 Mississippi State scored nine runs on three three-run home runs as the Bulldogs dominated Florida for a 20-2 win Friday night at Dudy Noble Field/Polk-DeMent Stadium.

The Bulldogs got home runs from Travis Chapman (5), Jon Knott (13) and Jason Burkley (2) as MSU advanced to 35-12, 15-7 in the SEC. The Gators fell to 33-19-1 with the loss, 14-10-1 in conference play.

The three through five spots in the order were 8-for-13 in the game with eight runs scored and 16 RBIs. Knott, who tripled along with his team-best 13th round-tripper, paced MSU at the plate with a 2-for-3, 5 RBI performance. The Florida native's five RBIs tied his career high.

Chapman's home run capped a 3-for-3, four RBI evening, while former Florida standout Ty Martin drove in four runs on a 2-for-6 offensive outing.

State starter Kevin Donovan picked up the win to improve his record to 5-3 on the year. Donovan pitched seven innings of scoreless baseball with eight strikeouts in the winning effort.

UF starter Mike Smalley, the first of five Gator pitchers, took the loss to drop his mark to 4-7 on the year. Smalley was struck for eight runs on seven hits in 1.2 innings.

The Bulldogs and Gators meet in game two of their three-game SEC series Saturday, with first pitch set for 6 p.m. at Dudy Noble Field/Polk-DeMent Stadium.

Florida 000 000 011 -- 2 10 0
Mississippi State 350 102 63X -- 20 18 2

MSmalley, Belflower (2), Birch (5), Wiegandt (7), Sobieraj (8) and Soccarras and Rose (5). KDonovan, Wooten (8), and McGrath and Obradovich (8). W-Donovan (5-3). L-Smalley (4-7). HR- MSU, Chapman (5), Knott (13), Burkley (2).

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

(Premium site excerpt)
GS: They scored a lot of runs for you tonight. How did it feel to have that many runs scored behind you?
MSU Starting Pitcher Kevin Donovan (7 IP, 6 H, 8 SO, 1 BB, 0 R): It feels great. Our bats were on fire tonight. I think we are seeing the ball really well now.

GS: How do you keep your concentration when your team scores so many runs?
Kevin Donovan: Anything can happen in the SEC. Look at our game against Alabama. We were up eight runs and they came back both games. I was sitting on the bench telling myself to keep it going.

GS: You had a lot of 3-1, 3-2 counts but only walked one?
Kevin Donovan: I guess that will be something that I will do the entire year. I'm just that type pitcher. The hitters are going to see a lot of pitches. I'm not the type that is going to come in there and throw strike one, strike two, strike three.

The defense played well behind you tonight?
Kevin Donovan: Excellent job of defense tonight. Travis Chapman snagging that ball. Shane Kelly running back on the one where he hit the wall. The defense deserves a lot of credit.

Friday Night SEC Scores:
MSU 20 (H) - Florida 2
LSU 9 - Kentucky 0 (H)
Alabama 3 (H) - Auburn 2
Tennessee 6 (H) - Vanderbilt 4
Georgia 5 (H) - Mississippi 2
South Carolina 8 - Arkansas 2 (H)

MSU remains in 1st place in the West by percentage points over LSU. Auburn and Alabama are 2.5 games back of MSU.

05/04/00
Baseball - MSU defeated Samford 20-7 last night. MSU is now 34-12 on the season while Samford fell to 20-31.

Junior pitcher Jeff Hunter pitched two scoreless innings to earn the victory and is now 5-1 on the season.

There were 1,028 fan in attendance.

MSU takes on SEC foe Florida beginning Friday night at 6:30.

05/03/00
Baseball - The word is MSU football signee Jonathan Bell will go pro if he is drafted prior to the fourth round. I have talked to a few MLB scouts and none have indicated to me that Jonathan is that type of a pro prospect, although it only takes one scout who likes a kid for him to get drafted high enough to go pro.

"Krystal is not only a great athlete, but an outstanding student as well," Arendsen said. "She will come in here and contribute immediately to our outfield. She has excellent speed, a good bat and she is very good defensively. She is another outstanding product of the Flash D'Gold travel ball team.

A two-sport athlete at Rancho Verde High School in Perris, Calif., Tillman hit .500 in her junior campaign with the Mustangs in addition to turning in five doubles, one triple, 24 stolen bases and 12 RBI. Following her outstanding junior campaign, Krystal was decorated with First Team All-League honors as well as garnering her team's "Best Outfielder" award.

In addition to lettering four times in softball, Tillman is also a two-time letterman in tennis at Rancho Verde. A two-time scholar athlete as a member of the tennis roster, she collected the "Coach's Award" following her junior season and captained her team this past season. She is also a member of the Flash D'Gold travel team, one of the most distinguished travel teams in the United States.

Born Krystal Denee Tillman on September 19, 1982 in Los Angeles, Calif., she is the daughter of Gail Tillman. She has an older brother, Kevin Jr., and a younger brother Perris.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/02/00
Baseball - MSU moved up two spots to 10th in the Baseball America poll and up six spots to 7th in the Collegiate Baseball poll. No word on the Baseball Weekly poll.

Baseball - A three-game sweep of the Tennessee Volunteers helped return Mississippi State to the top spot in the SEC Western Division over the weekend. Now their sixth SEC series win in eight weekends has vaulted the Diamond Dogs into college baseball's top 10.

