Diamond Dawgs Move to 3-0 in Hoover with 6-4 win over A&M

The Aggies may have owned us in football, but we have owned them in baseball. Thursday night's 6-4 win moved the Bulldogs to 4-0 against our fellow maroon and white brethren of the West.

Kendall Graveman got the start and went 4.1 giving up all four runs (2 of them scored after he left but they were his responsibility). But does it really matter who starts? It's all about the bullpen, especially in the SEC Tournament. In the last six games, the MSU bullpen has pitched 43.1 consecutive scoreless innings.

Ross Mitchell goes another 3.1 scoreless. The dude is incredible. Johnathon Holder picked up his 16th save - and they even played "Cut you down" for him on his entrance.

Adam Frazier had quite a night going 4 for 5, scoring two runs and knocking in another. The Hoover Met has got to be his favorite place to hit. If he ever plays for the Birmingham Barons I'm pretty sure he'll hit .600.

Brett Pirtle had another solid night with two hits and getting hit by another pitch. That's EIGHTEEN times this year. I love his HBP to strikeout ratio: 18-23. I made that stat up but seriously, who gets hit by pitch almost as much as they strikeout?

Maybe the play of the game was a routine ground ball off the bat of Nick Ammirati with the bases loaded that went right through the Texas A&M 1st baseman's legs. That would score two runs - which was the difference in the game.

Here are some game notes from winstoncountysfinest:

• Brett Pirtle continues to get on base better than anyone on the team. After being plunked on the foot to lead off the fourth inning, he has now reached base in 32 consecutive ball games. He finished the game with two hits for the fifth-consecutive game and has had two or more hits in 16 games this year.
• Frazier has now hit safely in 48 of 59 games this year. His two-hit game meant that he has now had multi-base hits 29 times this season. He's also had at least two hits in eight out of his last nine games and in each of the three tourney games. He finished the night 4-for-5 recording his first four-hit game of the year and just the second in his three years as a Bulldog.. He's had at 10 three-hits in a game on the season and recorded his 16th double. He leads the team in multi-hit games, three-hit games, and doubles. He is now 9-for-18 in the three games in Hoover.
• MSU turned double play number 68 and 69 on the year in the ball game. It was their sixth in the three games played in the SEC Tournament making up ground that they've lost the past few weeks in the stat. Last season they set a school record with 72.
• Ross Mitchell and Jonathan Holder came in and continued to dominate Hoover. In their two-year careers, they've yet to give up a run in 24.1 innings pitched at the Met. 10 hits and no runs with 20 strikeouts. Ross got the win tonight, his second in Hoover, and Holder got his fifth save in the tournament and second this year.
• The MSU bullpen has now gone 43.1 consecutive innings without surrendering an earned run in the SEC Tournament. They've thrown 59.1 innings in the last two seasons giving up just four earned runs and striking out 45.
• State has now won six-straight tournament games for the first time since 1984 and 1987-88. This is the longest win streak since the tournament moved to Hoover.