March 21, 2007

Box Score

STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Mississippi State baseball team plated two runs in the eighth inning and four in the ninth to overcome a 6-1 deficit and defeat Samford, 7-6, Wednesday night at Dudy Noble Field.

"They (Mississippi State) did a great job in the last two innings," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "I thought we did an outstanding job at the plate tonight. I was proud of our guys and the approach they took."

With Samford leading, 6-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Jeffrey Rea doubled to drive in Mark Goforth to make the score 6-4. Brandon Turner then singled to center field to drive in Rea to cut the Samford lead to 6-5. Nick Hardy scored the game-tying run on a Samford error, and the game-winning run was scored when Connor Powers singled to center field to drive in Mitch Moreland.

For Samford at the plate, Michael Marseco went 3-for-5 with an RBI, while Wayne Miller was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Garrett Rice was 2-for-5. Joseph Edens (2-2) pitched an inning, giving up four runs on four hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Starting pitcher David Knapp pitched 7.1 strong innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and striking out seven batters for Samford.

Mississippi State was led at the plate by Rea, Turner and Brian LaNinfa with two hits each. Powers drove in three runs in a 1-for-3 performance. Moreland (1-0) pitched the final inning to pick up the win for MSU.

Samford jumped on top first with one run in the top of the first inning. After Marseco singled, moved to second base on a passed ball and third on a wild pitch, Bear Burnett hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in Marseco for a 1-0 Samford lead.

Samford added one run in the top of the second inning. John Morgan, who led the inning off with a double to right-center field, scored from third base on a wild pitch for a 2-0 Samford lead.

Mississippi State answered with one run in the bottom of the second inning. Powers hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring in LaNinfa to cut the Samford lead to 2-1.

Samford pushed its lead to 3-1 with a run in the top of the fourth inning. Rice led the inning off with a single, and later scored on Miller's double down the right-field line. Miller's hit was the first of his collegiate career.

Samford added three runs in the top of the seventh inning to make the score 6-1. Marseco doubled to right-center field to drive in Miller for a 4-1 Samford lead. Parker Gargis then singled to left field to drive in Marseco to make the score 5-1. Gargis scored from third base on an MSU error for Samford's sixth run of the game.

MSU added two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the Samford lead to 6-3. LaNinfa walked with the bases loaded to bring in Rea to cut the Samford lead to 6-2. Powers later walked to bring in Turner to make the score 6-3 and set the stage for MSU's ninth-inning rally.

Samford will return to action on Friday, March 24, when the Bulldogs play host to Murray State in an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from Joe Lee Griffin Field.