Senior pitcher Peyton Plumlee anchored a 9-1 Mississippi State victory over Alabama on Saturday at Dudy Noble Field.
Plumlee tossed five scoreless innings, giving up just four hits to earn the victory.
Offensively, eight of MSU’s nine starters earned hits on the day. Sophomores Jordan Westburg and Rowdey Jordan each collected two hits.
Senior outfielder Elijah MacNamee and junior catcher Dustin Skelton provided late-inning run support.
MacNamee’s seventh inning home run scored two runs while Skelton added another three with a homer of his own later in the frame.
Senior Marshall Gilbert also collected a home run in the eighth inning, stretching the MSU lead to eight.
“I think everybody is playing with their hair on fire right now,” Plumlee said. “I think we’ve had some games up to this point where people have doubted us a little bit but nothing ever changes with us and we’re just going to look to keep moving forward and get another win tomorrow.”
With the win No. 5 MSU secures its second straight SEC series win after taking two-of-three games from Tennessee in Knoxville last weekend.
The Bulldogs have now won six of their last seven games, including a Friday win over the Crimson Tide.
Redshirt junior Ethan Small dominated the Alabama batting order, giving up just three hits in six innings of work. Small’s 15 strikeouts Friday were a career high, two more than his 13-strikeout effort against Southern Mississippi Feb. 22.
Westburg also paced the offense in game one. His three-run home run in the second inning gave MSU a 4-0 lead it would not relent.
The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide will conclude their three game set at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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