HOOVER, Ala. — Hunter Stovall knew his opportunity was coming.
The Mississippi State baseball freshman fractured the tibia in his left knee on April 28 when he ran into Alabama first baseman Cody Henry trying to beat out a ground ball.
MSU coach John Cohen thought Stovall would be out for more than a month, but Stovall healed quicker than expected thanks to a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work.
“I ran and I did reverse leg curls,” said Stovall, who started at second base Thursday against LSU and went 2-for-4. “It was a slow process, but it did happen a lot faster than I or anybody was expecting.”
Stovall also had two putouts and three assists in top-seeded and No. 2 MSU’s 6-2 loss to fifth-seeded and No. 7 LSU in the Southeastern Conference tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
Stovall said he also stretched a bunch of ligaments and he was on crutches for the final two games of the Alabama series. Cohen saw Stovall move nicely in practice the last two weeks. He said the Bulldogs were waiting for the right time to insert Stovall into the lineup.
Stovall knocked the rust off quickly with a single to left field off starting pitcher Jared Poche in the second inning. He also singled up the middle off Poche in the seventh.
The Pelham, Alabama, native said he had to get over some nerves playing less than 20 miles from his home.
Stovall was happy to get back on the field before the NCAA tournament, which starts next week. He said he can still feel some pain, but “it’s not terrible” because he can move laterally.
“Right now, 90-95 (percent),” Stovall said of how he feels.
Lineup change
Nathaniel Lowe entered the game batting in the three-hole in 15-straight games.
But with the left-handed pitching Poche, Cohen decided to move Lowe down and put Brent Rooker higher in the order.
“It was a matchup situation,” Cohen said. “Rooker has really, really swung the bat well versus left-handed pitching, so we moved him up. It’s not necessarily dropping somebody, it’s just moving somebody up.”
Gavin Collins batted third, while the right-handed hitting Rooker batted fourth.
Rooker went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against Poche, and 0-for-4 for the game. Lowe went 0-for-2 with a walk against Poche. He singled to left field off reliever Parker Bugg.
Streak ends
Collins’ 18-game hitting streak ended with a 0-for-3 outing that included two strikeouts.
The junior third baseman walked in the first to extend his reach base safely streak to 22 games. He popped out to second baseman Cole Freeman in the third. Poche struck him out in the sixth and Bugg struck him out with runners on the corners in the seventh.
Collins went 4-for-4 with a home run Wednesday night against Alabama.
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.