TALLAHASSEE – The return of Mississippi State ace Pico Kohn came against one of the most prolific offenses in college baseball, and that reality set in quickly on Saturday.
Despite recording seven strikeouts, Kohn found himself in a jam for the second time that night in the fourth inning. Three walks and an RBI single loaded up the bases for Florida State freshman Myles Bailey, who was more than a match for the situation. He smashed a high heater over the left field wall for a grand slam, ending Kohn’s night early and establishing a 7-1 lead for the regional hosts.
“It kind of boxed him into being a two-pitch guy, and control of counts,” interim head coach Justin Parker said to the media after the game, diagnosing what went wrong in Kohn’s performance. “I think he made some big pitches to get himself close to getting out of the jam in the fourth. Just couldn’t do enough and came up a little short. The home run was crippling. He’s a warrior, he’s been our guy all year. He took the ball today, probably a little bit less than at his best.”
The Seminoles (40-14) would go on to win 10-3, putting the Bulldogs (35-22) on the brink of elimination, needing to win three games in two days to make a Super regional. MSU will face Northeastern in an elimination game rematch at 11 a.m. on Sunday, with FSU awaiting the winner at 5 p.m.
Much like Northeastern on Friday, the Bulldogs took a knockdown blow early in the game and struggled to stand back up.
Bailey’s grand slam wasn’t the end of the game, but it might as well have been thanks to the top arm in the other dugout. Jamie Arnold, playing in possibly his last home game at Dick Howser Stadium, posted a season-high 13 strikeouts while allowing just five hits, three runs and two walks through seven innings of true ace work. The Bulldogs left four runners on base, including two in the seventh as Arnold neared the end of his run. Instead of making a change, head coach Link Jarrett left Arnold to finish the job.
And he obliged.
Gatlin Sanders and Gehrig Frei both went down swinging as Arnold left the game on a high, leaving a 7-3 lead intact for reliever Joe Charles to finish the job.
“A lot of it is Jamie Arnold,” Parker said of the missed opportunities on offense. “He was commanding the slider for strikes, throwing the slider for chase, pretty much throwing it in any count. Even if you sit on it, it’s still a tough pitch to hit. It’s gonna have him going in the first round for a reason. I think we did some decent things in spurts. I would have liked to elevate the pitch count a little more and get him out of there earlier. The kid is a warrior. Pitched better late in games. He just had our number tonight.”
The Bulldogs will try to sleep it off before facing Northeastern again on Sunday. Starkville Academy alum Evan Siary will get the start against the Huskies. There is some hope for the return of shortstop Sawyer Reeves, who hasn’t returned since an early exit on Friday with a muscle injury. Parker said he’ll see how it feels in the morning before making a decision, but there is no doubt the Bulldogs need every bit of help on Sunday.
The task at hand is getting past the Huskies, who rebounded with a win over Bethune-Cookman in an elimination game. Siary will start, but it’s “all hands on deck” after that, according to Parker. The goal is to reset after the loss and dictate the game defensively.
“It’s got to start on the mound,” Parker said, looking ahead to Sunday. “We’ve got to throw more strikes. In the flow of the game, I thought Arnold had such a great rhythm and tempo. I felt our house was almost in slow motion. So, it starts on the mound. We have to do better, command better at a higher level, and hopefully the complementary issues pick up from there.”
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