STARKVILLE — There might not be a hotter hitter in all of college baseball than Dakota Jordan.
Mississippi State’s sophomore standout was at it again to get things started on Sunday, hitting a two-run laser into the Left Field Lounge for his 8th homer of the season.
Jordan’s hot streak earned him the ultimate sign of respect from Evansville’s pitching staff, three intentional walks in his next three plate appearances.
Jordan was just the appetizer for the Bulldogs, who scored double-digit runs for the sixth time this season in a run-rule victory over the Aces, 13-3, extending their winning streak to a robust nine games.
“The ball is starting to get in the air,” head coach Chris Lemonis said. “We’re starting to drive the ball. You’re starting to see some extra-base hits. DJ helps that out a bit. He’s been so hot this week. He takes the pressure off everybody else.”
Mississippi State (12-4) continued its offensive tear on Sunday as four players had multi-hit games, four players had multiple RBIs and three scored multiple runs.
Connor Hujsak joined the home run barrage in the first with a two-out, three-run blast of his own to center field.
He went 3-for-4 on the day, scoring three runs along with his three RBIs, part of an impressive bottom third of the order that drove in six and scored six runs.
“Two-out hits are obviously huge,” Hujsak said. “We’ve been staying to our approach. They threw a lot of fastballs up or down in counts and we were staying to it and good things happened.”
Also in that bottom-third of the lineup was Dylan Cupp, who continues to showcase great defense but added his first breakout offensive performance of the season.
Coming into Sunday, the freshman had struggled at the plate, hitting .196 for the Bulldogs, but he turned things around with a career-high four hits, three RBIs and two runs scored in the run-rule victory, a much-needed day for him confidence-wise.
“I felt like early, I was pressing, trying to be a little too perfect, so it’s just relaxing and going back to me,” Cupp said.
On the bump, Jurrangelo Cijntje worked through some jams and allowed a season-high three runs after giving up a three-run homer to Ty Rumsey in the fourth.
Rumsey’s blast cut the score to 5-3, but the Bulldogs scored eight unanswered runs from there, coasting to a second-straight weekend sweep.
Cijntje himself settled down after the homer, tossing six innings and striking out 10 to earn the win. With the pitching much improved in 2024, there is a growing confidence that sets up nicely for a Spring Break trip to Biloxi.
“I think they’re feeling it,” Lemonis said. “I told them, this is probably the only time that some of them get to be a pro player. You don’t have to go to class. … They’re living the life right now and they’re excited to head down to the beach.”
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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 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
