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March 3, 2013
#10/5 Mississippi State 3, Saint Joseph's 2 (Box Score)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Saint Joseph's baseball team showed its mettle on Sunday, hanging tough with nationally ranked Mississippi State, but the Hawks ultimately fell in both games of a doubleheader. The #10/5 Bulldogs took the opener, 3-2, before winning the series finale, 2-0, at Dudy Noble Field. In the opener, the Hawks went ahead by a run in the middle innings, but Mississippi State responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to secure a 3-2 win. Mississippi State (15-0) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third when C.T. Bradford hit a two-out double and came around to score on a single by Alex Detz. Saint Joseph's (2-8) equalized in the fourth when Chris Hueth reached via an error that allowed Mike Muha to score the tying run. The Hawks nosed ahead in the sixth when Hueth singled in Brian O'Keefe to give SJU a 2-1 advantage. It would be short-lived, however, as RBI singles from Detz and Hunter Renfroe gave MSU a 3-2 lead in the bottom half of the frame. Hueth singled again with two outs in the ninth, but Ben Bracewell got a strikeout to end the game and secure his first save. Kyle Mullen went six innings in the loss, allowing three runs on eight hits, striking out two without walking a batter, to fall to 1-2 on the year. Muha allowed one hit in two innings of relief. Luis Pollorena got the win to improve to 2-0 for MSU. Hueth and freshman John Brue were each 2-for-4 in the opener, with Hueth adding a run batted in. In the nightcap, Daniel Thorpe allowed just four hits in six innings, striking out five, but the Hawks eventually went down by a 2-0 score despite outhitting the Bulldogs, six to five.
Mississippi State scored both of its runs in the bottom of the fourth. Sam Frost was hit by a pitch to start the inning, advanced on an error, and then scored on a fielder's choice groundout by Adam Frazier. Frazier then came in to score on a passed ball later in the frame. The Hawks had two on with nobody out in the sixth, but the Bulldog bullpen clamped down to escape the jam for starter Will Cox, who improved to 2-0 with five-plus innings of four-hit ball. Thorpe fell to 0-2 on the year, while Jonathan Holder pitched a perfect ninth to earn his fifth save. Saint Joseph's will take Monday off to travel to Alabama, where the Hawks will face UAB for a pair of games on Tuesday and Wednesday. First pitch for each game is set for 4:00 p.m. Eastern. |
