Only five times during the 2024 football season did Mississippi State manage as many points as the Bulldog baseball team had runs in Thursday night’s series opener at Missouri.
When MSU faced the Tigers on the gridiron last November, the Bulldogs could only muster 20 points in a loss. With a 10-run ninth inning, MSU blew past that mark, routing Missouri 25-7 for its seventh win in eight games under interim head coach Justin Parker.
“It was really good to get those runs early. It was at-bat after quality at-bat, and guys doing a really nice job taking what the game gave them,” Parker said. “When they got pitches to hit, they got it up. It was a really good night to hit and we did a great job.”
The Bulldogs (32-20, 13-15 Southeastern Conference) hit eight balls out of Taylor Stadium, a program single-game record. Two of those came off the bat of Hunter Hines in the ninth inning alone, giving him 67 career home runs — tied with Rafael Palmeiro for the most in MSU history.
Hines had looked like a shoo-in to break Palmeiro’s record heading into his senior season but has had an up-and-down year, and had homered only three times in the last month entering Thursday.
“You can see the relief,” Parker said. “The elation in the dugout was a really cool moment. When he just settles down and lets the game come to him and puts a good swing on it and (doesn’t) try to do too much, he’s such a special hitter.”
Shaky Missouri defense helped the Bulldogs score three runs in the first. Gehrig Frei led off the game with a double, moved to third on a Sawyer Reeves single and scored on a wild pitch. Reeves scored when Missouri’s second baseman dropped Hines’ pop-up in shallow right field, and then Hines came in on an RBI single from Bryce Chance.
Frei exited the game in the bottom of the first with an injury he sustained sliding into third base, and his replacement, Reed Stallman, hit a solo home run in the second and then a two-run shot in the fourth. Joe Powell and Ace Reese also went deep in the fourth to extend the lead to eight, and Reese added on with a three-run blast in the sixth — his 19th of the year — as MSU threatened to end the game early.
Pico Kohn, pitching on short rest for the second straight week, bounced back after a rough outing against Ole Miss. His command was not sharp as he issued four walks, but he also struck out seven and allowed no runs on two hits over 4 ⅓ innings. Those walks and strikeouts elevated his pitch count to 81.
Stone Simmons worked out of the jam Kohn created in the fifth, but could not pitch out of his own an inning later, allowing a three-run shot to Jackson Lovich that took the run rule out of play. In the seventh, Mateo Serna hit a three-run homer of his own off Kevin Mannell that all of a sudden made it a 12-7 game.
“We knew (Kohn’s) pitch count was going to be a little lower,” Parker said. “As far as making pitches and commanding the ball, he could be a lot better, and that was my challenge to the guys.”
The Bulldogs separated themselves by adding three runs in the eighth, with Nolan Stevens and Gatlin Sanders each hitting an RBI single. MSU used six position players off the bench, including Nate Chester, who redshirted as a true freshman with Missouri in 2021. Steven Spalitta, another bench bat, hit a two-run triple in the ninth.
Noah Sullivan started the scoring in the ninth with a two-run homer, which Hines followed with his first of two long balls. The big inning was not without a scary moment, though — Aaron Downs, who had replaced Stallman in the sixth, was hit in the face by a pitch and immediately left the game with his nose bleeding profusely. Parker said Downs is likely to be out “for the foreseeable future,” but is hopeful Frei could be able to return later this weekend.
Nate Williams was excellent in relief, allowing just one hit over the final three innings with four strikeouts to nail down the win.
“I think it’s confidence. I think it’s swagger. I think these guys are seeing the ball (well),” Parker said. “They were incredibly well prepared tonight. Did a great job on the starter. We can’t carry the runs over to tomorrow, but hopefully a lot of that confidence is here to stay.”
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