Lane Forsythe had just two hits in his past 39 at-bats when he stepped to the plate in the fifth inning of Game 2 of the College World Series championship game against Vanderbilt last June.
The freshman shortstop was looking for any kind of spark at the plate, and he found one. All it took was a “nub shot” down the third-base line as Forsythe beat out the ground ball for an infield single.
“I guess that’s what got me going,” he said.
Forsythe proceeded to notch two more hits and drive in two runs before Game 2 was over. The next day, as Mississippi State claimed its first national title, he added a hit and an RBI.
It didn’t take much to flip the switch. And this season, with Forsythe mired in another slump, something small made a big difference.
The Humboldt, Tennessee, native got off on the wrong foot in 2022. Forsythe had just four hits across 29 at-bats in his first 13 games. Senior Tanner Leggett earned the bulk of the starts early, relegating Forsythe to the bench.
It put the sophomore in a bit of a catch-22: Forsythe needed regular at-bats to get into a rhythm at the plate, but he wasn’t going to get them until he started hitting better.
Once again, Forsythe was in a tough spot. As a freshman, he struggled to adjust to the big stage — and big arms — of Southeastern Conference baseball. A strong .364 average at the start of SEC play eventually bottomed out at just .220 after Game 1 against Vanderbilt.
His coaches told him to stay the course by competing at the plate and having good at-bats, but it wasn’t easy for Forsythe to keep the faith.
“I hadn’t been here, and I just didn’t understand the grind of being in college baseball,” he said.
Forsythe’s struggles drew criticism from fans on and off social media.
@lf_forsythe you know when you’re at the plate you’re supposed to hit the ball right?
— HonestCurryFan (@HonestCurry) June 27, 2021
@lf_forsythe you haven’t made one hit all post season. why kid you ok
— Adam Hamby (@Adamhamby1) June 21, 2021
But the young shortstop found it easy to shrug it off.
“I try to stay off Twitter, but sometimes when I get on there, I just can’t help but laugh because people are kind of dumb sometimes,” Forsythe said. “They just say stuff, and they don’t really mean it, but they just say stuff in spite. I just can’t help but giggle sometimes.”
Forsythe has certainly had the last laugh. He made a midseason adjustment to restore his confidence after his 2021 slump carried over into this season.
It took until April 3 at Arkansas for Forsythe to break the .200 mark. Since then, he’s gone 21 for 67 — a .313 average — and lifted his season clip to a strong .275.
And he’s supplanted Leggett once again as Mississippi State’s regular starter. Forsythe has always been a standout defender, but his improved offense made the difference.
“I figured that once I was hitting, then they would leave me in,” Forsythe said.
Forsythe forced the issue thanks to his work with hitting coach Jake Gautreau. The two noticed Forsythe’s hands were moving too much when he loaded up for swings early in the second, leading to poor contact.
Forsythe tried a new stance, moving his hands back. It didn’t pay dividends right away, but eventually, Forsythe noticed results.
“Once I got more comfortable in the box with it, I could see a little bit of a change,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been squaring up more balls recently here in the past couple weeks than I was at the beginning.”
Against UAB on April 12, Forsythe delivered a breakout game. He went 4 for 5, keeping the pace at the bottom of the lineup as the Bulldogs came back to beat the Blazers.
Forsythe has had plenty of strong games since. He went 2 for 5 against Ole Miss, 2 for 4 twice in the series at Missouri — including a triple off the top of the wall — and 2 for 2 against Florida, (which pushed his average up to .295). On Tuesday against North Alabama, Forsythe had a hit and drove in three runs.
The shortstop has found success doing exactly what his summer ball coach in high school predicted: hitting the ball the other way. Forsythe said his opposite-field hitting has been by design.
“I feel like when I’m my best, I’m just trying to stick middle to right in the 4 hole, trying to hit a line drive back up the middle or over the second baseman’s head,” he said.
That approach has helped Forsythe find the swagger he’s needed in the box. He said he hopes to make more “jumps and strides” in his remaining years in Starkville, something the Bulldogs would love to see given Forsythe’s fielding prowess.
For now, though, Forsythe has proven himself more than competent at the plate. And for him, that’s a good sign.
“It feels good to get in a groove,” he said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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