STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State baseball team extended its winning streak to a season-best six games Tuesday night with a 13-3 win against Mississippi Valley State at Dudy Noble Field.
Kendall Graveman (5-0) picked up the pitching staff”s 11th quality start of the season to help the Bulldogs (30-18) became the seventh Southeastern Conference team to win 30 games this season.
MVSU fell to 18-32.
Graveman matched season highs with seven innings pitched and seven strikeouts. Graveman threw 100 pitches, allowed five hits and three runs (two earned) and walked one.
“I was pleased with the way Kendall pitched,” MSU coach John Cohen said. “Seven strikeouts in seven innings with only one walk and 100 pitches is great. He kept the ball in the zone and let our guys make the plays.”
MSU, which never trailed, scored twice in the first inning. The Bulldogs extended the lead to 5-1 with three runs in the third. After the Delta Devils closed within 6-3, the Bulldogs responded with six runs on two hits in the sixth.
The Bulldogs only had eight hits. However, MSU took advantage of nine walks, four hit batsman, and three errors. Third baseman Jarrod Parks extended his hit streak to 21 games. Thanks to a hitless night by Vanderbilt”s Jason Esposito against Louisville on Tuesday night, Parks has the longest active hit streak in the SEC. Esposito had hit in 27 straight games.
“We were able to rotate a lot of guys in to get some playing time and at-bats,” Cohen said. “I am pleased with the way we competed and worked to get better tonight.”
C.T. Bradford led off the MSU first with a single and later scored on a triple by Ryan Collins. A Jaron Shepherd sacrifice fly drove in another run.
The Bulldogs scored three runs in the third on a walk, an error, and two singles. Parks and Nick Vickerson had hits. Shepherd drove in a run with another sacrifice fly. Trey Johnson also drove in a run with a groundout.
Adam Frazier and Hunter Renfroe had run-producing hits in the sixth. Frazier was the lone multiple hitter for MSU.
Michael Lowe had two hits for MVSU, which had five hits.
Evan Mitchell and Bradford threw an inning apiece for the Bulldogs.
MVSU starting pitcher Kameron Stady (0-4) worked five innings and took the loss. He allowed five hits and six runs (all earned), with three strikeouts, three walks, and two hit batsman.
MSU will return to Southeastern Conference play at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (ESPNU) in Game 1 of a three-game set against the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Game 2 will be at 7 p.m. Friday (SportSouth), and Game 3 will be at 7 p.m. Saturday (SportSouth). Both teams begin the series in a three-way tie for third in the SEC Western Division.
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