STARKVILLE — For Hunter Renfroe hitting a baseball is a simple task of see ball, hit ball.
The first part of that equation had been a major problem that he knew he’d have to get solved as the Bulldogs traveled to the University of Florida this past weekend. The sophomore outfielder, who had been struggling in the middle of MSU’s batting order, changed nearly everything about his approach at the plate.
From the stance of the 6-foot-2 power hitter to where he put his hands to what he’s thinking about in the batter’s box, everything was reevaluated.
“The coaching staff has really loosened up with me about how I approach hitting because it’s such a feel thing with me,” Renfroe said. “I put my hands back further like I’d had in high school to allow for more time to explode with the bat and then it all changed. I could suddenly see the ball better and the hits came last weekend.”
Base hits, hard hit balls and even a home run came for the sophomore last weekend from the Crystal Springs native, who professional scouts have been monitoring since he left Copiah Academy two years ago.
“He identified pitches better and just found some rhythm that he needed,” MSU coach John Cohen said. “We know it’s always been there for Hunter and the fact of the matter is he works so hard on his swing that we knew it would happen for him. He’s just too talented and he knows it.”
Renfroe and the rest of the MSU squad will try to convert tonight’s game against the University of Central Arkansas (6:30 p.m.), the first of four games over a five-day span at Dudy Noble Field, into some momentum toward the postseason.
“We know how important this week is for our team and you know I really think the offensive floodgates are going to eventually open for us,” Renfroe said. “Eventually they just have to because we can’t just keep hitting it at people.”
MSU begins the week in a three-way tie for seventh in the overall SEC standings but a game out of second place in the SEC Western Division. Freshman Brandon Woodruff (0-1, 3.68) will open on the mound in his fourth start of season for the Bulldogs against UCA.
Renfroe paced MSU (31-20, 13-14 in Southeastern Conference) at the plate against the Gators, registering a pair of career-best three-hit games on a 7-for-13 weekend.
Renfroe came into last week hitting just .235 and just three extra base hits in the last month but the tinkering and long hours in the batting cages of the Palmeiro Center really paid off for the former draft pick out of high school by the Boston Red Sox as he comes intothis final regular season week with a .257 average — his highest since April 20.
“I think I got some doubles against Mississippi Valley State and while I don’t measure anything by mid-week, it’s something where I was able to tell myself ‘Okay this is going to work for me now’,” Renfroe said.
“I needed that verification that I was doing the right kind of work.” Renfroe’s fourth home run of the year gave MSU an early 1-0 lead in Sunday’s series finale.
“Unless you’ve played the game you don’t what that does for your confidence to see a ball jump off your bat and into the seats like what happened for Hunter,” Cohen said. “That could totally change things for him from now on.”
Florida’s scouting report clearly didn’t specify Renfroe was a fastball hitter as the extra-base hits he got in Gainesville all came with three-ball counts resulting in fastballs over the heart of the plate.
“Because I was able to lay off the breaking balls away, I got some really good counts and worked my way into hitting situations for myself,” Renfroe said. “Hey, that’s a lot easier than flailing away at breaking balls in the dirt.”
MSU begins the week with the worst team batting average in the SEC but is countered by a pitching staff with the SEC’s top earned run average, 2.71, fourth-best in the NCAA.
“I just think that’s the nature of our league right now,” Cohen said. “Florida is supposed to have the league’s most talented offensive club right now and we held them to just six runs in a weekend. Nobody is putting up gaudy offensive numbers in our league.”
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