STARKVILLE — Drew McGowan kept running.

Making the most of his time on the field in No. 4 Mississippi State’s home game Tuesday against UAB, the freshman figured he might as well chance things on the base paths.

Stationed on second in the bottom of the eighth inning, McGowan raced for third when fellow freshman Davis Meche grounded a ball past second base for a sure infield hit. As Blazers shortstop John Marc Mullins stooped and fielded the ball well behind the bag, McGowan took the turn and sped home without a throw as Mullins stood and stared in at the plate.

It was a fitting allegory for the prior three-plus hours of baseball as the Bulldogs (28-8) pounded 17 hits, used 10 pitchers and ran right past the Blazers (12-24) in a 19-7 marathon Tuesday at Dudy Noble Field ahead of this weekend’s series at No. 2 Vanderbilt.

“These midweek games, they can get long, but getting everybody in, getting all the pitchers work, it definitely helped us going into this weekend,” catcher Luke Hancock said.

Designated hitter Logan Tanner provided the bulk of Mississippi State’s offense, starting things off in the first inning with a drive into deep left field for a three-run home run that made it a 4-0 ballgame.

“He’s got a lot of power,” coach Chris Lemonis said. “He’s really starting to tap into how to use it.”

Lemonis said Tanner’s homer proved important after the Blazers responded with three runs in the second off Cade Smith to cut the lead to one. After the Bulldogs opened up the lead with five runs in the second and third, Tanner was at it again with an RBI double off the left-field wall in the fourth. He repeated the feat — right down to the location — an inning later as Mississippi State put up five runs in the fifth.

“He had big hits all night long,” Lemonis said of Tanner.

Catcher Luke Hancock’s two-run double in the fifth one batter prior was perhaps just as important in blowing the game open, making the score 13-6. First baseman Josh Hatcher added an RBI single for the Bulldogs’ 15th run of the night.

“I think we all pitched in with a few hits here and there,” Hancock said.

Mississippi State wasn’t done yet. In the bottom of the eighth, well after Lemonis emptied his bench with several substitutions in the sixth, Scotty Dubrule scored Brad Cumbest with a single, Tanner Leggett socked his first home run of the year and Meche’s infield hit brought home McGowan from second.

Leggett entered at shortstop in the second inning for freshman Lane Forsythe, who was feeling sick but, according to Lemonis, should be fine by the weekend. The junior took a 1-1 pitch from reliever Blake Petty out to left field for a two-run shot to put his team up 18-7.

Petty was the seventh and final pitcher used by UAB, a mark topped easily by the bullpen-heavy Bulldogs in Tuesday’s game. After freshman pitcher Mikey Tepper worked a scoreless first, Mississippi State threw out nine relievers, none of whom pitched more than an inning. 

Not all the outings were perfect. Smith recorded just one out and allowed two earned runs, Spencer Price was tagged for three runs in the fifth and Preston Johnson gave up a run in the seventh.

But Chase Patrick, KC Hunt, Cam Tullar, Stone Simmons, Carlisle Koestler and Eric Cerantola all had scoreless appearances. Cerantola, once again pitching in mop-up duty in the ninth, flashed his upper-90s fastball as he struck out all three Blazers.

“Tonight was really sharp,” Lemonis said. “Tonight was real, and it could really help us a lot if he could pitch like that more often.”

That won’t come with such ease against one of the premier offensive teams in the country. Vanderbilt is coming off a series win at No. 6 Tennessee last week in Knoxville, and the Commodores will pose another tough test for the Bulldogs from Friday to Sunday in Nashville.

But after the series win over No. 12 Ole Miss, Mississippi State is ready for the challenge that comes with playing in college baseball’s toughest conference.

“That’s how it is in the SEC: Any team can be beat on any given night,” Hancock said. “We have to go in there prepared, which I know we will be. We have to get after it the rest of the week with our practices. When Friday rolls around, hopefully we’ll be ready to go. I know the guys will be, and it’s going to be a fun series for sure.”

Dawg notes

Freshman right-hander Xavier Lovett was one of few pitchers who didn’t appear Tuesday for the Bulldogs. Lemonis said Lovett has missed the past couple weeks because of injury and has been making progress this week. “He’s kind of working back into the mix right now,” Lemonis said.

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.