STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s post-national championship doldrums the last two seasons were primarily the result of a lack of quality starting pitching.
Not since Will Bednar and Christian MacLeod on the 2021 title-winning squad have the Bulldogs boasted an arm capable of shutting down Southeastern Conference lineups over the majority of the game on a consistent basis. That is, until the last five weeks, when Khal Stephen has proved over and over again that he is true ace material.
Stephen’s latest masterpiece came Friday night against Auburn, when he gutted through seven dazzling innings on 114 pitches, allowing just one unearned run and striking out 11. MSU scored in five consecutive innings in the middle of the game to pull away for an 8-1 win over the Tigers.
“(He had) everything working,” head coach Chris Lemonis said. “He’s just such a high-level competitor. I keep challenging the rest of the guys to watch and learn. He has good stuff, I don’t want to demean his stuff, but it’s the makeup, it’s the competitiveness. The bigger the moment, the better he gets.”
With the Bulldogs (24-14, 8-8 SEC) leading by four in the top of the seventh, Stephen allowed a leadoff single, then endured a slight delay after the home plate umpire was struck on the face mask by a foul ball, forcing third base umpire Stephen Hagan to take over ball-and-strike duties.
A walk and another single loaded the bases with one out and the top of the Auburn order coming up, but Lemonis and pitching coach Justin Parker opted to leave Stephen in the game rather than go to a somewhat beleaguered bullpen. Stephen responded by striking out both Cooper Weiss and Ike Irish, emphatically pumping his fist after getting Irish to chase a slider below the strike zone. Nine of Stephen’s 11 strikeouts came over his last four innings of work.
“It felt like there was a second wind there after the fifth, and I just kind of was rolling from there,” Stephen said. “Maybe the crowd got louder, I don’t know, but it definitely was really nice to have a strong finish.”
Stephen was a reliever as a freshman at Purdue before joining the Boilermakers’ rotation last year, finishing with a 5.21 ERA in 76 innings. Now, in the toughest conference in college baseball, Stephen has given up just three earned runs in 34 ⅓ innings over his last five starts, with no earned runs allowed in his last three outings.
The Tigers (19-17, 2-14) took the lead in the third on a passed ball, but Stephen struck out the dangerous Gavin Miller to strand runners at second and third. David Mershon’s sacrifice fly tied the game in MSU’s half of the inning, and the Bulldogs took the lead for good on Bryce Chance’s solo home run in the fourth.
“Working to get into a good count there and get a good fastball to hit was important for me,” Chance said. “(I was) just staying short and not trying to do too much, and just happy to get it out. That was a big swing for me.”
Mershon caused and benefitted from some chaos on the basepaths in the fifth. After stealing second — his 18th stolen base of the season without being caught — Mershon took off for third on a ball in the dirt, and Auburn catcher Cale Stricklin’s throw sailed down the left-field line. Not only did Mershon come in to score, but Dakota Jordan raced all the way around the bases from first to score as well, extending the lead to 4-1.
MSU broke things wide open in the seventh after Stephen escaped the bases-loaded jam. Connor Hujsak’s double into the left-field corner plated two more runs, and Logan Kohler then doubled down the line in right to bring Hujsak home.
Dating back to Mar. 19, Kohler entered Friday mired in a 5-for-41 slump, but the Memphis transfer broke out of it with a single and a double in three at-bats, also scoring a run in the sixth after being hit by a pitch.
“He played really well,” Lemonis said. “He’s one of our master’s guys, so he doesn’t go to class as much as some of the others, so he’s hitting. He’s working. It was nice to see him get two balls there to his pull side and the extra-base hit. He’s been such a good player over his career, and he’s struggled. Usually this game evens out. I’m hoping it evens out for him.”
Freshman Ethan Pulliam, a Starkville High product, also reached base three times and hit safely twice in four plate appearances. Pulliam started for the second straight game and saw his first action in a conference game, playing second base with Amani Larry as the designated hitter.
The Bulldogs improved to 4-2 in SEC series openers, but they have lost the middle game in their last two home series against LSU and Georgia. Weather permitting, MSU will try to clinch the series win Saturday with the ambidextrous Jurrangelo Cijntje on the mound.
“We’re always talking about the next one. That was Coach Lemonis’ thing after the game,” Chance said. “Tomorrow’s a big game, but you can only win one game at a time. You can’t get ahead of yourself, but we have to win tomorrow. That’s the most important thing right now.”
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