Friday, February 28, 2003

STARKVILLE, Miss. (Feb. 28, 2003) -- The 12th-ranked Bulldogs struck for seven runs in the first three innings and the Bucs could not recover as Mississippi State (3-1) blanked East Tennessee State (4-4), 7-0 at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Miss. The two teams continue their three-game weekend series Saturday at 2 p.m. Bulldog shortstop Matthew Maniscalco opened the game and a 3-for-4 showing at the plate with a first-inning single and scored the game¹s first run on a Buccaneer throwing error. Mississippi State added to its 1-0 lead scoring three times in the second and third innings off ETSU junior starter Josh Kite (Greeneville, Tenn.) (1-1). MSU left fielder Jon Mungle doubled in a run in the second and singled in two more runs when the Bulldogs erupted for five hits in the second. Mungle's two-bagger was the lone extra-base hit of the game for either team. Bulldog designated hitter J.B. Tucker singled twice for State. Mississippi State starter Paul Maholm (1-1) struck out eighth, scattered five hits and walked one in a strong six-inning start. Brad Corley, MSU's starting right fielder, followed Maholm to the hill in the seventh, allowing one baserunner on a walk in two innings. Starkville native Saunders Ramsey preserved the shutout, striking out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth. Buccaneer center fielder Tim Turner went 2-for-3 to pace ETSU's five-hit showing. Kite, making his first start of the campaign, gave up seven runs on nine hits while striking out six. Relief pitchers Trevor Smith (Newport, Tenn.) and Beau Alford (Johnson City, Tenn.) combined to shut out the Bulldogs over the final three frames. The win was the fourth in as many meetings in the brief Mississippi State-East Tennessee State baseball series. In tomorrow's second game of the three-game set, MSU will send sophomore righthander Alan Johnson (1-0, 2.57) to the hill Saturday opposite ETSU starter Tim Turner (1-0, 4.09).