It is a known fact that cats and dogs do not get along, and the Memphis Tigers and Mississippi State Bulldogs were no exception to the rule last night. The Tiger baseball team hosted No. 15 MSU (27-9, 7-7 Southeastern Conference) at a packed Nat Buring stadium last night and lost a heartbreaker 12-8.
The game was full of drama, with six homeruns between the two teams as well as a five-run Tiger rally in the bottom of the 8th inning to tie the game. However, in the end Memphis (21-17, 6-6 Conference USA) couldn't muster enough magic to steal a win.
"Coach Schoenrock always tells us to play till the last pitch is thrown," said sophomore outfielder K.K. Chalmers. "It's tough losing one like this, but we never thought we were out of it."
The game began as a pitcher's duel. Junior Lance Scoggins started for Memphis and held the Bulldogs to just two hits and one run scored in the first five innings. The Bulldogs started Freshman Matt Lea, a Collierville native, who likewise held the Tigers to just one run through five innings.
Things shifted in the 6th inning, when after a three-run outing by the Bulldogs, Chalmers connected on a two-run homer to bring the tigers within one.
"I felt good in the box," he said. "I saw the pitch coming, connected, and it happened to go out."
Unfortunately, MSU scored the next four runs, and the Tiger bats were unable to make any advances, until the bottom of the 8th.
The rally started when Bill Moss doubled in Cory Barton to bring the Tigers within four. On the next at-bat, Kyle Norrid smashed a two-run homer over the left-field fence, followed two at-bats later by another two-run homer by Joseph Lieberman.
Heading into the 9th the Tigers had overcome a five-run deficit, and seemed poised to claim victory in the bottom of the inning.
The Bulldogs managed a rally of their own, however, and blasted in four runs of their own. Memphis was unable to recover from the new deficit.
While the loss was difficult, there were positives to take from the experience. The Tigers were never out of the game, and the offensive explosion was a nice recovery from the weekend series sweep by Rice.
Heading into the final games of the season, Memphis is still considered a serious contender for a high seed in the conference tournament. Coach Schoenrock is making sure the team is focusing on things one game at a time.
"Coach 'Rock is always concerned that we play sound baseball; pitching, hitting and defense," said Chalmers. "As long as we keep doing that, then we should finish the conference schedule strong."
The Tigers host Mississippi State at AutoZone Park tonight at 7:00 to finish the series, before traveling to Houston on Friday for a weekend series with the Cougars.
