Mississippi State baseball improved to 12-4 on the season after a win over Old Dominion at Keesler Federal Park in Biloxi on Tuesday. The Bulldogs won 9-4 thanks to a high-scoring run in the middle innings, highlighted by a five-run fourth inning.
It was the first of two midweek games on the coast before the start of Southeastern Conference play this weekend, and MSU head coach Chris Lemonis saw his team pass the test against a decent Monarchs team despite some nervy innings.
“I thought they played great,” the head coach said to the media after the game. “We gave up a couple in the top of the fifth or sixth, but I thought we played a pretty clean game all night long. Not an easy night to score runs. I thought our hitters did a really good job.”
The wind was a bit of a factor on the night. At one point, Hunter Hines was denied a home run shot to deep right as the ball blew just outside the foul line twice. The ball left his bat at about 100 miles per hour both times, but it still wasn’t enough to keep its trajectory.
Even with the conditions, the Bulldogs blew the game open in the bottom of the fourth with a string of hits and good fortune on offense to take the lead with five runs. Aaron Downs got things going with an RBI single, followed by Sawyer Reeves’ RBI on a fielder’s choice. The Bulldogs followed the strong start to the inning with a score on a wild pitch and Ace Reese raked a 2-run double to the center field wall before Old Dominion went to the bullpen to stop the bleeding.
Ross Highfill added another run in the fifth to make it 7-1. Old Dominion got back in the game in the sixth with three runs of their own, but the Bulldogs responded with another pair of RBI hits from Noah Sullivan and Hunter Hines to restore a sizable advantage.
“It came from the players,” Lemonis said of the response to Old Dominion’s comeback attempt. “I was motivated, but I don’t think it was me. When you get in those spots in a game, when you answer back, it’s just really hard to come back and beat somebody. They came back and scored nine on Auburn the other night, and beat Auburn at Auburn. That’s a good ballclub over there. So, as they started coming back, you knew they felt like they could come back.”
Reliever Mikhai Gran was credited with the win for his work out of the bullpen. He was one of six pitchers to see action on the night with Evan Siary starting and going three innings, allowing two hits and recording five punchouts.
Midweek games usually allow Lemonis to test out the rest of his bullpen, and the Biloxi trip was no exception. With a high-octane Southeastern Conference schedule coming up, he wants to give everyone a chance to compete.
“There’s still tension in there because guys want to play,” he said. “I understand that, but when we play games like this, it’s nice to get guys in the lineup, and it does help. Get guys in the field. We saw it with our pitching staff and you’re going to see it tomorrow with new names on the pitching staff.”
After Biloxi, the Bulldogs return to Starkville to open SEC play with a home series against Texas, starting at 6 p.m. Friday at Dudy Noble Field.
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