Box Score Feb. 19, 2011
Box Score
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Chris Stratton and Caleb Reed combined to shackle Lamar University's hitters with a whopping 15 strikeouts Saturday as the host Mississippi State Bulldogs notched their second-straight shutout in their season-opening tournament with a 2-0 win over the Cardinals.
Every Cardinal starter struck out at least once, while Kevin Roebuck, Wade Mathis, Clayton Farhat and Joey Latulippe all whiffed twice each.
Stratton ran the Bulldogs' shutout string to open the season to 15 innings by scattering six hits over six scoreless frames. He walked one and struck out 10.
Reed, a 5-9, right-handed junior, relieved Stratton and continued and the shutout string by ringing up two strikeouts in the seventh inning, two more in the eighth and another in the ninth.
Senior right-hander Blake Ford was the starter and loser for the Cardinals, although he pitched well. He worked five innings, giving up four hits and two runs and walked three and struck out two.
Nick Vickerson's two-out double down the left field line was the first hit allowed by Ford, but it was a costly one as it drove in Sam Frost, who had drawn a one-out walk, with the game's first run.
The Cardinals mounted a serious threat in the fourth inning when Mathis and Farhat put together back-to-back, one-out singles followed by a walk to Jude Vidrine to load the bases. Stratton, a 6-foot-2 sophomore right-hander, answered the challenge, however, by setting down Pablo Salinas on a called third strike and then getting Latulippe swinging for the third out.
The Bulldogs, who won their tournament opener 11-0 over the University of Akron on Friday afternoon, padded their lead to 2-0 on a two-out, RBI double to right field by Jarrod Parks. It was preceded by a one-out single to left field by Frost and a walk to Vickerson.
The Cardinals, who won the 2010 Southland Conference Tournament to earn their 13th NCAA Tournament berth, will complete the tournament Sunday by playing a 10 a.m. game against Akron and then taking on host Mississippi State in a 2:30 p.m. contest. The Cardinals lost their tournament and season opener to Akron 2-1 on Friday afternoon.
LAMAR
