STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s last midweek baseball game of the season was almost a calm before the storm. With Southeastern Conference leader Tennessee coming to town for the final home series starting Thursday, it was a good night for the Bulldogs to get back in the win column after nine straight losses.
And they did just that, rolling to an eight-inning 14-4 win over North Alabama on Tuesday night at Dudy Noble Field.
“Winning is a lot better than losing, I can tell ya that,” Bulldogs coach Chris Lemonis said.
“I thought we got good outings from the guys that came out of the pen,” Lemonis continued. “I think Drew (Talley) and Cam (Tullar), Cam was really good tonight, Mikey Tepper finished it well, just to keep us in the ball game and play a simple game.
“Lately it’s been a lot of stress because everything’s been so close, and then we separated. We’ve talked a lot lately about separating, and we’ve just played so many tight games, it’s nice to play a simple game and relax and enjoy it, so it was a good night for our guys.”
Though in the end it was a dominant win, the game got off to a very rough start for the Bulldogs. Cole Cheatham, in his first start, let up four runs in the first inning. Lemonis called in reliever Drew Talley to get the third out.
But the Bulldogs answered, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the first and taking momentum right back. Cumbest, Clark, Forsythe and Yeager all drove in runs as the Bulldogs strung several hits together to answer the poor start.
A first inning that lasted nearly an hour rattled some nerves among the small but vocal crowd at Dudy Noble, nerves which were quickly settled by a strong showing from the bullpen. Talley pitched strong second and third innings, and Tullar and Tepper finished the job over the rest of the game while the offense built on the lead.
Though the Bulldogs used more pitchers than they would have liked ahead of their weekend series against Tennessee, this was a much-needed win.
The Bulldogs got another run in the bottom of the fifth before opening up the lead with a five-run sixth inning. North Alabama didn’t show much fight after that, and the Bulldogs sealed the win early in the bottom of the eighth by securing a 10-run lead with the 14-4 final score.
RJ Yeager, a 2022 Ferriss Trophy nominee, had three hits and three RBIs on the night as he continued his impressive individual campaign. The team’s season might not have lived up to the standard of years past, but Yeager has no regrets about his decision to transfer from Mercer.
“I get asked all the time, and I tell everyone that asks me that Mississippi State was the best decision I ever made,” Yeager said. “This game goes by quick, the season goes by quick, and I think we’re just gonna come out here on Thursday and just have fun. I feel like for the last couple weekends we’ve been pressing, and we just haven’t played a full, complete game. I think if everyone just goes out there and has fun, there’s no telling what we can do.”
The Bulldogs begin their final home series against top-ranked Tennessee at 6 p.m. Thursday, followed by games at 6 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday against Tennessee.
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