STARKVILLE — With his eyes peering toward the turf and his long white-panted legs strutting toward the Mississippi State dugout, Christian MacLeod left the playing surface at Dudy Noble Field as efficiently as he entered it.
Gone Friday was the erraticism that saw MacLeod yanked from his last start against Kent State after just 1.2 innings. Instead, he torched the zone for 20 strikes on his first 27 pitches and 33 of 44 through three innings as No. 3 MSU (11-3) downed Eastern Michigan (4-3) 14-0.
“Being the Friday night starter, you’ve got to have that confidence; you’ve got to set the tone for the weekend,” MacLeod said postgame. “My goal this week (was) to really go out there, be aggressive; prove to the other team that I’m about my business, that I’m going to put my team in the best position to win.”
Speaking with reporters following MacLeod’s last outing against the Golden Flashes, head coach Chris Lemonis vowed there was no one more disappointed in the result than his ace. He’d get back to work that week, Lemonis said, and be ready to go Friday. Ready he was.
First it was Eastern Michigan leadoff man Will Oberg. No dice. Mark Kattula and Taylor Hopkins? Nope. How about Nick Jones, Christian Bault or Gabe Denton? No chance.
Eastern Michigan No. 8 hitter Shane Easter at least made contact, flying out to left fielder Drew McGowan just shy of the wall. Davis Feldman, though, returned to the form of batters passed, swinging past MacLeod’s 2-2 pitch and earning the eighth Eagles strikeout of the night.
MacLeod rang up the first seven batters he faced and eight of his first nine. He carried a perfect game into the fourth inning, only to see it broken up by a bloop single to right. The next batter he faced? Strikeout.
In all, MacLeod struck out 11 of the 17 batters he faced, while recording just 72 pitches on the night. It marked the third time in his brief career he blew by 10 or more batters and was the 10th consecutive game the MSU staff recorded 10-plus strikeouts.
With MacLeod shoving, the Bulldogs also extended their scoreless inning streak to a school-record 36 innings, surpassing the previous mark of 30 innings set in 1971. MSU also notched its fourth consecutive shutout, the longest such streak in school history since the Bulldogs recorded five straight shutouts in 1909.
“When Christian and everybody is pitching like this, like they have been, it’s big time ’cause we know we can go out there and they’re going to fill up the strike zone and we don’t have to score that many runs,” freshman shortstop Lane Forsythe said. “And they’re going to just keep pounding (the zone).”
That MacLeod responded the way he did Friday offers a semblance of stability for a Bulldog rotation that’s been in a state of flux over the past two weeks. In starts against Kent State, MacLeod and No. 2 starter Eric Cerantola, who will start Saturday’s game against Eastern Michigan, combined for a 7.30 ERA in 14 innings pitched entering the day, while neither had pitched more than four innings this season.
Midweek ace Houston Harding has been electric in the opportunities he’s earned, though Lemonis has been hesitant to completely shake up his weekend rotation. Second-year freshman fireballer Landon Sims has also merited consideration for a starting role as he’s struck out an other-worldy 27 of the 42 batters he’s seen this year.
Yet for all the questions that arose over the past week, MacLeod promptly slammed the door on that doubt. He’s pitched just seven games in his MSU career, sure. Friday, though, he looked the part of the ace Lemonis and his staff envisioned.
“He’s one of the more talented pitchers in the country,” Lemonis said of MacLeod. “I told the team, ‘We all have some ups and downs as seasons go on and adversity.’ Man, when you bounce back from it it makes you a better player. I think that’s what we’re seeing with Christian right now.”
Dawg Notes
— Lemonis said infielder Landon Jordan is no longer with the program. Jordan was batting .281 with five RBIs in 32 plate appearances.
— Freshman third baseman Kellum Clark remains day to day and won’t be available this weekend as he continues to work back from an undisclosed injury.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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 40 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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 40 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
