After mustering just a single hit against Long Beach State on Friday night, Mississippi State found its offensive identity in a 9-0 win over the Dirtbags on Saturday afternoon.
Facing left-hander Alfredo Ruiz, the Bulldogs looked the part of their quiet selves at the plate through the game’s first five innings, notching just two hits courtesy of singles from juniors Justin Foscue and Rowdey Jordan. Finally finding its footing at the plate, MSU exploded for four runs in the sixth as Ruiz’s pitch count hovered at 80 pitches.
Junior outfielder Tanner Allen — who missed three games earlier this year after fouling a ball off his knee — opened the hard-hitting dramatics as he laced a 2-1 pitch to right center field for a three-run triple.
One batter later, Foscue capped off the eventful frame with a home run over the right-field fence to put the Bulldogs ahead by four and end Ruiz’s day.
Mississippi State returned to its hot-hitting form in the seventh inning. Allen added to his prolific day with an RBI double to score Jordan from second. The Bulldogs tacked on three more runs in the frame by way of a Jordan Westburg sacrifice fly, an RBI single by junior college transfer Brandon Pimentel and an RBI double from freshman third baseman Kamren James, which doubled the lead to eight.
Jordan — who earned his first three-hit game of the season with a 4-for-5, one-RBI, two-run effort — put the finishing touches on MSU’s offensive renaissance with an RBI single in the eighth inning to cap off the Bulldogs’ nine-run day.
On the mound, redshirt freshman Christian MacLeod returned to the dominant form onlookers at Dudy Noble Field enjoyed in his season debut against Wright State. Using his three-pitch mix of fastball, curveball and changeup, MacLeod pitched five innings of one-hit ball, striking out five and walking three.
Behind MacLeod, coach Chris Lemonis turned to freshman right-hander Will Bednar. In relief, Bednar allowed just three hits and struck out six in four innings of work.
MSU and Long Beach State will be back in action Sunday for the final game of their three-game set. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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