STARKVILLE — Getting off to a slow start offensively, Mississippi State baseball needed a jolt in the middle innings on Tuesday night.

The Bulldogs trailed Valparaiso, 2-0, heading to the bottom of the fourth, with just four hits to that point and a number of hard-hit balls going right to Beacons infielders early on.

Mississippi State’s start might have been unlucky, but the Bulldogs found some two-out magic in the fourth after getting on the board from an Amani Larry RBI sacrifice fly. 

From that point on, they scored five two-out runs and 12 unanswered, taking a commanding 6-2 lead after the fourth as the Bulldogs run-ruled Valparaiso, 12-2.

“I felt like we needed the one big hit,” Mississippi State head coach Chris Lamonis said. “A couple of them, we hit hard right at people. Shoot, I think Dakota probably has a homer tonight if the wind’s not blowing, him and Bryce.

“It all evens out…We put together a lot of two-out hits which we needed.”

It wasn’t just the hitting that was on point on Tuesday as freshman left-hander Bradley Loftin took the mound for Mississippi State, throwing a gem.

Coming off an outing last Tuesday where he struggled against Southern Miss, command was an issue to start, but he righted the ship, throwing a career-high six innings and striking out 11 over 92 pitches in the win.

Loftin walked three in his first three innings, but settled down during the back-end of his outing, walking two from that point on as has two earned runs and two hits to the Beacons.

“I just had to get out there and do my job,” Loftin said. “I have a job to do starting the game…A solid start first thing is key because that sets the tone for the rest of the game.”

Once the offense got going for the Bulldogs (8-5), it turned into a slugfest as 10 different players recorded a hit, eight drove in at least one run and eight scored at least one run.

Bryce Chance had the breakthrough hit Mississippi State needed in that fourth-inning rally, driving home two with a single up the middle as the Bulldogs took a 4-2 lead.

Chance was one of a few freshmen on display, including Loftin, but Tuesday also saw the Mississippi State debut of Davis Mershon, getting the start at third. 

His first hit a Bulldog didn’t go far, a bunt single down the third base line, but once he put down the bunt, the runs soon began to pile on, and momentum shifted immediately.

“Scoring six runs is very fun, but when [Loftin] comes out and does a job like that, slams the door, it keeps us rolling,” Mershon said. “It’s very beneficial to keep momentum going for the offense.”

The icing on the cake came off the bats of Hunter Hines and Kellum Clark as the lefties unloaded in the bottom of the sixth on back-to-back homers.

Hines’s homer nearly cleared Dudy Noble Field on the fly, one of a few tape-measure blasts for the Bulldogs early this season, but the Bulldogs were spraying hits to all fields.

“We’ve talked a lot about just staying on the ball,” Lemonis said. “A lot of our hits were backside and when we do that, we’re really good…Right now, we’re in love with that 500-foot homer that Hines hit. 

“Hey, I like homers too, but I keep telling the guys you only have to hit it 330 in certain spots.”

Following Nate Dohm’s five scoreless innings of work in Sunday’s 8-4 win over Cal, Loftin’s outing tonight was the second-straight quality outing for Mississippi State pitching.

The Bulldogs still have a staff ERA of 5.56 through 13 games, but Dohm and Loftin were good signs moving forward, especially going into the weekend against Lipscomb, where Mississippi State can add to its two-game winning streak.

“In baseball, it’s about being consistent and showing up,” Lamonis said. “They have tomorrow off, so I told them don’t come around the stadium and get some time off and then be ready to work on Thursday.

“We have a big weekend ahead of us.”

Mississippi State and the Bisons begin their weekend series at 6 p.m. Friday.