STARKVILLE – There wasn’t too much to take away from the matchup between No. 4 Mississippi State and Alcorn State on Wednesday. The Bulldogs improved to 5-0 on the year with a 19-0 run-rule win. The Bulldogs made it three games in a row with at least 10 hits, but they did so with a largely rotated side.
Vytas Valincius, who had a strong Tuesday outing against Troy, kept things going with a hit and two RBI. Blake Bevis played both infield and outfield in a two-hit, six RBI performance that included his first home run as a Bulldog, and shortstop Drew Wyers went 4-4 at the plate in his first start for MSU this season.
“I gave some guys their first opportunities tonight. Drew Wyers, Andrew Raymond, (Peter) Mershon, and we like all those players. Once you get the game under control, getting someone like Ace Reese out of the game. It gives other guys opportunities to play and see what they’re capable of doing.”
Mershon was a noteworthy player for the Bulldogs, not only for his two hits and four RBI, or because his brother, David, was an All-SEC player for the Bulldogs two years ago. He’s made an impression on the staff over the past six months and offers a lot of promise at catcher and as a designated-hitter option.
“I really like Peter Mershon. He’s an SEC kind of athlete,” O’Connor said. “He goes about his work in a businesslike manner. Drew Wyers is that cagey veteran who’s been around college baseball and knows what he’s doing. You can play him anywhere in the infield.”
O’Connor knows he needs to narrow down the key group of regulars by the time SEC play comes around. He remarked that he primarily plays around 11 guys apart from pinch-hit opportunities, but with such a big squad, he’s been eager to give guys a chance to prove themselves early on. Valincius and Wyers, in particular, players who have played at this level for several seasons now, have shown already that they can contribute when called upon.
“There’s nothing wrong with somebody nipping at your heels a little bit, from the standpoint of, ‘I wanna play too,’” he said. “It raises your game up and everybody’s level up a little bit.”
The need for depth
The most obvious reason to stack a roster behind the experienced upperclassmen is the possibility of injury, and the Bulldogs had to rotate in part because of early knocks to Reed Stallman and Noah Sullivan.
“You know, injuries are going to happen,” O’Connor said. “We’ve got a couple right out of the gate, and they’re gonna happen throughout the season. When you get opportunities to create that depth, then when you have somebody step in there, they’re able to handle it a little bit better.”
Sullivan played in the Saturday doubleheader, but tweaked something in his back in practice on Monday, according to O’Connor, and missed both midweek games.
Stallman left the action on Saturday with an injury, but took full practice before the Wednesday game and is expected to return for the start of the Delaware series on Friday.
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