STARKVILLE, Miss. — Sophomore right-hander Chad Crosswhite fired his first career complete game Friday night, leading 15th-ranked Mississippi State to a 12-3 victory over LSU at Dudy Noble Field.
Mississippi State improved to 25-8 overall and 9-5 in the SEC as the Bulldogs won for the 11th time in their last 13 games.
LSU, which dropped its third straight contest, fell to 21-18-1 overall and 6-9-1 in league play.
The teams meet in Game 2 of the series at 2 p.m. Saturday. Sophomore left-hander Ryan Byrd (5-1, 3.65 ERA) will start on the mound for LSU, while Mississippi State will counter with junior southpaw Justin Pigott (3-3, 5.50 ERA).
The game can be heard on affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network and in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net.
Crosswhite (5-1) scattered 10 hits over nine innings, limiting the Tigers to three runs with no walks and five strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Mississippi State pounded out 16 hits against four LSU pitchers, including three hits and two RBI from second baseman Jeffrey Rea.
“Their pitcher did a good job of minimizing our chances to score,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “He didn’t walk anybody, and he made very few mistakes. The Mississippi State hitters took advantage of the opportunities we gave them, and that’s the mark of a good club. We’re looking forward to rebounding with a strong effort in (Saturday’s) game.”
The Bulldogs grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning against LSU starter Charlie Furbush on Rea’s RBI single, but the Tigers tied the game in the fourth when shortstop Michael Hollander tripled and scored in Jared Mitchell‘s single.
Mississippi State answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth when DH Brian LaNinfa singled and scored on a triple by third baseman Connor Powers.
The Bulldogs increased the lead to 4-1 with two runs in the fifth as leftfielder Joseph McCaskill delivered a sacrifice fly and Furbush hit LaNinfa with a pitch with the bases loaded.
LSU narrowed the gap to 4-2 in the sixth when third baseman Chris Jackson was hit by a pitch and scored on first baseman Sean Ochinko‘s RBI single; however, Mississippi State blew the game open with four runs in the bottom of the frame.
Catcher Edward Easley’s bases-loaded double against LSU reliever Nolan Cain plated three runs and gave MSU a 7-2 lead. Shortstop Brandon Turner capped the uprising with an RBI single to give the Bulldogs a six-run advantage.
LSU leftfielder Ryan Schimpf tripled and scored on a passed ball in the seventh, but the Bulldogs added four more runs in the bottom of the inning against reliever Kyle Beerbohm.
Rea ripped and RBI triple and Turner delivered a two-run single to highlight the rally.
LSU infielder J.T. Wise made his first career pitching appearance in the seventh inning and worked the final 1.2 innings. The right-hander allowed no runs on one hit with one strikeout.
Furbush (3-5) was charged with the loss as he surrendered seven runs ? six earned ? on nine hits in 5.1 innings with three walks and six strikeouts.
Mississippi State 12, LSU 3 (Apr 20, 2007 at Starkville, Miss.)
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LSU…………………. 000 101 100 – 3 10 1 (21-18-1, 9-5 SEC)
Mississippi State… 001 124 40X – 12 16 1 (25-8, 6-9-1 SEC)
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Pitchers: LSU – Charlie Furbush; Nolan Cain(6); Kyle Beerbohm(6); J.T. Wise(7).
Mississippi State – Chad Crosswhite.
Win-Chad Crosswhite(5-1) Loss-Charlie Furbush(3-5) T-3:01 A-7283