STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State baseball team is one win away from a sweep and evening its Southeastern Conference record after a 14-4 win against Tennessee on Saturday night in which it set new season highs for runs, hits (20), and extra-base hits (six).
MSU scored 13 runs in the in the first five innings to improve to 14-10 and 2-3 in the SEC. Tennessee slipped to 13-7 and 0-5.
Center fielder Jake Mangum and first baseman Brent Rooker, occupying the top two spots in the lineup, had four and three hits, respectively. Rooker had his hits in his first three at-bats and finished a double short of the cycle. Mangum’s five RBIs set a new career high.
Mangum and Rooker combined for seven RBIs. Ryan Gridley went 4-for-5 with two doubles, while right fielder Tanner Poole, third baseman Harrison Bragg, and catcher Josh Lovelady also had multi-hit games.
After scoring one run in the first inning, MSU opened the game up with four runs in the second and five in the third.
In the second, Mangum had a two-run double and Rooker hit a two-run home run, his seventh of the season. Bragg and Lovelady drove in runs with singles in the third before Mangum drove in two runs on a sacrifice fly. Right fielder Dom Thornton dove to catch the ball deep in the gap, giving time for Lovelady to score from second base.
Peyton Plumlee (3-1) allowed one unearned run and five hits in six innings to get the win. He walked one and struck out six. Trey Jolly allowed three runs and four hits in 2 1/3 innings. Two of the runs scored on consecutive balks. Ryan Rigby, who MSU coach Andy Cannizaro said earlier in the week would be unavailable due to a nagging groin injury, recorded the final two outs.
The Bulldogs employed a heavy dose of pinch hitters. Among them was freshman pitcher Denver McQuary, who made his first plate appearance as a Bulldog. He hit a hard foul ball before ultimately striking out. He also played two innings at third base.
The game was originally delayed from 2 p.m. to 6:30 in anticipation of rain, but rain pushed the game back to an 8:02 p.m. start.
MSU and Tennessee will finish the series at 1:30 p.m. today. Cannizaro didn’t announce a starting pitcher for that game prior to Saturday’s game.
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