STARKVILLE — For the first time in nearly a month, C.T. Bradford sprinted out to center field at Dudy Noble Field.
The sophomore outfielder returned from the disabled list Friday after suffering a separated shoulder March 7 in a 10-6 victory against Penn State University.
Bradford went 0-for-3 with a walk Friday night in an 11-2 victory against the No. 3 University of Arkansas in his return to the second spot of the lineup. The sophomore, who was named the MVP of the 2011 NCAA Atlanta Regional, also made two catches in center field.
“C.T. was not seeing the baseball well, but what does he do he gets a walk, a hit by pitch, controls the outfield for us (and) communicates,” MSU coach John Cohen said. “He does so much for our club that doesn’t show up in a scorecard.”
Bradford was unavailable to the media after Friday’s game due to scheduled medical treatment on the injured right shoulder.
The return of Bradford to the starting lineup pushed sophomore Hunter Renfroe to right field and marked the first start for Demarcus Henderson at third base this season.
Before suffering the injury, Bradford was hitting .309 with 10 runs scored and 13 RBIs.
Renfroe provides power surge in victory
Renfroe, who had been playing center field, moved to right field and provided a pair of home runs.
His first round-tripper was a shot off the center-field wall in the first inning that was misplayed by Jacob Morris. As the redshirt sophomore banged against the wall, Renfroe was rounding second base and easily completed the first inside-the-park home run from an MSU player since Brad Corley completed the trick eight years ago.
“I looked at (MSU third base coach Lane Burroughs) point to home plate as I’m rounding second and thought you are crazy,” Renfroe said. “He knew more about what was going on behind me in the outfield.”
The right-handed hitting sophomore’s second home run, another two-run shot, came when he took a fastball deep over the left-centerfield wall and over the fans in Left Field Lounge to give the Bulldogs a 6-1 lead in the third.
“Balls don’t leave this ball park like that very often,” Cohen said. “Hunter has that kind of power and that kind of athleticism. His potential is probably unlike any I’ve ever coached.”
Renfroe entered the game hitting .288 with nine RBIs. He went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a pair of runs scored.
Renfroe was a major reason the Bulldogs (16-7, 2-2 Southeastern
Conference) tagged DJ Baxendale for eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits in three innings. The junior lasted just 75 pitches and gave up multiple runs in each of the first four innings.
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