STARKVILLE — The scene outside Mississippi State’s dugout following Hunter Hines’ first homer of the season was a chaotic mess of euphoria.
In his 15th game of the season, last season’s team leader in home runs finally put one over the fence, a liner just over the right field fence in the third inning of Saturday’s game against Evansville.
“I ran into Coach [Chris Lemonis] trying to get out there and get him hyped up,” outfielder Dakota Jordan said. “He came in and he came straight to me. He was letting me hear it. He was like, ‘I’m on the way. I’m coming for you.’”
As Lemonis described it postgame, it was like Hines “got a new bike on Christmas,” but it was the perfect amalgamation of what Saturday’s 8-3 win over the Purple Aces came to be.
Moonshots, lasers and stellar pitching put things away early and the Bulldogs didn’t look back, cruising to a fourth-straight series victory to begin the season.
“It always feels good to win and to stack them up like we have been doing right now,” starting pitcher Khal Stephen said. “The clubhouse, we feel good. We feel really good.”
Stephen felt and looked great once again on the mound for Mississippi State (11-4), tossing six scoreless innings while allowing just one hit to the Aces.
Aside from his second start, which now seems like a blip on the radar, he’s been a vital part of what’s now turned into an eight-game winning streak for the Bulldogs.
“I thought he had a really good slider early in the game,” Lemonis said. “He threw some good change-ups. You have to throw some off-speed against these guys because they can handle some fastballs as well as anybody. … He was able to get some early outs, some one-pitch, two-pitch outs to help him through some of those innings.”
On top of that, Mississippi State made some stellar plays in the field, highlighted by Aaron Downs and David Mershon with a pair of diving and sliding catches.
Offensively, things continue to build in a positive direction for the Bulldogs, who are executing in key situations and using the long ball to their favor.
While Hines sent his first of the season out, Jordan, now on a three-game home run streak, hit his seventh. His tape-measure blasts continued on Saturday, when he sent a 462-foot blast to right center that nearly got out of Dudy Noble Field.
“He made a mechanical change about 10 days ago, just trying to get his hands in the right spot,” Lemonis said. “We started to see it last weekend and then Tuesday night. We’re seeing it in BP. He’s working harder and getting his swing off better.”
Red-hot starting pitching, consistent hitting and error-free defense continues to work its magic for Mississippi State, which is currently on its longest winning streak since its national championship-winning 2021 season.
The Bulldogs are rolling at the right time with Southeastern Conference play just around the corner.
“We don’t want to get ahead of anything, but we feel like we’re in a really good spot with league play coming up,” Stephen said.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 29 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.