Tallahassee: Main event

By Michael McGuffee - June 02, 2007


The weather has held up and we're closing in on the main event here at the Tallahassee Regional and it should be a good one. Top-seeded Florida State and two-seed Mississippi State are set for a 7 p.m. start.

The Bulldogs were very much in control in yesterday's 6-3 win over Stetson and tonight will start junior left hander Justin Pigott (5-6). The Seminoles survived a scare from Bethune-Cookman with a five-run sixth inning in game one, and now will rely on the arm of senior All-American Bryan Henry (14-1) for game two.

Henry pitched a perfect regular season on his way to earning ACC Pitcher of the Year honors, before suffering his first loss to Clemson in the conference tournament. The Tribe lost the contest 5-1, but Henry gave up only two earned runs and has not usually needed a whole lot of help this season.

FSU's premier hurler holds a 2.54 ERA through 109.2 innings, with 112 strikeouts.

Mississippi State's Justin Pigott has a 4.63 ERA, pitching 95.1 innings and 67 strikeouts. The junior had a much better sophomore season where he was 7-1 with a 1.66 ERA, but is still a solid starter that can last on the mound, averaging about seven innings a start.

Pigott has pitched against some tough opponents this season as well, losing to Kentucky and Ole Miss, but allowed Arkansas only one unearned run in a complete-game win over the Razorbacks.

The Bulldogs racked up 13 hits in game one and will need to get their bats going against Henry tonight. Seniors Jeffrey Rea and Joseph McCaskill led the offensive effort against Stetson, combining for five hits and two RBI.

Florida State's hitters will need to get on track sooner than they did last night, as head coach Mike Martin doesn't want to have to rely on a seventh inning rally against a much better ballclub. However, once the Seminoles get warmed up, they're trouble.

Posted by Michael McGuffee at 06:41 PM on June 02, 2007
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