PEARL —- Whatever was said, fingers were pointed, words were yelled in the Mississippi State baseball clubhouse over the last few days since Sunday’s collapse at Auburn, it was heard loud and clear, especially by the Bulldogs’ pitching staff.
A group that has been talked about all season — from injuries, to command issues and anything in between — that group put in its best performance in Tuesday’s 2-1 Governor’s Cup win over Ole Miss at Trustmark Park. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.
The collection of Evan Siary, Brock Tapper, Parker Stinnett, Tyson Hardin, KC Hunt and Aaron Nixon held Ole Miss to only four hits and one run Tuesday night, walking five and striking out 10. The Rebels rarely threatened, with their only run coming in the seventh inning and then having a chance to tie the game in the eighth with a runner in scoring position.
But MSU’s bullpen did something it didn’t last weekend in halting a rally before it could gain unstoppable momentum.
That group didn’t answer all of MSU’s pitching questions and quiet its naysayers, but the Bulldogs’ pitchers showed, when aggressively pounding the strike zone, they are capable of winning games.
“We played it out this morning, but you didn’t think it would work out (perfectly),” MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said following the win. “I thought Evan was great getting us out of the gate. Brock held his own. I thought Parker Stinnett was the real glue to the game. He came in and gave us good innings.
“… KC, coming into that (eighth inning) jam and getting us out of it, and Aaron Nixon was really good tonight.”
The biggest story was those first three guys in Siary, Tapper and Stinnett – three sparingly used arms that had much to prove on the mound Tuesday and through this final month of the season.
Siary, Tuesday’s freshman starter, pitched two clean innings, allowing one hit, walking one and fanning another. Over Siary’s last five innings, he’s allowed only two earned runs.
“Just starting it off on the right foot for us,” Siary said. “It helps with the offense coming out and scoring one run (in the first inning off a Hunter Hines RBI double). It is easier to pitch and fill up the strike zone for our defense.”
Tapper, another freshman, followed with two more shutout innings, allowing one hit, three walks and one strikeout. Over his last 5 2/3 innings, Tapper has now allowed only two earned runs.
Then Stinnett’s three middle innings, allowing one earned run on one hit with three strikeouts, helped bridge the gap to Lemonis’ go-to arms.
“He (Stinnett) has made some adjustments with his mechanics and I am just happy for him to have this success tonight,” Lemonis said. “I thought he was really good and poised. You could tell he felt good about his performance.”
After allowing six earned runs over his first 2 2/3 innings of work, Stinnett has since only allowed one over his past five.
“I think it is something that I needed to help the pitching staff and get things going,” Stinnett said. “Rest some guys and give them some more time to recover.”
Now more than ever this season, especially following Nate Dohm’s undisclosed injury this past weekend, that is exactly what Lemonis and his pitching staff needs.
Trusted arms. Strike throwers. Out getters.
The group that pitched Thursday took a big step in potentially being that moving forward.
“They got to,” Lemonis said. “With a few guys down, we are going to have to look at those guys for some innings.”
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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