STARKVILLE — It’s hard to sweep any series in the Southeastern Conference, no matter the opponent, but Mississippi State did not do itself any favors Sunday afternoon.
The No. 16 Bulldogs committed two errors, had a runner picked off at first base and were unable to get any length from starting pitcher Brooks Auger in a 10-5 loss to No. 23 Alabama at Dudy Noble Field.
“We just didn’t show up locked in and ready to go,” head coach Chris Lemonis said. “We got two errors (but) I feel like we made four errors on the day. Three of them on double plays in innings where they scored multiple runs. You can easily look up and say six of those runs maybe shouldn’t be on the board, but we gave them opportunities in those spots.”
Auger transitioned from the bullpen to the starting rotation two weeks ago against Auburn to replace Evan Siary, taking the spot that once belonged to the injured Nate Dohm. He pitched five-plus strong innings last weekend in a win at Vanderbilt, but ran into big trouble in the second inning Sunday as the Crimson Tide loaded the bases with nobody out on a hit batter, an infield hit and a walk. Max Grant’s three-run home run put MSU in an early four-run hole.
Connor Hujsak led off the bottom of the second with a single but was picked off by Alabama starter Ben Hess with one out, turning Logan Kohler’s homer into just a solo shot.
“It’s focus level,” Lemonis said. “Just being focused and understanding what’s going on. We have to be better.”
The Crimson Tide added three more runs in the fifth against Cole Cheatham after again loading the bases with no outs, with two of them coming home on an error by Kohler at third base. Luke Dotson, Karson Ligon and Nolan Stevens each allowed a run in the late innings, making a pair of Bulldog rallies in the seventh and eighth essentially cosmetic.
Hujsak and Kohler each homered in the seventh, and MSU (32-16, 14-10 SEC) drew closer in the eighth on Dakota Jordan’s RBI double and Hujsak’s RBI single. But the Bulldogs could not push any more across following a 41-minute weather delay and lost for just the second time in 12 games.
“Every single game matters,” Hujsak said. “Winning the series is huge, but when you have a chance to sweep, you have to get it done, and we didn’t get it done today.”
MSU will not play a midweek game this week due to final exams, and will travel to Baum Walker Stadium in Fayetteville for a three-game series at No. 2 Arkansas starting Friday evening. With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Bulldogs are in third place in the SEC West, three games behind the division-leading Razorbacks and one game behind Texas A&M.
More importantly, MSU’s RPI jumped up to No. 18 with the series win, putting the Bulldogs in decent shape to host an NCAA regional if they can handle business the rest of the way.
“You’re dealing with 18- to 22-year-olds, and they get excited. They go, ‘Hey, we got two out of three, we got the series,’” Lemonis said. “And they just don’t understand the importance of everything, of taking care of business. That’s the hardest part. It’s on me. It’s my job to motivate them and make sure they understand that. But it is a frustrating day not to come out and be locked in like we should.”
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