STARKVILLE – Mississippi State baseball kept on rolling with a win over Troy on Tuesday. There was no opening weekend hangover as the Bulldog bats battered the Trojans early on in a 13-7 win, and head coach Brian O’Connor got some work in for his pitching staff as well.
The Bulldogs (4-0) couldn’t have started the game any better, staying perfect through three innings behind the arm of starter Duke Stone and posting seven runs in the first two innings, recording nine hits on the first two trips through the batting order. Vytas Valincius and Ace Reese had two hits each from their first two respective at-bats, with Reese launching his second home run of the season to deep center in the second.
Stone would end up going 10 up, 10 down on the mound before a hit batter gave Troy its first base runner. The first hit for the Trojans came on a drive deep into center field. Center fielder Aidan Teel chased it down to the wall, but couldn’t come up with the catch as he ran into the barrier and the ball bounced to the ground, giving Troy hitter Sea Darnell time to get in safely to third base while the runner got home.
Stone would see a walk put runners at the corners, but he saw through to the end of the fourth inning and got his sixth strikeout to end the inning, holding the visitors to just one run.
William Kirk came out of the bullpen in the fifth inning to relieve Stone and posted a 1-2-3 inning, giving the Bulldog batters another chance to add to the lead. Chone James drove in a two-run home run, the second of the day for the Bulldogs, to extend the lead to 9-1.
Kirk continued into the sixth inning, where the Trojans string three hits from four at-bats to put the freshman under pressure and add another run. Pitching coach Justin Parker called a mound visit, but the redshirt freshman stayed in the game with two runners on and one out. A couple of mishandled pitches saw the runners get into scoring position, but Kirk settled down to get back-to-back strikeouts and end the brief rally attempt.
The Bulldogs added runs from Valincius and Jacob Parker in the sixth to make it a 12-2 lead, giving themselves a chance to end the night early, but the Trojans got a rally going against Kirk and reliever Chris Billingsley Jr., putting three more runs on the board and cutting the deficit back down to seven. Jack Gleason was called out of the bullpen and dealt with two baserunners to stop the rally.
Reese nearly completed a cycle in the bottom half of the inning, making a bold play for third only to be tagged out, but got another run home to make it 13-5.
Freshman Jack Bauer came out of the bullpen in the eighth for his first appearance in maroon and white, and put down all three batters swinging. He would return for the ninth inning, loading up the bases and walking in a run before Maddox Webb came on in relief to close the game.
The Bulldogs are back in action against Alcorn State at The Dude on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
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