Cerantola strikes out side in ninth in Mississippi State 19-7 win

Great Lake Canadians alum Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont,) struck out the side in the ninth inning to help preserve a 19-7 win for the Mississippi State Bulldogs over UAB on Tuesday. Photo: Mississippi State Athletics (File photo)

April 20, 2021

Official Mississippi State Athletics News Release

STARKVILLE – The No. 2 Mississippi State baseball program scored in six different innings on its way to a 19-7 midweek victory over UAB on Tuesday evening at Dudy Noble Field.

The Diamond Dawgs piled up nine extra base hits and stole five bases to improve to 10-0 in midweek tilts.

Ten different Diamond Dawgs collected hits on the night with the quintet of Scotty Dubrule, Luke Hancock, Kamren James, Tanner Leggett and Logan Tanner all chipping in multi-hit games. Mississippi State (28-8) saw nine hitters drive in RBIs and 11 score runs.

Tanner launched a 412-foot home run in the first inning to get his night started and finished 3-for-4 with a career-best five RBIs. Tanner added a pair of doubles to his home run for eight total bases. Leggett chipped in a two-hit effort with two RBIs and three runs scored. The junior hit his first career home run in the eighth inning.

Mikey Tepper got the start and threw one inning with only a walk allowed to earn his second win of the season. State followed with nine more pitchers and the group combined for 11 strikeouts to move its streak to 16 straight games with double-digit strikeouts. Spencer Price and Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.) each fanned three batters to help keep the streak alive.

Quotable

Head coach Chris Lemonis

On Logan Tanner

“He's got a lot of power. He's really trying to tap in and see how to use it. The homer in the first was huge to give us some leeway there. It got us a little [separation] from them, and we needed it. We ended up having a bad second inning. He had big hits all night long. Watching him hit, and Scotty Dubrule, we need some more guys like that. Luke Hancock had a better night. He had a really tough weekend and was able to get some swings off tonight. Getting all those guys going in the middle is big for the weekend.”

Up Next

Mississippi State heads to Vanderbilt for another top-five showdown in SEC play. The Friday, April 23 and Saturday, April 24 contests will be carried on the SEC Network and ESPNU, respectively, with each game starting at 7 p.m. CT.