Buc baseball drops two games in row

Mississippi State got tremendous pitching from starter Alan Johnson who shut down East Tennessee State for seven innings in a 10-1 Bulldog victory in game two of a three game series Saturday afternoon from Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Miss.
With the loss, the Buccaneers fall to 4-5 on the season while MSU raises their record to 4-1.
For the second game in a row, the Bulldogs got on the scoreboard early, scoring five runs off of Buccaneer junior starter Tim Turner in the first three innings. That was more than enough for Johnson, who pitched tremendous for the Bulldogs. Mississippi State added a run in the bottom of the sixth and four runs in the seventh to seal it.
Johnson held the Bucs hitless for the first seven innings, until the Bucs broke through in the top of the eighth. Freshman pinch hitter Beau Alford got the first Buc hit with a single to right to lead off the inning. After advancing to third on a single by sophomore pinch hitter Davis Burklin, Alford crossed the plate on a single by freshman third baseman Shane Byrne off of Bulldog reliever Jonathan Papelpon. But that was the only run that ETSU could generate, as Papelpon settled in and retired the next five Bucs to close it out.
Johnson (2-0) got the win, pitching seven innings and allowing just one hit and striking out 11 while not giving up a walk. Turner was charged with the loss (1-1) after giving up five earned runs on six hits in four innings pitched.
Alford, Burklin, Byrne and sophomore outfielder Kevin Brotherton picked up four hits for the Bucs.
On Friday, the Bulldogs struck for seven runs in the first three innings and the Bucs could not recover as Mississippi State blanked ETSU, 7-0.
Bulldog shortstop Matthew Maniscalco opened the game and a 3-for-4 showing at the plate with a first-inning single and scored the game’s first run on a Buc throwing error.
Mississippi State starter Paul Maholm (1-1) struck out eighth, scattered five hits and walked one in a strong six-inning start. Saunders Ramsey preserved the shutout, striking out two of three batters in the ninth.