Diamond Dogs Close Non-Conference Slate With Road Triumph At Memphis, 6-5

Tuesday, May 12

Memphis, Tenn. (AutoZone Park)

3:00 PM

Mississippi State

24-27

Memphis

21-29

Mississippi State

Memphis

Diamond Dogs Oust Braves For Midweek Win, 27-4

Diamond Dogs Close Non-Conference Slate With Road Triumph At Memphis, 6-5

May 12, 2009 | Baseball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Mississippi State concluded the non-conference portion of its baseball schedule with a hard-fought 6-5 win over the Memphis Tigers Tuesday afternoon at AutoZone Park.

The Bulldogs rode an outstanding pitching performance from junior right-hander Justin Bussey and three long balls to the victory. Cody Freeman hit a pair of home runs, while Ryan Duffy hit the game-winner in the eighth inning,

MSU has now won 11 of it last 12 meetings with Conference USA member Memphis. The Bulldogs now have a chance to finish the season with a break-even record. MSU has won three of its last four and is now 24-27 overall. Meanwhile, Memphis dropped to 21-29.

The Bulldogs broke on top with three runs in the second inning. Jet Butler drew a walk and later scored on an RBI-double by Grant Hogue. Freeman followed with a two-run home run to left field.

Memphis answered with two runs in the second inning and took the lead with three more scores in the third inning. Trey Wiedman hit a home run in the Memphis second inning. The Tigers took the lead thanks to an RBI-double by Tyler Huelsing, an RBI-single by Adam T. McLain and an RBI-single by Shawn Ablett.

From there, the story would be Bussey (2-2). The former Shelton State CC standout worked his longest outing with the Maroon and White, hurling six straight scoreless innings. Bussey allowed two hits, hit two batters, walked no one and struck out six to earn the victory.

The Bulldogs rallied on a sacrifice-fly by Connor Powers in the fourth inning and Freeman's second home run of the day and sixth of the season. On Powers' hit, Hogue actually scored from second base, taking two bases on the flyout.

Duffy broke the tie in the eighth inning by hitting a towering pinch-hit home run to right field - his ninth of the season.

The Bulldogs finished with 10 hits. Hogue, Freeman and Butler had mutiple hits.

The Tigers finished with nine hits. Cole Shelton and Drew Martinez had multiple hits for UM.

Ryan Fraser (3-5) threw five innings in middle relief for the Tigers and took the loss. Starting pitcher Ryan Holland.

For MSU, Greg Houston drew the start but was chased during the Memphis three-run third inning. Drew Hollinghead completed that inning before giving way to Bussey.

MSU closes its 2009 regular season by hosting second-ranked LSU this weekend in a three-game Southeastern Conference series. The Bulldogs and Tigers meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, 6:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday.