Corely, Mississippi State Slug Their Way Past FAU, 13-2
June 3, 2005
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Mississippi State’s Brad Corely blasted a pair of three-run homeruns as part of a five-homerun afternoon by MSU as the second-seeded Bulldogs (41-20) rolled past third-seeded Florida Atlantic (36-23), 13-2, in Game One of the 2005 NCAA Coral Gables Baseball Regional at Mark Light Field.
MSU’s Corely put the Bulldogs on the board in the bottom of the first with a three-run homer to left-center scoring Thomas Berkery and Brad Jones, who were each walked in back-to-back at bats by FAU starter Chris Salberg.
Two inning’s later, Corely drove another Salberg pitch out of the park with a three-run shot over the leftfield fence to once again score Berkery and Jones, putting the Bulldogs up 6-0.
Mississippi State’s Alan Johnson picked up the win with a nine-inning complete game effort, allowing two runs on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
FAU’s Salberg shouldered the loss for the Blue Wave, lasting just two and two-thirds innings while allowing seven earned runs.
Joseph McCaskill scored MSU’s seventh run with a solo shot off the leftfield scoreboard two batters after Corely’s second homerun. The McCaskill homer – his first of the season – helped drive Salberg off the mound, giving way to Andrew Tomlin.
The Bulldogs struck again in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Jeffrey Rea through the right side of the diamond to score Michael Rutledge, who reached third on a wild pitch by Tomlin, bringing the Mississippi State lead to 8-0.
Florida Atlantic’s Jonathan Shapland gave the Blue Wave their first runs of the day in the top of the sixth with a two-run homerun off Johnson to bring around Tim Mascia, who reached on a single up the middle earlier in the inning.
MSU’s Brad Jones answered in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homerun to leftfield off Tomlin effectively ending his stretch after two and two-thirds innings and extending the Bulldog lead to 9-2.
Mitch Moreland led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a pinch-hit solo homer to left-center, giving the Bulldogs their tenth run of the afternoon, and then doubled to right-center in the bottom of eighth to plate Jones from second base for his second RBI of the game.
MSU’s Jeff Butts drove in Joseph Hunter from third base following the Moreland double and Bunky Kateon singled on the next at bat to bring home Moreland for MSU’s final run of the afternoon.
Mississippi State will advance to Game Four where they will take on the winner of Friday night’s Miami-Virginia Commonwealth game Saturday at 7 p.m. Florida Atlantic will face the loser of that game at Saturday at 3 p.m.
