STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball has shown its eagerness to wait for pitches early in counts this season, but that’s resulted in a number of wasted at-bats and bad swings later in counts.
Tuesday’s game against Jackson State might have been the first time this year that the patience of the Bulldogs paid off.
“The difference between now and the first week is, we took the walks,” head coach Chris Lemonis said. “They’re starting to take walks, especially the big boys, [Hunter] Hines, Dakota [Jordan], realizing that people aren’t just going to give them cookie ahead in the count. They’re becoming more patient, more selective, and I think that’s why you’re seeing them play better.”
Trailing 5-0 early, Mississippi State needed a response, and patience at the plate helped in that endeavor, walking five times in a 13-run third inning for the Bulldogs, who took down the Tigers, 19-6, in seven innings.
The “big boys” for the Bulldogs (5-4) certainly delivered against Jackson State as Hines and Jordan each recorded three-hit games, driving in nine of the team’s 19 runs.
A number of players had massive performances, with Amani Larry, Joe Powell and Dylan Cupp each recording two hits, with Powell driving in three after a bases-clearing double in the third.
David Mershon had himself a game, too, scoring three runs and driving in four, but the biggest hit of the inning and night might have been Logan Kohler, who tied the game at 5 with a two-run single.
“We just wanted to keep passing the bat and that’s what we did,” Kohler said. “I think everyone hit twice in that inning, but just keep passing it, keep grinding the pitcher on the mound and good things will happen. That was our approach.”
Midweek starter Colby Holcombe had a disastrous outing on Tuesday, allowing five runs, all earned, in 1.1 innings of work.
Luckily, his staff had his back as the Bulldogs allowed four hits over the final 5.2 innings of play, striking out nine in that span.
Freshman Nolan Stevens, who earned the win, worked 2.2 scoreless innings, and Logan Forsythe shut the door on the Tigers in the seventh with a shutout frame of work.
“I thought they were great,” Lemonis said. “Nolan Stevens, I know we threw him in a tough situation, but he came in and threw strikes. Then, we went to Bradley [Loftin] and I thought he was fine, and then, we’ve been looking for the right time to throw in Logan Forsythe, and he’s going to earn more innings after what he did tonight. I thought that was pretty special.”
Mississippi State couldn’t avoid a slow start on Tuesday, but it rebounded with a strong finish, a good sign going into an early weekend series against Mount St. Mary’s that starts on Thursday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field.
“I see a lot of progress, a lot more guys slowing down the game and letting the game come to them,” Jordan said. “… We’re going to go at it hard tomorrow at practice and clean up the little things that we need to clean up.”
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