STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s hitters were frustrated.
After putting up a five-spot in the second inning Tuesday night against No. 25 Southern Miss at Trustmark Park in Pearl, the Bulldogs had been stymied offensively frame after frame.
Through the seventh inning, Amani Larry’s leadoff home run in the fourth was the only scoring MSU could muster. In that time, the Bulldogs saw Southern Miss score two runs in the fourth and four more in the fifth, shooting into an 8-6 lead. The Golden Eagles added a run in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly.
In the Bulldogs’ dugout, Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis could tell his own offensive strategy was failing.
“We got together and talked about getting guys on and winning some counts, but we were losing some 3-2 counts over and over and over,” he said.
In the fourth, Dakota Jordan had bounced into a double play on a full count. Kellum Clark struck out on 3-2 in the seventh, no thanks to some tough strike calls going against him.
Shortstop Lane Forsythe, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, led off the bottom of the eighth and took the first five pitches from left-handed reliever Justin Storm. Once again, a Bulldogs batter faced a 3-2 count.
This time, everything was different.
Forsythe laced a line drive into the gap in left center field, pulling around first and racing into second base.
For a leadoff double in a 9-6 ballgame, it was quite a significant moment.
The hit sparked a four-run rally as Mississippi State (6-3) came back to beat Southern Miss (5-3), 10-9, and win its third straight game.
“Anytime you can lead off an inning with something like that, it gets some confidence rolling for everyone,” third baseman Slate Alford said.
By sheer win probability, it was Alford who had likely the most significant hit of Tuesday night’s game, an opposite-field single through the right side to pull the Bulldogs even with the Golden Eagles at 9-9.
But some moments can’t be measured.
Alford called Forsythe’s double “crucial,” helping to fire up MSU’s third-base dugout and stoke the comeback.
After the hit, Larry was plunked by a 1-0 pitch and center fielder Colton Ledbetter drew a five-pitch walk to load the bases against Southern Miss reliever Justin Storm.
Storm was lifted from the game, chased by the Bulldogs after what had been 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, including four strikeouts.
An increased pitch count — thanks in part to Forsythe’s at-bat — was part of the reason for his departure.
“I thought he got a little tired there at the end,” Lemonis said. “He usually doesn’t go that long, but he was really good there for those first couple innings.”
Reliever JB Middleton’s first pitch skipped to the backstop, scoring Forsythe for the first run. Jordan elevated a ball into center field for a sacrifice fly, and Alford tied the game with his base hit.
Hunter Hines barely missed a home run and settled for a sac fly to right, giving MSU the lead for good.
Hines’ near miss was a reminder of the dimensions of Trustmark Park. Larry hit the game’s only home run, a true bomb onto the berm in left-center field.
Alford said hitting coach Jake Gautreau warned the Bulldogs’ batters of Brad Cumbest’s power-hitting travails during last season’s Governor’s Cup game against Ole Miss in Pearl.
“Goat talked about how Brad hit about three moonshots here last year and had nothing to show for it,” Alford said. “We were just thinking line drives and trying to put something hard through the alleys.”
Forsythe was able to do just that for Mississippi State.
The freshman shortstop had a two-hit night that included an opposite-field single to right field, and he’s now batting .296 on the season.
Lemonis credited Forsythe’s retooled swing and the athletic gains he made over the offseason. The shortstop has gained weight and gotten stronger while also getting faster and becoming more of a threat on the base paths.
“It’s nice to have him down there giving us some big contributions,” Lemonis said.
For Forsythe, perhaps no contribution was as big as that leadoff double that turned frustration into fuel for the fire.
On Tuesday night, it was just what Mississippi State needed.
“We talked about just shortening up and trying to get something going, and Lane had an unbelievable at-bat to get it going,” Lemonis said.
MSU will begin play Friday at the Frisco College Baseball Classic in Frisco, Texas. The Bulldogs will face Ohio State (3-5) at 6 p.m. Friday, Oklahoma (4-4) at 1 p.m. Saturday and California (6-1) at 11 a.m. Sunday.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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