STARKVILLE — Brent Rooker didn’t know what to think.
The Mississippi State baseball redshirt sophomore stepped on a teammate’s foot and sprained his right ankle two weeks before the season started. Coach John Cohen called it a “freak accident,” but it swelled up and Rooker went to the emergency room.
Rooker was relieved to hear he suffered only ligament damage. Rehabilitation helped Rooker get ready for opening day, but his ankle flared up again and caused him to miss a few games.
Even though the injury forced him to miss three games and required him to wear boot, Rooker didn’t allow the setback to cloud his focus.
“As a leader and as a guy’s that’s been here a few years, I want to be in the lineup every day,” Rooker said. “I think our team’s better when I’m in the lineup every day, but there’s going to be times I’m not going to be able to do that. Just the way I handled it, just the way I handle myself on the bench and the way I just continue to lead this club is huge. We’ve had some success because of some of those times.”
Coming off its first series victory against LSU since 2006, No. 3 MSU (27-13-1) will try to build on it momentum at 6:30 tonight (SEC Network) when it plays No. 9 Ole Miss (31-10) at Trustmark Park in Pearl in the annual Governor’s Cup.
Rooker has been an integral part of MSU’s offense. He is third on the team with a .333 batting average and is second with 32 RBIs. He also has three home runs. The Germantown, Tennessee, native has started 34 starts of 38 games. As a team captain with Jacob Robson and Dakota Hudson, the right fielder knows he needed to have a good attitude and support who was playing. Freshman right-hander Ryan Cyr (1-0, 0.00 ERA), who will start today, said the way Rooker handles himself and his attitude helped him earn the honor of being voted captain.
“I don’t think it affected him,” Cyr said of Rooker’s time out of the lineup. “He was the same exact person. He was that guy that’s always in the dugout clapping his hands, ready to go. He was obviously very eager, very upset that that happened to him, but he thrived from it.”
Rooker doesn’t take the captain honor lightly. He calls it a “humbling experience” because it shows the kind of respect he has earned from his teammates. He also has seen other captains and feels honored to be put in the same category.
“He wasn’t public about anything,” junior first baseman Nathaniel Lowe said. “He never said, ‘I didn’t make that play because my ankle was hurt.’ He got after it every day.”
Rooker’s contributions have helped MSU hit .308 as a team. The Bulldogs have six players batting .323 or better, including freshman Jake Mangum at .422.
Rooker has aided that attack in starting 12 of the last 13 games. He is batting .340 (18-for-53) with eight RBIs in that stretch.
“There’s no question we needed him back,” MSU coach John Cohen said. “He’s just been a huge part of what we’ve been able to accomplish, especially on the road. He’s gotten so many big hits on the road.”
Rooker feels he is getting into a groove and said he is comfortable in the batter’s box.
“I feel like my swing is good and I’m liking the approach I’ve been having,” Rooker said. “Anytime you get Reid (Humphreys), Nate, Gavin (Collins), (Jack) Kruger surrounding you in the lineup, you’re going to get some pitches to hit just because of the kind of hitters those guys are.”
Sitting out as a freshman in 2014, he was in and out of the lineup in 2015 but played well down the stretch. He hit .257 with 12 RBIs and two home runs last season. During the summer, he was named the 2015 New England Collegiate Baseball League Most Valuable Player and Most Improved Player with a .360 batting average, 33 RBIs, and 10 home runs. He finished the summer in the Cape Cod League.
Rooker felt good about his prospects entering the season. Although the injury didn’t derail him, it was a scary moment that tested his resolve.
“As a team we’ve done a really good job because everybody stays locked into the game, nobody really pouts or gets selfish. Everybody’s selfless and everybody cares about the guy who is in the game,” Rooker said.
n In other baseball news, Cohen said junior center fielder Jacob Robson has a small fracture in his left hand.
He has played in one game since being taken out against Ole Miss on April 3. He injured his hand sliding into a base in the opening game against the Rebels.
His return is still unknown.
“It’s really his decision,” Cohen said. “It’s how much pain he can tolerate, but that pain alters your swing and it alters the way you catch the baseball. I know how badly he wants to be on that baseball field, and I think as soon as he feels like he can tolerate it and not hurt our ball club, I know he’s going to want to get back right out there.”
Cohen said Robson took batting practice Monday and said the pain is more evident playing defense than batting.
n After going 3-1 last week, the Bulldogs rose in the polls.
MSU beat Louisiana-Monroe in the midweek before taking two out of three at LSU.
The Bulldogs entered the top five in five polls, Baseball America (No. 3), Perfect Game (No. 3), National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (No. 3), D1Baseball.com (No. 4), and USA Today Coaches (No. 4). Collegiate Baseball has MSU at No. 8.
n McArthur named SEC Freshman of the Week: At Birmingham, Alabama, Ole Miss pitcher James McArthur has been named SEC Freshman of the Week for the period ending April 24, the conference office announced Monday afternoon. McArthur earns the first weekly accolade of his career and becomes the first Rebel to earn SEC Freshman of the Week since former New Hope High School standout Will Golsan claimed the honor last season (March 23, 2015).
McArthur made two appearances that helped Ole Miss complete a 5-0 record last week. He pitched 11 2/3 innings without allowing a run, giving up six hits and recording 11 strikeouts.
n Alabama will take on Samford: At Birmingham, Alabama, the Crimson Tide will face the Bulldogs at 6 tonight at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Samford is coming off a weekend series victory against Kansas. Alabama won one of three games against then-No. 3 Texas A&M last weekend.
Alabama is scheduled to start freshman right-hander Brock Love (0-0, 2.25 ERA).
n No. 14 Southern Mississippi will face No. 23 Louisiana-Lafayette: At Hattiesburg, Fresh off a series victory against nationally ranked Rice, Southern Miss will play host to No. 23 Louisiana-Lafayette at 6 tonight at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.
Southern Miss (29-12) improved to No. 14 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, after spending time at No. 19 last week, while jumping into three other polls including a No. 14 ranking by Baseball America, a No. 25 nod by D1Baseball.com, and at No. 28 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
The two wins against Rice helped Southern Miss take over sole possession of first place in Conference USA. Southern Miss leads Rice by one game and Florida Atlantic, who it will play this weekend in Boca Raton, Florida, by two games.
Southern Miss is scheduled to start freshman left-hander Stevie Powers (0-1, 4.29).
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.