STARKVILLE – It has been nine up, nine down for Mississippi State’s baseball team, as the Bulldogs have been perfect through the season’s first two weeks.
But this weekend, that flawless start will get tested, as the Bulldogs will welcome Arizona and Samford into Dudy Noble Field for a total of four games from Friday until Sunday.
While some outside the program view MSU’s hosting of Arizona as a step up in competition level from the first nine games of the year, MSU coach John Cohen agrees. And he disagrees.
“Well first, I think these are two really good clubs,” said Cohen of Arizona and Samford. “But right after Alabama A&M left us, they went to UAB and knocked off a good undefeated team. And all Cincinnati has going is maybe the best hiter in Division-I, a projected first round draft pick. I don’t necessarily think we’ve played competition that is subpar in any way, but you talk about Arizona, they are on another level.
“They’ve won a national title in the last four years, (Arizona coach) Andy Lopez is a good friend of mine, they are a very good team.”
The Bulldogs will take on the Wildcats (8-2) at 4 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday, and MSU will take on Samford at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
For MSU, it’s a chance to earn early-season wins over an Arizona team that took advantage of the same opportunity last season. In an early March series in Tucson, the Wildcats were part of a 1-3 weekend for MSU, splitting a pair of games. Arizona’s win was a 12-3 triumph and the overall weekend, which included two losses to UC-Santa Barbara, robbed MSU of early momentum.
This time around, MSU enters the weekend with momentum already in hand.
“Well, it’s fun to play a West Coast team,” said Washington native Seth Heck, MSU’s starting shortstop. “We went out there last year and it didn’t go our way. It’s nice to get a second chance.”
While MSU’s trip out West went badly a year ago, this is a new team and a new year. That much has been evidenced by a red-hot start to the season from the Bulldogs, who have scored 91 runs through nine games, the highest nine-game total in seven seasons under Cohen. MSU is just one of seven remaining unbeaten teams in the country, and only three of those (MSU, Texas A&M and USC) have started 9-0.
The reason has been a lineup that has scorched the ball, led by a trio of hitters off to historic starts. Heck, freshman second baseman Ryan Gridley and center fielder Jacob Robson are ranked No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 in the Southeastern Conference in on-base percentage while Heck has extended his streak of getting on base to 39 straight games, the second-highest total in the country.
All three are hitting over .500 – Gridley at .591, Heck at .533 and Robson at .536 – for an MSU team that leads the conference in runs. And the awards have followed. Robson was named the National Player of the Week by Louisville Slugger in the opening week and Gridley was named the SEC’s Freshman of the Week after last weekend.
Of Gridley, Heck says “I just see a player who is comfortable. He looks locked in and he’s doing a great job.”
But while that threesome has terrorized opposing pitching staffs, opponents likely haven’t seen the best of what MSU’s batting order has to offer.
The fast start – MSU is batting a conference-best .336 – has happened despite MSU being without three projected Opening Day starters. Senior first baseman Wes Rea hasn’t started MSU’s last six games after suffering a leg injury during MSU’s Feb. 14 win over Cincinnati. Prior to that, Rea had three hits in his first eight at-bats, including an RBI double and a grand slam. Michael Smith, MSU’s Opening Day starter in right field, has just one at-bat this season, an RBI double that saw Smith pull up with an injury. He hasn’t played since.
And preseason All-SEC catcher Gavin Collins hasn’t played this season due to wrist surgery two weeks prior to the season opener.
According to Cohen, all three are close to returning to MSU’s lineup.
“Wes practiced today and I thought he moved around really well,” said Cohen. “Obviously we’d love to get him back out there and I think there’s a pretty good chance that could be this weekend.”
Of Smith, Cohen added, “I think he’s really close also.”
But while that trio has watched from the dugout, MSU has cruised to nine relatively easy wins, only one coming by less than three runs. For Cohen, being forced to adjust to the absence of three standouts hasn’t necessarily been a bad thing.
“I really feel like we’ve learned so much about our team because Wes and Michael and Gavin have been out,” said Cohen. “It has given us a chance to see so many players, to really get an idea of what fits where.”
And with Rea’s return imminent, Cohen hinted at a possible shuffle for the Bulldogs, a move that could have been forced by Gridley’s fast start. In Rea’s absence, starting second baseman John Holland moved over to play first base, leaving Gridley at second. But with Gridley producing 13 hits in 22 at-bats along with 12 runs and a team-best 10 RBIs, the freshman may have forced a change in plans.
“When Wes comes back, I wouldn’t be shocked to see somebody on the right side of our infield move to the left side,” said Cohen, hinting that Gridley or Holland could be headed to third base.
If there’s been a soft spot on MSU’s team, both defensively and offensively, it’s been at the hot corner, where three players – Matt Spruill, Luke Reynolds, and Matthew Britton – have combined to produce eight hits in 47 at-bats. The trio has also combined for seven of MSU’s 13 errors.
Arizona and Samford will get the weekend started today with an 11 a.m. matchup, followed by the Wildcats and Bulldogs at 4 p.m.
Follow Dispatch Sports Writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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