PEARL — It is not easy to hit a ball out at Trustmark Park, especially to the opposite field. But Dakota Jordan, who is as familiar with the venue as anyone on Mississippi State’s roster, was fairly certain that the ball he hit in the seventh inning had enough to leave the yard.
Jordan’s blast did indeed clear the right-field fence by plenty, giving the Bulldogs, who had trailed by four to Southern Miss after an inning, a one-run lead. MSU’s bullpen delivered eight shutout innings to allow the offense time to battle back in a 5-4 victory over the Golden Eagles, the Bulldogs’ sixth win in a row.
“I was kind of checking out the wind, but I saw the right fielder just keep going, and I gave a little bat flip toward the end,” Jordan said. “It was a pretty cool moment.”
MSU’s star sophomore outfielder grew up in Canton and attended Jackson Academy, both within the general vicinity of the Mississippi Braves’ home ballpark, and he had plenty of family and friends in attendance Tuesday night. Jordan was in the middle of all three of the Bulldogs’ rallies — he drove in a run with a groundout in the third, hit an RBI single in the fifth and then delivered the decisive blow, his fifth home run of the season, in the seventh.
“It feels good, especially doing it in the hometown where your friends and family can come watch,” Jordan said. “That one right there felt great. Usually, the ball never flies here, but it felt real good to hit one out.”
It was not the best of beginnings for MSU (9-4) as Miami transfer Karson Ligon allowed four two-out runs in the opening inning. The first came on a wild pitch to score Nick Monistere, and then Billy Butler launched a solo homer over the wall in center field. Ligon issued back-to-back walks, with the runners moving to second and third on a passed ball, and Seth Smith singled them both in to put Southern Miss (8-5) ahead 4-0.
Freshman left-hander Nolan Stevens was the first man out of the bullpen, tossing a perfect second inning and working around back-to-back singles in the third. The Bulldogs’ offense began chipping away in the top of the third when David Mershon, continuing his torrid hitting of late, doubled into the left field corner to drive in Joe Powell. Jordan’s groundout to third brought home Dylan Cupp, and the MSU deficit was cut in half.
Evan Siary worked a scoreless fourth inning for the Bulldogs, after which the umpires halted the game for 46 minutes due to rain. The Golden Eagles sent Colby Allen back to the mound after the delay, and he was clearly rusty, plunking both Amani Larry and Mershon with one out before allowing an RBI single to Jordan. Hunter Hines’ groundout to first brought home Mershon for the tying run.
“Our guys came back and responded,” head coach Chris Lemonis said. “We were responding right before the delay too, so I felt like there was a surge before it rained, but we had a tough first inning, and after that, I loved the way we played.”
Tyson Hardin got through the fifth and sixth innings without allowing a run despite the leadoff batter reaching base both times, and he earned the win thanks to Jordan’s long ball. Lemonis then turned to lefty Tyler Davis, who was perfect in the seventh and eighth — though not without some help from left fielder Bryce Chance, who ran down a long drive off the bat of Slade Wilks that appeared destined for the gap in left-center.
“(Davis) lost confidence last year, just fell behind, and then now, those two innings tonight were dominant,” Lemonis said. “We really needed that. In the SEC, it’s left-handed hitters everywhere, so our lefties have to help us out in those games.”
Brooks Auger wrapped things up with a three up, three down ninth, continuing his outstanding start after missing all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. In six appearances covering seven innings, Auger has not allowed a run, yielding just three hits and two walks while striking out nine.
MSU returns to Dudy Noble Field for a three-game weekend series against Evansville, the final weekend before the Bulldogs open Southeastern Conference play against defending national champion LSU.
“We did an unbelievable job today,” Davis said. “You can name off everybody, everybody did their part. It was a big win for not only the pitchers, but this team.”
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