MSU (33-12, 14-7) climbed six places to No. 7 in this week's Collegiate Baseball rankings and up two notches to No. 10 in the poll conducted by Baseball America. State, unranked in the preseason polls, has maintained top 20 status the past six weeks. State has now won seven of its last eight SEC games.

Six SEC teams are included in the latest Collegiate Baseball rankings. Eastern Division champion South Carolina (45-4), a win away from clinching the overall SEC league title, remains the No. 1 team in the national polls. Behind Mississippi State are No. 10 LSU (35-14), No. 15 Auburn (37-13), No. 19 Alabama (33-17), and No. 22 Florida (33-18-1).

The Bulldogs and the Gators meet this weekend in a three-game SEC series at Dudy Noble Field, beginning with a 6:30 p.m. matchup Friday. State has one midweek game on the schedule this week, traveling to Birmingham, Ala., Wednesday (May 3) for a 6 p.m. matchup with Samford.

Kellie Wilkerson and Jenny Hehnke each turned in 2-4 performances with two RBI and two runs scored to highlight the Bulldogs' field day, while four other State players turned in multi-hit performances. Starter Kasey Whitehead (4-3) went the distance, scattering four hits and striking out four Tiger batters, to get the victory for the Bulldogs.

After a hitless first inning for both teams, Mississippi State jumped on the scoreboard in the second when Gates hammered a ball over the left field fence to put the Bulldogs up 1-0.

However, the lead did not last long as Auburn knotted the game back up with the first at bat in the bottom of the frame when Jen Kraemer took a first-pitch offering from Whitehead down the right field line and over the fence.

After McCallum led off the third with a triple to right center and Jenny Hehnke reached on an error by second baseman Jodi VanOoyen, Wilkerson put the Bulldogs back on top, belting a three-run blast over the fence in left center to give State a 4-1 advantage. Auburn narrowed the gap in their portion of the third on a RBI double by Mary Petrie that barely missed going over the 12-foot fence in left field.

The Bulldogs scored three more runs in the fourth on RBI singles by Hehnke and Gates and a RBI groundout by Karrie Rider, then extended their lead to 9-2 in the fifth on the shoulders of a two-run single by Hehnke. Mississippi State completed the barrage in the sixth on a RBI double by Whitehead that plated Kendell Kimbrough from first base.

In the opener of the twinbill, Auburn put together a four-run first, then held State's bats at bay as the Tigers avoided a series shutout with a 5-2 victory in game three.

Jenny Hehnke hit a quiet 2-4 to pace the Mississippi State offense, while Cheri Smith (1-2) and Nichole Henry (0-1) provided a RBI each for the Bulldogs. Starter Courtney Frank (7-6) worked just two-thirds of an inning, allowing four earned runs on three hits, before giving way to Kasey Whitehead who worked the remainder of the game, striking out two while surrendering an unearned run, to get the no decision.

With one out on the board, Auburn put two runners on in the first before Michelle Martin delivered a RBI double scoring Jen Hammock from second for the 1-0 Auburn lead. With a pair of runners in scoring position, Jen Kraemer belted a two-run double to the same gap in left center to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead and chase Frank from the circle.

Whitehead got Ashley Moore to ground to third for the second out of the inning, but Auburn put its fourth run on the board with the next at bat when Jodi VanOoyen doubled to plate Kramer from second.

The Bulldogs answered in the top of the second, using a two-out RBI single by Cheri Smith to plate pinch runner Robyn Schlagheck from second. State chipped at the Auburn lead again in the fourth on a RBI groundout by Nichole Henry, but the Tigers pushed their lead back to three in the bottom of the frame when Jennifer Nelson misplayed a fly ball, allowing Marcella Passarelli to score from third.

Mississippi State has concluded its regular season and will now take 10 days off from competition before heading to Columbus, Ga., for the 2000 SEC Tournament, May 11-14. Mississippi State will likely play in the Thursday nightcap as the tournament's four or five seed.

Auburn 5, #21 Mississippi State 2 - Game 1
#21 MSU (40-23, 16-13 SEC) 010 100 0 - 2 7 1
Auburn (34-28, 10-18 SEC) 400 100 0 - 5 8 0
WP - Rasmussen (13-6). LP - Frank (7-6). E - MSU: Hehnke AU: Martin, Kraemer, VanOoyen, Passarelli. SH - MSU: Nelson 2, Smith. CS - AU: Passarelli. Time - 2:00. Att. - 105.

#21 Mississippi State 10, Auburn 2 (6 Innings) - Game 2
#21 MSU (41-23, 17-13 SEC) 013 321 0 - 10 16 1
Auburn (34-29, 10-19 SEC) 011 000 0 - 2 4 1
WP - Whitehead (4-3). LP - Joiner (4-5). E - MSU: Gates AU: VanOoyen. LOB - MSU 7, AU 3. 2B - MSU: Whitehead 2, Rider AU: Petrie. 3B - MSU: McCallum. HR - MSU: Wilkerson, Gates AU: Kraemer. SB - McCallum 2, Hehnke, Wilkerson, Gates 2, Nelson. CS - MSU: Schlagheck. Time - 1:40. Att. - 105.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

05/01/00
Baseball - Just thought I would kill a rumor that was emailed to me a couple of weeks ago. Redshirt freshman Jeff Lacher is perfectly happy at MSU and is not thinking about transferring to Southern Miss. I talked to Jeff yesterday and that was the first time that he had heard that rumor. He told me he is going nowhere and is looking forward to next season.