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An eight-run explosion in the fourth inning today proved to be enough for the MSU baseball team to sweep their maroon and white SEC brethren, Texas A&M. But State wouldn't stop there, as the Bulldogs added another six runs en route to a 15-4 trouncing of the Aggies (21-15, 6-9 SEC) in College Station, giving the Bulldogs (30-9, 8-7 SEC) a sweep of the SEC series. The win made MSU's start their best through 39 games since 1999.
State's huge offensive effort was today powered by catcher Nick Ammirati, who came in for Mitch Slauter after Slauter got hit by a pitch early in the game. All Ammirati did in Slauter's stead was hit a grand slam -- his first home run of the season -- and he finished the day 3-for-5 with five RBI's. Aiding Ammirati's effort was -- stop me if you've heard this before -- a big day by Hunter Renfroe, who went 3-for-5 on the day with another home run. The home run was his 13th of the season, which ties him for the league lead with LSU's Mason Katz. Renfroe's stat line for the weekend: 8-for-14, 4 RBI's, 3 HR's. Just sick numbers as Renfroe only seems to be getting hotter. Wes Rea had a huge day as well, going 4-for-5 with 4 RBI's and a towering home run of his own.
On the mound, State got a solid start out of Jacob Lindgren, who pitched 5.1 innings, scattering three hits while allowing only one earned run. Lindgren, Ross Mitchell, and Jonathan Holder combined for nine strikeouts and to allow four runs, which proved to provide more than enough cushion for State to grab the Sunday win.
Two weeks ago, State was just 3-6 in the SEC, coming off of three close but disappointing series losses to start the conference slate. But since that time, State has won five of six SEC games, including two games and a series against Florida, who was able to sweep a very good South Carolina team this weekend. Although this weekend was a potential trap for MSU -- the Aggies took two of three from Ole Miss at home earlier in the year -- State clearly rose to the challenge, taking all three games while scoring 27 runs on the weekend. They say hitting is contagious, and right now, it appears that MSU's entire team has come down with the sickness.
State does not have a midweek game this week. The Bulldogs will hit the diamond again this upcoming Thursday when they open the Super Bulldog Weekend series against the Auburn Tigers on ESPNU. First pitch is set for 6:30.
Hail State