STARKVILLE — Alcorn State center fielder Jordan McGowan simply turned and watched.
Trotting a handful of steps before letting his brief jaunt come to a standstill, McGowan peered into the rigs in right-center field at Dudy Noble Field as Mississippi State junior shortstop Jordan Westburg’s 410-foot homer skied into the stands at 104 miles per hour — giving the Bulldogs the game-breaking hit they desperately sought all afternoon in their 8-4 win over the Braves Wednesday afternoon.
“Personally, I didn’t want to go to sleep last night — I was extremely, pissed off, embarrassed, whatever word you want to describe it,” Westburg said referencing Tuesday’s upset loss to Texas Southern. “I just wasn’t happy, I know a lot of the guys weren’t happy. But like I said last night, it’s one loss and it’s early in the season to just be able to come back to the ballpark today and play another game right away is the best thing for us and it gets your mind off that loss really quick — especially when you turn around with a win.”
Just one day removed from expressing his disgust at MSU’s inability to plate runners against the Tigers, Westburg’s hit was one of just a handful of positive blips from an otherwise forgettable day for the majority of the maroon and white clad hitters.
Entering the day hitting a combined .242 on the season, the Bulldogs left 14 men on base against a Braves pitching staff that barely reached the mid-80s on the center field radar gun — though Westburg and classmates Tanner Allen and Justin Foscue did record six hits, four RBIs and five runs scored between the three of them.
“I think we weren’t staying true to our approach a lot yesterday and some today and I think that’s why we left so many guys on base,” Westburg said. “But we’ve just got to stick with it man — just one game at a time, one pitch at a time. Just stick to ourselves and not try and be too big we’re going to come through and be just fine.”
On the mound, MSU junior starter Houston Harding was largely effective before losing his command late. Following a stingy first four innings of work in which he struck out seven batters, MSU starter Houston Harding promptly afforded a walk and three singles — the last of which was a two-RBI poke from the Braves’ Tristin Garcia — before being yanked in favor of junior reliever Chase Patrick.
“It was mainly excitement because it’s a dream come true come out there and get my first start for the Dawgs,” Harding said of his emotions pregame. “But other than that (it was) just mild jitters today.”
“He was pretty good today for his first outing for us,” MSU coach Chris Lemonis said. “I’d like to see him be a little more efficient, but I thought he was pretty good out there. We’re going to need him.”
Following Harding’s extended outing, Patrick fanned five of the six batters he faced — giving him seven strikeouts in five innings of work this season.
Lemonis also turned to junior college products Jared Shemper Jaxen Forrester for the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. Facing a collective nine batters, Shemper and Forrester combined for four strikeouts in two innings of two-hit ball.
Senior Riley Self earned the final nod of the afternoon, tossing a scoreless ninth inning.
MSU now heads to California for a three game set against Long Beach State. Game one of the set is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday.
“We leave at 5 a.m. tomorrow so I’m not eager for that,” Lemonis quipped. “But I am eager to play in som good weather. I mean Long Beach State is good and they’re playing good right now so it’s going to be a good test for us.”
Dawg Notes
Lemonis said postgame there is no update on freshman JT Ginn’s long term status following a recent bout with arm soreness.
Ginn is scheduled to miss another start in this weekend’s trip to Long Beach State. Senior Carlisle Koestler will take the ball Friday in his place, while redshirt freshman Christian MacLeod and sophomore Eric Cerantola will pitch Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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