STARKVILLE — Justin Parker never planned on making a pitching change when he walked out to the mound in the eighth inning Friday night, but Evan Siary didn’t know that.
Mississippi State’s interim head coach quickly assuaged any worries Siary may have had, though. The first words Parker said to him were, “This is your game.”
It was indeed. The Starkville Academy graduate, pitching for the third time in his college career against the Bulldogs’ biggest rival, had the game of his life under the bright lights and before a crowd of 14,468 at Dudy Noble Field. Siary’s spectacular night was done after eight shutout innings in which he allowed six hits and no walks with 15 strikeouts.
Siary had previously never pitched into the seventh inning of a game he started, and he blasted his old career high in strikeouts — six — to smithereens. His dominant effort led MSU to a 4-1 win in the second game of the doubleheader against No. 24 Ole Miss after the Bulldogs fell 10-4 in the opener.
“It was a surreal moment when he said, ‘It’s your ball game.’ The fans got really loud there,” Siary said. “It means a little bit more. Every SEC means a lot. Everything’s on the line. The SEC is a hard conference to play in. Every night is going to be a dogfight no matter what.”
The junior right-hander has swung between the rotation and the bullpen throughout his time at MSU (30-20, 11-15 Southeastern Conference), but he grabbed hold of a weekend starting spot in late March at LSU and has not looked back. He earned the win with three earned runs allowed in six innings two weeks ago at Auburn, but in his next start against Kentucky, he did not make it out of the fourth, allowing five runs. On short rest this time, he put it all together.
Siary had all four of his pitches — fastball, curveball, slider, changeup — doing what he wanted them to do. By the end of the fifth, he had struck out all nine Rebels starters at least once. And he stayed sharp facing the Ole Miss lineup for the third time, not allowing multiple baserunners in an inning until the eighth.
“I’ve seen it a little bit coming on every week,” Parker said. “Historically, he’s struggled to put hitters away. He’s one of the best strike-throwers in the league. It’s been (about) getting to the finish line in the past, striking guys out. He’s done that a little bit better every week. He’s finding new weapons. The curveball has been a big key for him. Tonight, the fastball elevated was a big key.”
After Parker’s eighth-inning mound visit, which came with the tying runs on base, Siary needed to throw just one more pitch. Isaac Humphrey hit a pop fly into shallow center field, and shortstop Sawyer Reeves raced back and made an excellent over-the-shoulder catch to preserve the lead and cap Siary’s gem.
Rebels starter Riley Maddox was nearly as good, but the Bulldogs started the second inning with three straight hits to give Siary all the support he needed. Noah Sullivan singled through the left side, Hunter Hines doubled him to third, and Bryce Chance dumped a single into center that drove in the game’s first run. Joe Powell’s RBI groundout later in the inning scored Hines.
MSU added two big insurance runs in the eighth on two-out RBI singles by Hines and Chance. Ben Davis ran into a bit of trouble on the mound in the ninth, but held Ole Miss to just one run and secured the win for his starter.
“I really got goosebumps when Coach Parker left Evan in and he started to walk back to the dugout,” third baseman Ace Reese said. “All the fans just erupted. It was awesome. It’s awesome to know that the fans have our back like that.”
Home runs ruin Kohn’s day in Game 1
The Bulldogs had Ole Miss ace Hunter Elliott on the ropes in the fourth inning of the first game. Bryce Chance had tied it up with an RBI triple, and two straight free passes loaded the bases with two outs for Gatlin Sanders. But on a 3-1 pitch, Sanders hit the ball hard right at Humphrey in center field as MSU wasted a prime opportunity to take the lead.
The Rebels (34-16, 14-12) did not let Bulldogs starter Pico Kohn off the hook the following inning. Humphrey led off with a double, then scored on a throwing error by Reese on a bunt from Luke Cheng. Three batters later, Judd Utermark broke the game open with a long three-run home run down the left-field line. Collin Reuter went deep later in the inning to put the visitors ahead by five.
Kohn allowed four homers in all, exiting after five-plus innings and allowing eight runs (six earned). He had an ERA of 2.66 through March, but it has risen to 4.38 after his six starts in April and May.
Reese and Gehrig Frei each hit a solo homer for MSU, with Frei’s eighth-inning blast traveling 448 feet, but it was not nearly enough.
“(Kohn’s) delivery was a little bit sideways today,” Parker said. “He didn’t have his best stuff. He competed like always. (It’s about) having a good work week, getting his delivery back in order and catching his breath a little bit. We’ve ridden him to a point. He’s been our ace start to finish here, so nothing will change.”
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