Grand Slam Propels Florida To 7-5 Win Over MSU In SEC Tourney Opener

Wednesday, May 25

Hoover, Ala.

12:40 PM

Mississippi State

34-22

Florida

42-15

Mississippi State

Florida

Grand Slam Propels Florida To 7-5 Win Over MSU In SEC Tourney Opener

May 25, 2011 | Baseball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

HOOVER, Ala. - Mississippi State's valiant effort in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament came up short Wednesday afternoon. A seventh-inning grand slam by Florida's Brian Johnson lifted the third-seeded Gators past the sixth-seeded Bulldogs 7-5 in the second contest played at Regions Park.

Playing in the league's year-ending event for the first time since 2007, the Bulldogs dropped their third straight SEC Tournament game and will face second-seeded Arkansas at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in an elimination game. In Wednesday's opener, the Western Division champion Razorbacks dropped a 7-4 decision to Alabama.

MSU fell to 34-22, while second-ranked nationally Florida improved to 42-15.

"Really pleased with the effort our kids gave," MSU head coach John Cohen said. "You know it was one swing of the bat, the ball starts out foul and comes back fair, but the home run and the grand slam is not the issue. We had a combination of eight walks or hit-by-pitches. You can't give up three bases. The whole story is in the two walks in the seventh there (before the grand slam)."

The Bulldogs received a heroic effort on the mound from freshman starting pitcher Evan Mitchell. While drawing his second start against a conference opponent, Mitchell was lifted after a leadoff single in the sixth inning. The right-hander allowed five hits and two runs (both earned), with five strikeouts and four walks.

Still, the game swung on Johnson's fifth-round tripper of the year. Mitchell gave way to Taylor Stark who gave way to Luis Pollorena (6-5) in the seventh inning. Pollorena was touched for a bases-loading single by Mike Zunino's and Johnson's grand slam.

The Bulldogs failed to rally in their final two at-bats. In relief, Steven Rodriguez (3-1) retired the final four batters he faced. Austin Maddox worked around a Cody Freeman two-out single in the ninth inning to earn his fourth save.

Florida scored first in its opening at-bat. After a leadoff walk and Preston Tucker one-out RBI-double, Mitchell avoided major damage with an inning-ending double play ball.

The Maroon and White grabbed a 2-1 lead with two scores in the third inning. C.T. Bradford began the at-bat with a leadoff single. After a sacrifice bunt, Jarrod Parks reached as a hit batsman. A strikeout followed. Nick Vickerson then crushed a two-run triple over the head of the UF center fielder.

After the Gators tied the proceedings in the fourth inning, Vickerson gave the Bulldogs another lead with his seventh home run of the year - a sixth-inning no-doubter over both rows of outfield fence in left center field.

The Bulldogs stretched the lead to 5-2 with a pair of scores in the seventh inning. Wes Thigpen and Bradford started things with back-to-back singles. A hit batsman loaded the bases. The Bulldogs then tallied on a fielder's choice and wild pitch but could not score more.

"I don't think it's going to be too tough (to bounce back)," Vickerson said. "We've got a tough group of guys and a lot of senior leadership. It's tough to lose a game like that but we're going to come back tomorrow optimistic and try to get a win."

MSU finished with seven hits. Bradford and Vickerson each had multiple hits.

Florida finished with nine hits. Zunino, Tuckers and Josh Adams each had multiple hits. Tommy Toledo started for UF but was chased during MSU's two-run third inning.