Hildreth, State smash E. Kentucky Bulldogs' senior shortstop sets school record for career games, matches career hit mark in 15-4 victory. By Rusty Hampton Staff Writer He might not be the most flamboyant player, but shortstop Brad Hildreth certainly has been one of the most consistent players over the last four years for third-ranked Mississippi State. Hildreth, a senior from Mobile, Ala., added to his collection of school records Friday night as the Bulldogs beat Eastern Kentucky 15-4 at Smith-Wills Stadium. Hildreth played in his 229th game, breaking John Mitchell's career record for games played. Hildreth also had three of State's 16 hits, giving him 268 hits in his career. That tied the record Rafael Palmeiro set from 1983-85. Hildreth, State's career leader in at-bats (847) and putouts, assists and chances for a shortstop, tried to shrug off the records. "You can attribute that to the fact that I've started almost every game since my freshman year," Hildreth said. "I've also been fortunate to not have any bad injuries." Palmeiro's 268 hits came in 720 at-bats over three years. "It's great to be compared to Palmeiro," Hildreth said. "But if you look at it, I've hit something like .320 for my career. He hit probably .420. To get that many hits in three years is amazing." The Bulldogs, 48-12, made quick work of Eastern Kentucky, the Ohio Valley Conference champion. The Colonels fell to 39-15-1. Jody Hurst and John Cohen opened State's first with back-to-back doubles. One out later, Tommy Raffo hit a two-run homer to left-center for a 3-0 lead. Doug Simpson, 5-1, got the Bulldogs out in order in the second, but didn't survive the third, when State scored a single-inning high 11 runs. Neither did reliever Don Wachsmith, who faced six batters and didn't get an out. State sent 16 batters to the plate and got nine hits, including a two-run single and two-run double by Hildreth. All nine players scored at least once in the inning. Pete Young and Hurst scored twice. State's 14 RBIs gave it 503 for the season, a school record. The Bulldogs now own the school records for runs, homers and RBIs. While Hildreth has stayed hot, Raffo is beginning to re-heat. After a seven-game stretch in which he went 7- for-33 with one homer and three RBIs, Raffo has gone 5- for-7, with two homers and seven RBIs in his last two games. Raffo, battling Auburn's Frank Thomas for the Southeastern Conference's Triple Crown, leads the Bulldogs in hitting (.384), homers (19) and RBIs (74). Tracy Jobes, hit hard in his last two appearances, gave 1 up three hits and one run over five innings. He improved to 8-3. State and EKU continue their three-game series tonight at 7 at Starkville.
