The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss is Knocked Out of SEC Tourney
6/21/1999 | Baseball
May 21, 1999
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) -- Tanner Brock seems to like pitching against Mississippi.
The Mississippi State freshman pitched eight shutout innings to beat the Rebels 2-0 on Friday, ousting Mississippi from the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Brock (4-0) gave up four hits and walked one in his longest outing of the season. In three games against his cross-state rival, he has pitched 12-2/3 scoreless innings.
He pitched his heart out,'' Bulldog coach Pat McMahon said. Just a marvelous effort.''
He kept us off balance the entire game,'' Mississippi coach Pat Harrison said. We hit a lot of popups and fly balls, but that was due to Brock's good pitching.
The Bulldogs (40-18) play Alabama (44-14) Saturday and must beat the Crimson Tide twice to make Sunday's championship game. Alabama beat the Bulldogs 4-3 on Thursday.
Travis Chapman went 3-for-4 with a double for Mississippi State. Brian Wiese drove in a run on a groundout in the first inning and pinch-hitter Ty Martin plated the second with a single in the top of the ninth.
Brad Henderson singled twice and was hit by a pitch for Mississippi, which ends the season 33-26. He tied David Dellucci for the school-record with 94 hits on the season. It was small consolation for the second baseman.
We didn't make them make the plays to win,'' Henderson said. It got more frustrating the longer it went on.''
Brock only allowed two runners past first base and retired the last eight batters he faced. Adam Larson pitched a perfect ninth for his second save.
I was pretty tired,'' Brock said. My legs were real tired and my arm was definitely a little fatigued. I personally wanted to finish ball game, but they made the right decision and it worked out.''
The win could prove crucial for a Mississippi State team fighting to get into an NCAA Regional. The Bulldogs joined Alabama and Auburn as the league's only teams with 40 wins.
It's a big win for us in so many ways,'' McMahon said.
Brock didn't give Mississippi many opportunities, but he pitched out of trouble in the sixth. He gave up a leadoff double to Chad Hill, then Hill moved to third on Alex Williamson's groundout. Brock plunked Henderson to put runners on the corners with one out. Chad Mead grounded into a double play.
It was Mississippi State's first shutout at the tournament since 1995.
Today was an outstanding effort,'' McMahon said. It proved the strength of our ballclub in every way.''
By JOHN ZENOR, Associated Press Writer
