HOOVER, Ala. — One big swing by freshman first baseman Wes Rea was all the No. 24 Mississippi State University needed Tuesday to defeat the No. 25 University of Arkansas 9-1 in its first game in the Southeastern Conference tournament at Regions Park.
MSU (35-21), which had never beaten Arkansas in school history at the SEC tournament, used Rea’s near-400-foot shot to left field to continue its hot streak. The victory, MSU’s fourth in a row, was its first in the SEC tournament since a 4-1 win against the University of Mississippi in the championship game in 2005.
“Those older guys that went through that run last year desperately want to go through a run like that again,” MSU coach John Cohen said, referencing the run to the Gainesville Super Regional. “Our leadership has allowed our freshmen to grow up a little bit faster.”
Rea took a fastball from ace Ryne Stanek deep over the left-field wall in the top of the second inning to give MSU, which is ranked No. 21 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, a 3-0 lead. The home run was the first for Rea since April 13 at the University of South Carolina.
“It was a fastball in and I’d seen pitches from that guy before, so I was sitting on fastball,” Rea said. “I was really, with runners on second and third, just trying to get under something to the outfield for an RBI situation, but with that guy’s velocity the ball will jump on you. It did there.”
After starting Rea off with a offspeed pitch that missed away, Stanek challenged Rea with a 94-mph fastball on the inside part of the plate. If properly located, it would’ve been closer to Rea’s hands. However, the mistake allowed Rea to turn his shoulders and generate the power needed to give the Bulldogs the lead for good.
Rea, who has struggled with shoulder injury issues all season, entered the tournament hitting just .188 against SEC competition, but he made a dent in the back wall protecting the parking lot behind Regions Park.
“What that did was allow our kids the opportunity to relax and just play,” Cohen said of Rea’s home run.
Rea, who was trapped in a 1-for-41 slump last weekend prior to MSU’s series against the University of Kentucky, received a shot in shoulder before game one of that series. He then had a two-run single and his 16th multi-hit game of the season to back Chris Stratton in a 3-1 victory.
“I think when my swing is where it needs to be, that’s what it’ll look like,” Rea said after that win. “My swing is back and, hopefully, I can carry this over to the rest of the season.”
Rea, a 290-pound first baseman from Gulfport, leads the Bulldogs in RBIs (37). For at least two months, he has been fighting a right shoulder injury that limited his ability at the plate. He finally went to see a shoulder specialist last week and was diagnosed with what Rea called “a knot” near the rotator cuff causing nerve pain. He immediately received an injection to relieve the discomfort. Rea already had surgery on his shoulder as a result of a pitching injury he suffered in high school.
“I don’t know because it’s so hard to determine pain with 18- to 22-year-olds,” Cohen said when asked Tuesday if Rea could’ve made that home run swing without pain a month ago. “They will tell you anything they can to get on the field and play. I know it’s been bothering and it’s affected his swing, but he tells me it’s fine every day. I know it’s not when he says that, but he shows so much courage.”
Arkansas (39-18) scored on a RBI single by No. 9 hitter Matt Vinson, but MSU’s bullpen worked out of the scare. After the fifth, MSU pitching coach Butch Thompson used senior Caleb Reed, freshman left-hander Ross Mitchell, and freshman closer Jonathan Holder to seal the deal.
“We felt like we were still in the game at 3-1, and felt like the momentum would swing our way and it just never did,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “We just never could get that over-the-hump hit.”
Holder, who increased the scoreless streak to 24 1/3 innings, picked his seventh save by getting a key strikeout with two on in the eighth.
MSU will now play top-seeded LSU in game two today. The Tigers received a bye Tuesday thanks to winning the Western Division by three games. The game between will begin 30 minutes after the 9:30 a.m. elimination game between the University of Mississippi, which lost to Kentucky 2-0 on Tuesday, and Arkansas.
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