STARKVILLE — Even though it wasn’t a Southeastern Conference opponent, Jacob Robson was focused on Mississippi Valley State.
The Mississippi State baseball team lost both midweek games last week, something that didn’t affect them over the weekend, but it was a sore subject. Robson and the veterans made sure there was a good mind-set for this week’s non-conference opponent.
Robson went 3-for-4 with four RBIs to lead No. 10 MSU to a 16-1 victory against MVSU on Tuesday night at Dudy Noble Field.
“We took this opponent seriously,” Robson said. “We were just used to competing really hard and being ready from pitch No. 1.”
MSU (15-6-1), who took two out of three games from Vanderbilt last weekend in Nashville, Tennessee, lost squandered two six-run leads in a 16-12 loss in 10 innings to Eastern Kentucky and lost to Oral Roberts 3-1 last week. Those losses came on the heels of a series sweep of Oregon.
MSU coach John Cohen didn’t think there was a lack of focus last week. Instead, he said the opponents did things better to capture the wins.
Leading 5-0 in the fifth inning, Robson hit a fly ball to deep center field that bounced and hit the wall. The Delta Devils (4-14) had trouble corralling it, which allowed Robson to use his speed for an inside-the-park grand slam to push the lead to 9-0.
Cohen said he has seen that many times before in Major League Baseball, but he said it was a treat to see Robson sprinting around the bases.
“Once he gets under way, he is one of the fastest players in college baseball,” Cohen said. “He is flying. Anybody can hit a ball over the fence, but to do what he did (Tuesday), he just outran the game a little bit. That was fun to watch.”
Robson said he had never seen an inside-the-park grand slam, but he knew he was going to be running for a while as soon as it left the bat.
“I guess it took a weird bounce,” Robson said. “When I got around second I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m probably going to score here,’ and it worked out.”
Senior second baseman John Holland went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs in a starting role. Freshman Elih Marrero had two hits after pinch hitting, while Reid Humphreys, Brent Rooker, and Hunter Stovall had two hits in the 19-hit attack.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Konnor Pilkington (1-0) threw five innings and allowed no runs on two hits. He walked none and struck out six.
“This is one of those evenings where you’ve got to ask yourself, are we getting better or are we getting worse? I think our club got better. We got total involvement from our club,” Cohen said.
MSU didn’t strike out, marking the first time that has happened since June 21, 2013, against Oregon State in a victory that sent MSU to the College World Series finals.
Cohen said that was a credit to great plate discipline after seeing four MVSU pitchers.
MVSU’s Drew Wheeler had three hits and knocked in former West Point High School standout Edward Cox, who had one hit, in the eighth. Former Caledonia High School standout Cole Gullette had a hit, while former Gordo (Alabama) High School player Marcus Jones pitched 2 2/3 innings and allowed six runs (five earned) on five hits. He walked one.
MSU will play host to Georgia (14-8), which has lost three in a row, including a 3-1 loss to Mercer on Tuesday. Game 1 of the three-game series will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Cohen was happy with how the Bulldogs approached the game and didn’t lose focus.
“We had some goals and our kids accomplished them,” Cohen said. “It was a very workman-like effort.”
n No. 7 Ole Miss 8, Tennessee-Martin 2: At Oxford, the Rebels blasted three home runs to move to 20-2 for the first time in school history.
A crowd that included more than 6,000 children in attendance for the annual School Day at Swayze Field saw Ole Miss get off to its 22-game start in program history.
Tate Blackman, Colby Bortles, and Cameron Dishon had home runs. They each had two hits to combine for six of the team’s seven hits.
Freshman James McArthur (3-0) earned his third-straight victory in as many starts, going five innings and allowing four hits. He struck out a career-high seven. Three freshman relievers kept the Skyhawks (7-14) scoreless. Connor Green threw 2 1/3 innings, Dallas Woolfolk pitched one inning, and Andrew Lowe retired both batters he faced.
Ole Miss will play host to South Carolina in its first Southeastern Conference home weekend series. Game 1 will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
n Tulane 12, Southern Mississippi 7: At Biloxi, Richard Carthon and Jake Willsey each drove in three runs to lead the No. 30 Green Wave (14-7) past the Golden Eagles (16-6) on Tuesday night at MGM Park.
Southern Mississippi lost for the second time this season in Biloxi. It lost to South Alabama 4-2 earlier this month.
Junior Chuckie Robinson led the Golden Eagles with a career-high four hits as Southern Miss had 14. It marked the fifth-straight game Southern Miss had double-digit hits.
The Green Wave scored in five innings. They built a 3-0 lead in the third inning on the strength of only one hit. They added three runs in sixth and solo runs in the seventh and eighth before they broke the game open with four runs in the ninth.
Southern Miss starter Houston Case, in his first career start, suffered the defeat by allowing three runs on one hit. He walked two and struck out two.
n Alabama-Birmingham 8, Alabama 0: At Birmingham, Alabama, the Crimson Tide (13-7) suffered their first loss by shutout this season in falling to the Blazers at Regions Field.
“Credit UAB, they played extremely well,” Alabama coach Mitch Gaspard said. “They pitched well and swung the bats well. Really on our end, it’s the second Tuesday in a row that I thought we put together a pretty poor performance on our side. We didn’t have good energy, came out flat and they jumped on us in a hurry. We didn’t show a lot of fight tonight, unlike what we did this weekend, so it was a disappointing night tonight.”
The Blazers had 12 hits, including four doubles, and kicked off the scoring with a four-run second inning. UAB added single tallies in the third and fourth innings and added a final pair of runs in the seventh.
Alabama starter Mike Oczypok (2-2) worked 2 2/3 innings and allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits. He struck out four. Tyler McMurray and Colton Freeman each made their first appearances of the season and were joined by Brock Love and Dylan Duarte out of the bullpen.
Alabama will play host to Tennessee for a three-game weekend series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Game 1 will be at 7 p.m. Friday.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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