Senior outfielder Elijah MacNamee channeled his inner Derek Jeter in Wednesday’s 10-9 win over Memphis.
With a batting average that had dropped from .365 to .306 and having gone 4-for-35 his past 10 games, he referenced a quote from the New York Yankee great postgame.
“He was 1-for-20 and he said, ‘The cool part is I’m a career .300 hitter so I’m going to get out of it soon,'” MacNamee recounted. “I took that in perspective and thought about that and so am I — I’m that way.”
After falling behind 7-0 in the first inning, MSU trailed 9-8 in the eighth when he came to the plate.
MacNamee then roped a 3-1 outside fastball into right-center field for a go-ahead, two-run double.
As the ball crashed off the wall, a fan’s drink skied into the air to create a subtle mist over the boxes in the gap.
Big-hit Mac was back.
“I haven’t thought about that about myself for a while,” MacNamee said in reference to his moniker. “Everyone else around me has been picking me up lately so it gave me that little confidence boost I needed and I got that feeling like I was ready to roll again.”
Wednesday marked the fifth time this season MSU has trailed at some point in the first inning of a midweek game. Yet with their past transgressions against South Alabama, Mississippi Valley State, Samford and Arkansas-Little Rock behind them, the Bulldogs had plenty of experiences to lean on.
“We never really panicked,” sophomore infielder Tanner Allen said. “You’re going to have to beat us all nine (innings) to beat us and it showed up.”
Allen is another of the MSU hitters who has struggled in spurts. He had gone just 2-for-16 his past five games.
Seeking a fix, Allen accompanied MacNamee for some early work in the batting cages ahead of Wednesday’s contest. With the extra repetitions in tow, he finished 4-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
“I’ve been really getting under balls and that’s why fastballs have been getting by me,” Allen said. “So I really focused on staying above every ball during BP and it turned out to help me tonight.”
Senior Marshall Gilbert also helped shoulder the offensive load.
Gilbert cut into the Memphis lead with a three-run home run over the left field wall in the second inning. The ball left the park at 106 miles per hour — the second-fastest exit velocity for a Bulldog homer this season.
“I thought Marshal Gilbert’s big hit got us right back in the ballgame,” MSU coach Chris Lemonis said.
The Bulldog pitching staff was rocked early on.
Redshirt junior Keegan James was yanked before recording an out. He finished his abysmal outing surrendering six runs on two hits and four walks.
“Keegan is really talented and he’s pitched really well at times for us,” Lemonis said. “He just wasn’t good tonight and kind of the game sped up on him a little bit there as things went against him.”
Freshman Brandon Smith was solid in three innings of relief. Smith gave up just one run on three hits and struck out three.
“I thought Brandon came in and did a good job,” Lemonis said. “He gave up a couple hits but they weren’t scorched.”
Behind Smith, senior Cole Gordon, redshirt junior Trysten Barlow and juniors Riley Self and Jack Eagan combined for six innings of two-hit ball.
MSU next heads to Oxford for a date with in-state rival No. 11 Ole Miss beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m. The Rebels and Bulldogs previously met this season in the Governor’s Cup game in Pearl April 23 — an 8-1 MSU win.
“It’s going to be a tough atmosphere to play in,” Allen said. “Those guys are really good. We beat them in (Pearl) but that doesn’t mean anything. They’ll come out for blood this weekend.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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