STARKVILLE — It’s not often a player coming off three seasons with at least 16 home runs gets benched, but that was the situation Mississippi State first baseman Hunter Hines found himself in for two games last weekend in Houston.

Hines was mired in a 1-for-17 slump at the time and was coming off an 0-for-5 day with four strikeouts against Troy. But the demotion, however brief, gave him some time to put in more work with the coaching staff, and although he was hitless again upon returning to the lineup against Oklahoma State, he has found his stroke again this week with back-to-back three-hit games.

In Friday night’s series opener against Queens, Hines hit a towering home run in the fifth inning, then helped break the game open with an opposite-field two-run double in the eighth. He was 3-for-4 with a walk, three runs scored and three RBI as the Bulldogs defeated the Royals, 9-3.

“I just had a rough start. Found out I was going to sit, and it gave me an opportunity to work on my craft a little bit better and get more prepared,” Hines said. “I had to find a little tweak in my swing that would allow me to do the things I normally do. Getting those two days off really helped me get back to it, and I’m seeing the rewards of it now.”

Pico Kohn achieved the minimum requirements for a quality start for MSU (9-4), allowing three earned runs over six strong innings with four hits, two walks and nine strikeouts. The left-hander is becoming more comfortable pitching deep into games and had an efficient outing, throwing 84 pitches.

Queens broke up the shutout in the fifth, bringing around a leadoff double on a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly. The Royals (2-11) tacked on two more runs in the sixth, one of which came home on a balk that led Bulldogs head coach Chris Lemonis to walk onto the field demanding an explanation.

“(The umpire) said that I started and stopped in my windup. It may have been a balk. I’m not sure,” Kohn said. “I probably feel the best I’ve felt. I’ve been trying to build up. I started long tossing last week. It was (pitching coach Justin) Parker’s idea, just trying to build up from that.”

MSU took the lead in the first inning against Queens starter Landry Jurecka on a two-out bloop double by Ace Reese and an RBI single by Noah Sullivan. The Bulldogs took advantage of three straight hit batters in the second to add two more, then further extended the lead when Sullivan and Hines each hit a solo homer in the fifth.

Sullivan’s shot was a laser beam down the left-field line, while Hines’ third homer had a much higher launch angle and just cleared the fence in right-center.

“You have to tip your cap to what (Hines) has done the last couple days,” Lemonis said. “That is staying on the ball and hitting it the right way. He’s just been getting to work, so I’m happy for him. We need him.”

Gatlin Sanders, making his second consecutive start at second base, hit an RBI single in the seventh, and MSU put the game away with three more runs in the eighth on Hines’ double off the wall in left-center followed by another double from Ross Highfill.

Nate Williams was sharp in relief, striking out five batters in two innings, though his time on the mound was not without incident. Nick Alderfer hit a fly ball to shallow center in the eighth and the Bulldogs did not communicate properly, leading to a collision between shortstop Dylan Cupp and center fielder Michael O’Brien. Cupp was down clutching his left knee before being helped off the field.

Lukas Buckner entered the game at short in place of Cupp, who also missed most of last season with a knee injury. Cupp was back on the field for the postgame handshake line, though Lemonis said he did not have a definitive update. The head coach said Buckner, Sanders and Sawyer Reeves are all capable of playing short if Cupp misses more time.

Luke Dotson closed out the MSU victory with a three up, three down inning in the ninth. The series continues Saturday afternoon, with Itawamba Community College transfer Ben Davis making his first start as a Bulldog.

“I didn’t think we were great tonight. We swung out of the zone. We got out of our approach a little bit. We had some big swings at times, but we had opportunities to really push that game and separate it,” Lemonis said. “When we’re good, we’re locked in and we take (pitches out of the zone). We were a little too big too much tonight. (But) we had some big hits too.”