BILOXI — Exiting the mound in the fifth inning of Mississippi State’s (11-4) 6-3 win over No. 4 Texas Tech (16-2) on Tuesday, junior starter Houston Harding motioned toward the Mississippi State dugout.
Flicking his left hand at the ground and yelling as he crossed the first base line, Harding barked his way back to the bench as his Bulldog teammates roared in approval.
“Right here! This inning right here! This is the inning we’re getting them!” he bellowed.
Facing a Texas Tech squad that entered Tuesday’s game at MGM Park in Biloxi ranked second in the country in batting average, slugging percentage, runs per game and doubles per game, Harding fooled the Red Raiders roster with a four-pitch mix of fastballs, changeups, curveballs and sliders.
Using his high spin rate and changing velocities frequently, he backed up a middling first start in the maroon and white against Alcorn State two weeks ago with 5 2/3 innings of two-hit ball on just 76 pitches.
“That felt good to get my feet wet in there,” Harding said of his 1-2-3 first inning. “And then I came out there the rest of the game and felt pretty confident going into the approach we had and the scouting report. We had planned for them pretty well and did a good job of executing.”
While Harding coasted through his first five innings, an error on first baseman Josh Hatcher and a single by Texas Tech second baseman Brian Klein forced MSU coach Chris Lemonis to opt for graduate transfer David Dunlavey in relief.
The scattered clanging of cowbells meshed with a raucous applause from the near-capacity crowd as Harding walked off the mound toward the dugout.
“I think that was the biggest crowd I’ve ever pitched in front of,” he quipped. “So obviously it was a great feeling. Just being able to get my team a chance right there was so big, and we have the best fans in college baseball — add those two things together, and we’re a tough team to beat.”
“He was recruited by a lot of people, but he wanted to be at Mississippi State,” Lemonis added. “And there is a lot to be said for a kid that really wants to wear a uniform. You’ve got to be a good player, too, but you see that out there when he pitches.”
Walking his first two batters, Dunlavey was promptly yanked after his second free base brought in a run and loaded the bases with two outs.
Striding out of the bullpen to the tune of Whitesnake’s “Still of the Night” blaring from the stadium speakers, Landon Sims slapped his chest with his left hand and let out a roar as he closed the door on Texas Tech’s mid-inning opportunity with a 2-2 fastball Red Raiders designated hitter Nate Rombach failed to catch up to.
Trotting back out after his deafening debut in the sixth inning, Sims struck out six of the nine batters he faced in three innings of relief — including the first four batters he saw.
“This will be a point in the season, if I’m ever struggling, to just look back on this and regain my confidence,” he said. “We talk about that a lot as a pitching staff, just looking back on good moments when you’re struggling, and this will probably be the number one moment that I look at.”
With Harding dealing early and Sims saving the Bulldogs from further damage, MSU did its offensive dirty work with a string of fifth-inning small ball. Sending the ball out of the infield just twice in the frame, the Bulldogs scored three runs courtesy of a bloop single to center, a passed ball, an infield single, three walks and a sacrifice fly.
Chasing Texas Tech starter Mason Montgomery — who entered the game 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA — without recording an out in the fifth inning, MSU cracked reliever John McMillon’s 91 mph fastball code one frame later by way of an RBI single from sophomore left fielder Brandon Pimentel and a run-scoring double off the wall in right center field by junior shortstop Jordan Westburg to push the Bulldogs’ lead to three runs.
“We’re trying to do some different things, but we had some big hits,” Lemonis said. “And those are power arms — we’re facing some mid-90s arms and some draft picks. I’m really proud of the way our guys jumped on some balls and made them work and laid off some balls at times.”
Freshman catcher Logan Tanner, a native of nearby Lucedale, added to the Bulldogs’ offensive outburst with an RBI single to right field in the seventh inning, scoring junior second baseman Justin Foscue from third base.
While Texas Tech tacked on a third run in the top of the eighth inning, senior reliever Spencer Price earned his first save of the season with a perfect ninth inning.
“We just wanted to play good baseball,” Lemonis said. “As you’re jumping into this week and all this time down here to play good ball is always what we’re trying to do, and I thought it was one of our better games of the year.”
MSU and Texas Tech will return to action Wednesday for the final contest of their two-game set in Biloxi. First pitch at MGM Park is slated for 5 p.m. as the Bulldogs turn to graduate transfer Carlisle Koestler on the mound.
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 34 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 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
