Mississippi State scored
seven times in the first two innings of game one, then rallied for five runs in
the final two frames of the nightcap on the way to sweeping a doubleheader from
Valparaiso 9-2 and 5-4 on Wednesday at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Miss.
In the opener, Valpo scored
first as Steven Scoby (Delton, Mich./Kellogg
H.S.) led off with a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a
single by Josh Wallace
(Bellefountaine, Ohio/Bellefountaine H.S.).
The Bulldogs wasted little time
responding. A two-run triple by Ryan
Collins keyed a three-run first and Jet Butler added a three-run double in the
second as part of a four run inning to put the hosts on top 7-1 after two
innings.
A RBI groundout by Ryan O’Gara (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Buffalo
Grove H.S.) plated Scoby in the third with Valpo’s final run of the game as
Mississippi State would pick up single tallies in the sixth and seventh for
insurance.
Ricky Bowen worked five
innings allowing two runs and four hits while striking out six for the win
(1-0) while Lee Swindle came on and pitched four scoreless innings fanning
seven for the save. Bryce Shafer (Wabash,
Ind./Northfield H.S.) suffered
the loss (2-1) for Valpo, allowing eight hits and eight runs in 5.1 innings. He
struck out six and walked four.
Scoby and O’Gara each had two
hits for Valpo in the opener while Butler went
4-for-4 with four runs batted in for Mississippi
State.
Game two saw Valpo jump on
top in the third inning with four runs. Billy Cribbs (Rochester,
Mich./Rochester H.S.) opened the inning
reaching on an error and advanced to second on Damon McCormick’s (Louisville, Ky./Saint
Xavier H.S.) bunt single. Scoby followed
with a single to load the bases and Kyle
Muhlsteff (Yorba Linda,
Calif./Esperanza H.S.) cleared
the bases with a double to left-center. David Klein (Aurora, Ill./Oswego
East H.S.) followed with a single up the middle to plate Muhlsteff and the Crusaders
led 4-0.
Mississippi State brought in Drew Hollinghead out of the bullpen and he
went six scoreless innings to allow the Bulldogs to stay in the game. The hosts tied the game in the bottom of the
eighth, scoring four times, including a two-run double by Connor Powers that
knotted the game at four.
In the ninth, Russ Sneed led
off with a double and following a sacrifice bunt, scored the winning run on a
ground ball.
“This was a game we wish we
could have closed out,” head coach Tracy
Woodson said. “We’re playing against
better competition, but that doesn’t mean we can’t finish games. It’s disappointing we didn’t win the game.”
Jared Wesson earned the win
(1-0) pitching the ninth for Mississippi
State (10-4), striking
out all three hitters he faced. Jarad Miller (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll
H.S.) Suffered the loss (0-1) in relief.
Alex Berry (Olney, Ill./East Richard H.S.) started and went
seven innings, allowing three runs and five hits while fanning six for the
Crusaders.
“Berry pitched a great game,” concluded
Woodson.
Valparaiso (4-8) will finish its spring trip with a four-game
weekend series in Cookeville,
Tenn. beginning on Friday
afternoon with a twinbill against Tennessee Tech. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. CDT with all
the action carried live on www.sportsjuice.com.