FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In that interminable instant, the runner frozen in motion off of second base, Luke Hancock knew what to do.
“Just make a good throw,” the Mississippi State first baseman repeated to himself as he turned toward shortstop Tanner Leggett, waiting alone at the bag. “Don’t throw it over his head. Just make a good throw.”
Luke Hancock did that.
Luke Hancock has always done that.
Need a game-saving catch in the bottom of the 11th? Hancock will snag that line drive every time.
Need to bring a runner home in the top of the 12th? Hancock is finding that hole in the shift, no doubt about it.
Need to save your team from a disappointing sweep? Just call on Hancock, and Mississippi State did in a 5-3 extra-inning win over No. 2 Arkansas on Sunday at Baum-Walker Stadium.
“He just comes out and brings it every day,” Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis said.
The veteran infielder snared a liner from Peyton Stovall and fired to second for a key double play to keep the contest tied at 3-3, then snuck a single through the right side in the 12th to plate the eventual winning run.
The Bulldogs (17-12, 4-5 Southeastern Conference) staved off a walk-off win and beat the Razorbacks (21-5, 7-2 SEC) for the first time in nine tries since 2018.
“It was huge for us,” Hancock said. “It’s not just that we beat Arkansas; it’s that we avoided a sweep on Sunday. That’s the most important thing.”
Mississippi State looked lifeless in Friday’s 8-1 loss and fell flat on Saturday in a 12-5 defeat.
But you wouldn’t have recognized those Bulldogs in the ones who took the field Sunday, trying to stabilize their SEC record at one game below .500 and succeeding.
MSU matched the nation’s second-ranked team blow for blow for more than three hours before delivering the knockout punch in the 12th. The Bulldogs took advantage of a hit-by-pitch and a walk, with Hancock driving in the go-ahead run and catcher Logan Tanner singling another baserunner home.
“We haven’t played well against Arkansas, and we had two really bad first games here,” Lemonis said. “It just shows a little bit of the character of this team to come out and compete and keep fighting.”
The Bulldogs walked a tightrope in the ninth, 10th and 11th inning as the Razorbacks had at least one runner on base in every inning. But sophomore right-hander Jackson Fristoe came up huge each time for Mississippi State.
Inserted with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, Fristoe struck out Cayden Wallace and Stovall to send the game to extra innings. He worked around a two-out single in the 10th, was aided by Hancock’s leaping grab near the line in the 11th and pitched a 1-2-3 inning to close things out.
“Jackson gave us a great effort there at the end,” Lemonis said. “I’m really happy for him because he’s had a really slow start to the season. The last couple outings have been big.”
Fristoe has not allowed a run in his past seven innings, a welcome turnaround after his struggles early on. He was tagged for three runs by Alabama on March 26, and in his last high-leverage appearance on the road, he surrendered the winning single March 19 at Georgia.
“It felt really good because it didn’t go that way at Georgia,” Fristoe said. “To come in and execute it this time, it feels really good.”
Fristoe delivered the third of three strong pitching outings by the Bulldogs, who allowed more than one run per inning over the first two games of the series. But sophomore Cade Smith and freshman Brooks Auger combined for 8 1/3 strong frames, keeping the Razorbacks mostly in check.
Smith departed after five innings when a grounder by Arkansas catcher Michael Turner bounced up and hit him above the left eye. Mississippi State catcher Logan Tanner snagged the ball and fired to first, but Smith earned a few stitches and a premature exit.
Lemonis said the right-hander is fine and will not miss any time.
“It just got him,” Lemonis said. “It wasn’t like he got a line drive. It was a funky ground ball that gets him and just cuts him and ends his day right there. I don’t know if he goes back out (for the sixth). He was close, but he was pitching good. It was unfortunate there.”
Mississippi State scored its first three runs on solo home runs by Hancock in the first inning, second baseman RJ Yeager in the third and Tanner in the sixth.
Arkansas countered with its own power surge as Zack Gregory and Braydon Webb hit solo shots off Smith. A sacrifice fly by Brady Slavens in the sixth off Auger tied the game, and scoring ceased for five full innings.
Stovall came up inches from walking things off in the 11th, but Hancock lurched toward the bag and reached out with his left hand, snaring the ball. Hearing his teammates yelling “two,” Hancock spun toward second and fired to Leggett for the double play.
Then he poked a ball up the middle in the 12th, deflecting off second baseman Robert Moore well into right center field.
“We talked about the baseball gods last night — just doing everything right,” Lemonis said. “Luke’s one of those guys who just plays the game the right way. We say it all the time: If you strike out, you’re going to go out and the ball’s going to find you, too. But in Luke’s case, he makes the great play and then he gets the big hit. Really good day for him.”
Hancock helped Mississippi State right the ship after Lemonis said it “wasn’t a good feeling” in the dugout following the start to the weekend.
The Bulldogs seized the momentum they were searching for ahead of the coming weekend’s series against LSU, though a midweek matchup with UT Martin on Tuesday will come up first.
“That’s a big win,” Lemonis said. “It’s a big win. It goes in the win column, and we’re fighting for every one we can in the league right now.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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