May 26, 2005
Hoover, Ala. – Todd Doolittle struck out a career-high 13 batters and seventh seeded Mississippi State scored five runs in the second inning on its way to a 6-2 win over sixth seeded South Carolina on Thursday evening on day two of the SEC Baseball Tournament. MSU is now 38-20 and 2-0 in the tournament. South Carolina drops to 38-20 and 1-1 in the tournament and will meet Tennessee at 1:30 p.m. CT on Friday afternoon in an elimination game televised on Fox Sports Net South. The winner of Friday’s game will meet Mississippi State on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. CT.
Doolittle worked eight and 2/3 innings allowing just two runs, one earned, on five hits with just two walks to pick up the win. He is now 5-7 this season. Carolina senior RHP Zac McCamie suffered the loss and is 8-4 on the year. McCamie worked six innings and allowed six runs on nine hits with five strikeouts and one walk allowed.
Mississippi State wasted no time in the second inning as Brad Corley led off with a single to center field and advanced to third base on a failed pickoff attempt. After Joseph Hunter was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners, Brian LaNinfa collected a RBI single to score Corley. Jeff Butts then lined a triple to right center to plate home Hunter and LaNinfa building the Bulldogs lead to 3-0. Jeffrey Rea and Ed Easley would each add RBI singles giving MSU a five-run edge.
McCamie settled in after the third inning though and retired 11 consecutive batters to keep Mississippi State within reach. The Bulldogs would end McCamie’s streak in the seventh inning as they opened up the frame on a Jeff Butts single followed by hits from Michael Rutledge and Rea to increase the MSU lead to 6-0, knocking McCamie from the game.
South Carolina ended Doolittle’s pursuit of a shutout in the ninth inning with two runs as Jon Willard collected a pinch-hit RBI single and pinch runner Joey Friddle scored the second run on a throwing error from MSU third baseman Thomas Berkery.
Rea had three hits, and Butts and Corley had two apiece to pace the Bulldog offense. Nine of 11 hits from Mississippi State were singles. Five different USC players accounted for all of Carolina hits on Thursday night.
South Carolina will start sophomore LHP Arik Hempy (2-0, 2.01 ERA) vs. the Volunteers on Friday afternoon.
SOUTH CAROLINA GAME NOTES
– Neil Giesler’s single in the fourth inning extended his hitting streak to 10 games. The 10-game hitting streak for Giesler is his longest of the season. Steve Pearce and Michael Campbell each had nine-game hitting streaks that ended.
– Zac McCamie recorded his 100th strikeout of the season on Thursday evening. It marks the 24th time a Carolina player has recorded 100 or more strikeouts in a season. McCamie has 104 strikeouts this year.
