STARKVILLE — Kellum Clark was upset with himself after committing a baserunning blunder during Saturday’s game against VMI and getting caught leaning off first base in the second inning Sunday.
Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis wasn’t too happy with the junior right fielder, either.
“After he got picked off, I was ready to, dang, put him over there by me,” Lemonis said.
Clark managed to redeem himself and salvage Sunday’s rubber match with the Keydets before long.
He smashed two solo home runs, including a shot to right that left Dudy Noble Field, to lead MSU (2-1) to a 9-3 comeback win over VMI (1-2) in Sunday’s rubber match in Starkville.
Behind Clark’s clutch hitting and much-improved pitching, the Bulldogs rebounded from Saturday’s ugly 14-13 loss to the Keydets and clinched a series victory.
MSU won its opening set of 2023 after losing two of three to Long Beach State a year earlier.
“Everybody likes to win, so when we get a series win, it’s always good,” Clark said.
Mississippi State came back from an early 3-0 deficit on the strength of the long ball, with second baseman Amani Larry delivering a two-run homer in the third inning and Clark going deep in the fourth and again in the sixth to break a 3-3 tie. A five-run bottom of the eighth resulted in a scoreline belying a close game for much of the afternoon.
After blowing an early nine-run lead Saturday, Lemonis said the Bulldogs’ battle Sunday was important early in the season.
“Losing’s one thing,” Lemonis said. “Losing when you’re up 10-1 at home, that’s a hard one. I’ve told our kids from the get-go, we’re going to be tested. We needed to play a game like this today. We needed to play a tough, hard-nosed game.”
Memphis transfer Landon Gartman provided the longest start of the opening weekend for the Bulldogs, striking out eight hitters over five innings before turning things over to the bullpen.
Freshmen Jurrangelo Cijntje and Bradley Loftin pitched scoreless frames in their Mississippi State debuts, and transfers Tyson Hardin and Aaron Nixon closed out the game in the same fashion.
The pitching performance was significantly better than what MSU turned in Saturday, in which it allowed just seven hits but walked 12 batters and hit another Keydet.
Bulldogs hurlers allowed just three walks and struck out 13 in the series finale.
“Really good job on the mound,” Lemonis said. “I thought Landon Gartman gave us a great start and just pitched.”
MSU’s pitching complimented an offense that didn’t have its best day but still produced 10 hits and seven runs. The Bulldogs are averaging more than 10 runs and more than 14 hits per contest in their opening weekend of play.
Sunday’s production came with normal cleanup hitter Hunter Hines on the bench and freshman catcher Ross Highfill inserted in the lineup instead. Lemonis said resting Hines was a “tough decision,” and it won’t be the only one.
“I’m going to have them all year, because I have probably 13 or 14 really good hitters that I’m going to have to rotate around,” Lemonis said.
From top to bottom, Mississippi State’s lineup has been clicking, and it helped MSU add some much-needed insurance in the eighth. After Highfill doubled and Bryce Chance beat a throw home on a fielder’s choice, Larry tacked on two runs with a single up the middle. Larry raced home on a wild pitch, and Dakota Jordan added a run on a sacrifice fly.
VMI opened the scoring in the first inning when its first two batters recorded hits off Gartman. In the third, an infield single and an errant throw on a fielder’s choice brought home two more Keydets runs.
In response, Larry hooked his two-run shot inside the left-field foul pole in the bottom of the third. Clark followed a 451-foot tying blast to right in the fourth with another homer in the sixth, putting MSU in the lead for good.
“That’s what he can do,” Lemonis said. “Shoot, he’s not in your first couple hitters, but he can hurt you at any time. The firstone, I don’t even know how far that was.”
The Bulldogs will remain at home for five more games, starting with a two-game midweek series against Louisiana-Monroe. First pitch Tuesday is at 4 p.m., and Game 2 starts at 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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