TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In a fleeting moment, the Mississippi State University baseball thought it would leave Thomas-Sewell Stadium with its first sweep in Tuscaloosa since 2004.
It would’ve been remembered as a game the Bulldogs used 19 of the 27 players Southeastern Conference travel rules allow a team to have to steal their second sweep this season.
But Austen Smith helped the University of Alabama steal the game back.
The first baseman laced a two-out, two-run double off the left-center field wall in the bottom of the ninth inning to help the Crimson Tide salvage an 8-7 victory Sunday afternoon.
The loss left MSU coach John Cohen as irritated as he has been this season. A controversial call on a chopper in front of home plate left Cohen, a Tuscaloosa, Ala., native, in the face of all three umpires when the foul call was made. Cohen believed the ball bounced in front of the plate and was fair, which is why the Bulldogs coaches told relief pitcher Taylor Stark to throw it to first base to appeal the ruling.
“When you go on the road in the SEC you have a lot of things working against you, and our kids did a great job of overcoming (those things),” Cohen said. “There are things you can control in this game and things that you can’t. We ain’t backing down to anybody no matter what the conditions.”
Instead MSU (29-18, 12-12 Southeastern Conference) traveled home with a sour taste in its mouth after overcoming a four-run deficit in the final two innings.
“I really felt like we should’ve won a ball game today. We didn’t, but I’m really pleased with the things we did today that were in our control,” Cohen said.
Trailing 6-2 in the series finale, MSU scored three runs in the eighth. Mitch Slauter drew a leadoff walk and Trey Porter punched a single through the infield. Pinch hitter Phillip Casey followed with an RBI single. After a strikeout, Brent Brownlee and Daryl Norris had back-to-back hits. A sacrifice fly by Sam Frost brought the Bulldogs within a run.
In the ninth, reserve infielder Matthew Britton drew a walk on a full-count pitch. Designated hitter Trey Porter then smashed a ground-rule double down the right-field line. Reserve Phillip Casey followed with a two-run single to give MSU its first lead, 7-6.
Alabama’s bullpen surrendered five runs and recorded six outs to ruin a quality start by Charley Sullivan. The former Northwest Mississippi Community College transfer from Oxford held MSU to one earned run on five hits.
Alabama (18-30, 7-17) built a 5-1 lead with four runs in the fourth. A bases-clearing double by Taylor Dugas was the big blow.
MSU had 11 hits, its most since March 23 vs. the University of Arkansas. Porter had four hits, while Casey, who entered late in the game, had two singles and three RBIs.
Redshirt Nick Routt (2-5) worked 4 2/3 innings in relief, allowing four hits and three runs (all earned).
An incident after Alabama’s game-winning hit marred the two-hour, 47-minute game. Cohen immediately got in the face of all three umpires and screamed at them as they attempted to exit through the MSU dugout. The umpire access their locker room from the field through the visitor’s dugout.
When Cohen tried to do his postgame radio interview, a face-to face shouting match occurred with MSU pitching coach Butch Thompson and a University of Alabama police officer. The men had to be separated in the dugout.
“Our kids are competing their tail off,” Cohen said. “They take everything personally when it comes to representing Mississippi State and having it on their chest. If you just want them to hang their heads and walk out to the bus, you’ve got the wrong group of coaches and the wrong group of players. They’re going to fight, fight, fight for everything, every minute before, after, and during the baseball game.”
No authorized personnel involved in the incident between Thompson and the police officer had any comment, including Cohen, who only said he was “doing radio” when the situation occurred.
“I can’t discuss anything about umpires, so I’m not going to do that,”
Cohen said. “Suffice to say, I disagreed or I would not have gone and asked for an explanation.”
While Thompson was escorted out of the dugout, Alabama spokespeople only confirmed the incident between the men wasn’t a physical confrontation.
While an officer walked out of the dugout, a voice could be heard yelling, “You’re a disgrace! You’re a disgrace! You’re a disgrace! You ought to be fired. You ought to be fired. You ought to be fired.”
The shouting match between Thompson and the officer could be heard in the background of Cohen’s postgame interview on MSU’s radio broadcast.
MSU, which is tied for second in the SEC’s Western Division and tied for fifth in the league, will play two seven-inning games against Mississippi Valley State University at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Dudy Noble Field.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 49 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.