STARKVILLE — Scotty Dubrule didn’t hit it hard.
It wasn’t a solid line drive scorching its way up the middle of the diamond at Dudy Noble Field with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the seventh inning. It was only a chopper, deadened on the green grass of the infield, that snuck its way behind second base. Dubrule sprinted to first safely as two runs came in to score.
The infield hit, which put the Bulldogs (36-11, 17-8 Southeastern Conference) ahead for good in a 5-4 home win over Missouri (12-33, 5-20), summed up Thursday’s game aptly: Mississippi State didn’t play its best, and the Bulldogs still proved they’re good enough for that not to matter.
“An ugly win is better than a good-looking loss, I guess,” coach Chris Lemonis said.
Indeed, it was ugly at times — even at home, even against the SEC’s worst team. Errors and poor pitches knocked out reigning SEC pitcher of the week Christian MacLeod after three innings as the Tigers took a 3-2 lead and added to it in the fifth.
But Mississippi State brought the 7,447 fans inside Dudy Noble to life with a seventh-inning rally typical of the 2021 edition of the Bulldogs — and all with two outs. After Tanner Allen was robbed of a tying two-run home run at the right-field wall, Kamren James legged out an infield single before Brayland Skinner came home on a wild pitch to cut the lead to a run.
Luke Hancock and Logan Tanner drew four-pitch walks against reliever Lukas Veinbergs, who faltered in his second inning of work in the seventh. On a 3-2 count, Dubrule smacked the ball up the middle, and second baseman Mark Vierling’s throw to first was late as both James and Hancock crossed the plate.
“I knew he didn’t want to walk me there in that position because we had bases loaded, so I could expect something over the plate,” Dubrule said.
It was a relief for the Bulldogs after several hard-hit outs, including Allen’s liner to deep center even before Missouri’s Andrew Keefer snagged his would-be homer in the seventh.
“Most of the night, I felt like we were hitting balls right at them,” Lemonis said. ‘We finally had a ball kind of hit in the right place for us, and we were able to score a couple.”
As soon as Hancock touched home with the go-ahead run, Lemonis’ decision was made: Get Landon Sims warm. The Bulldogs’ lockdown reliever was dominant as usual, retiring all six Missouri batters he faced in the eighth and ninth innings and striking out four.
He wasn’t the only Mississippi State reliever with a strong performance Thursday. Preston Johnson had six strikeouts in two scoreless innings, and Brandon Smith allowed just one run across the fourth and fifth.
“I thought the rest of our bullpen did a great job: Brandon, Preston and then Landon there at the end,” Lemonis said. “When we don’t play well, we still have an opportunity to win because of the way we pitch, and our kids stay invested. We usually find a way to get something going late, and we did again tonight.”
It was much needed for a Mississippi State team held scoreless from the second through the sixth innings by Veinbergs and starter Jacob Kush. Kamren James’ RBI groundout and Luke Hancock’s run-scoring single got the Bulldogs started in the first after — once again — Rowdey Jordan and Allen both smacked base hits to start the game.
But Missouri came back quickly as Ty Wilmsmeyer halved the deficit with a single in the second and the Tigers scored twice in the third. A perfect double steal tied the game as Keefer swiped second and catcher Tre Morris broke for home, and Joshua Day’s single to left-center put Missouri ahead 3-2.
Pinch-hitter Luke Mann added an RBI single against Smith in the fifth inning.
“They played a great game,” Dubrule said. “They attacked the zone the whole night. But eventually, you just can’t stop us. One through nine, we’re strong. We’re going to barrel it up. Things will happen.”
Lemonis fastest to 100 wins
Lemonis earned his 100th win at Mississippi State on Thursday, becoming the fastest Bulldogs coach to reach the mark.
His 100-30 record in Starkville edged out Ron Polk’s 100-50, which Lemonis was happy to hear.
“He gives me a hard time all the time, so I’ve got something I can hold up,” he said.
Lemonis credited his players and fellow coaches for the success he has enjoyed in Starkville.
“It means we have great players, and I’ve got a great staff,” he said. “When we win, it is so little about me.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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