STARKVILLE — One by one, Mississippi State’s pinstriped roster circled the bases.
This was no meme or GIF, however comical the optics. Rather, it was a product of a team that combined for 14 hits and 18 runs in Wednesday’s 18-1 shellacking of North Alabama (1-17).
“We wanted to, like you said, get some guys some (at-bats) and we also wanted to get a lot of arms out there,” Bulldogs head coach Chris Lemonis said, “and we were able to do both and get a little tune-up for the weekend,”
Throughout the 2021 campaign, MSU (17-4, 2-1 SEC) has struggled to find rhythm early in games. The third-ranked Bulldogs had combined for just 20 runs in the first two innings all year. Wednesday, though, MSU promptly turned North Alabama starter Will Haberstock’s outing into a office softball game in the first two frames.
Batter after batter, pitch after pitch, MSU tagged Haberstock for eight runs — all earned — on seven hits.
A Bad News Bears-esque defensive performance behind North Alabama’s starter didn’t help things. After second-year freshman Kamren James roped a single through third, the ball skipped under Lions left fielder Devne Daniel’s glove, rolled toward the warning track and cleared the bases for MSU’s first two runs of the day.
One frame later, junior Brayland Skinner — whose three RBIs Friday helped MSU to a series-opening win over No. 22 LSU in Baton Rouge — clocked a ball off the wall in right center field for a bases-emptying triple as he hit from the leadoff spot for the first time this year.
“I think Brayland is a good leadoff hitter and right now Scotty (Dubrule) has been a little down the last week or two so trying to maybe get a little spark up there,” Lemonis said of whether Skinner would stick at leadoff beyond Wednesday. “I think we have a couple different options. We need on-base percentage in that spot right now. Trying to get some guys who can get on and get something going in the first (inning), but Brayland has played well and put himself in that mix.”
Following Skinner’s lead, third-year sophomore Luke Hancock flared a single over second base. North Alabama second baseman Gerardo Miranda retreated. Center fielder Dominick McIntyre ran toward the infield. Neither caught the ball as it landed on the turf and two more MSU runs scored.
In all, the Bulldogs notched at least three runs in each of the first five innings. Every player in MSU’s starting lineup sans catcher Logan Tanner reached base at least once. Seven Bulldogs recorded a hit, while another eight notched at least one RBI.
“We were seeing it great tonight, obviously we scored 18 runs,” fourth-year junior Tanner Allen, who notched three RBIs on the night, said. “We were just being aggressive early and just getting back to kind of what we do.”
North Alabama, conversely, had more errors (five) than hits (four) through seven innings of play.
On the mound, nine Bulldogs pitchers limited the Lions to just six hits on the night. Freshman Mikey Tepper drew the first start of his career, retiring six of the seven batters he faced over two innings of work.
“I had to make sure that my fastball — made sure early in the count I was throwing it for strikes,” Tepper said. “Then later on I could work in my off-speed. I think for sure as I worked in my changeup later on it really helped me out against their best hitters.”
Midweek ace Houston Harding struck out two and allowed one hit in his one frame on the bump.
Bulldogs closer Spencer Price also appeared sooner than expected Wednesday, taking the hill in the fourth inning. Price struck out the side in his only inning of work.
With the victory over North Alabama in tow, MSU has now won nine of its last 10 games and 13 of its past 15. The Bulldogs will meet No. 2 Arkansas Friday for the first contest of a three-game set. It will also be MSU’s first home Southeastern Conference series since May 2019.
“We call it Fayette-nam over there,” Allen said referencing MSU getting swept in Fayetteville in 2019. “It’s a pretty wild place. We left over there with a bad taste in our mouth and they’re a great club. They’re No. 2 or No. 1 in the country for a reason and I think we match up well with them. It’s going to be a fireworks show this weekend, man. It’s going to be a dogfight every single day.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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