With Mississippi State’s season on the precipice for the first time, the Bulldogs’ bats came to life all at once.
MSU banged out a season-high 19 hits and scored multiple runs in five different innings in a 13-5 victory over St. John’s on Sunday at the Charlottesville Regional, sending the Bulldogs into the regional final against host and No. 12 seed Virginia.
A night after the Cavaliers edged MSU 5-4 in the winners’ bracket game, the two teams will meet again Sunday evening. The Bulldogs need two wins to advance to the super regionals; Virginia, just one.
Dakota Jordan has officially broken out of his late-season slump — he reached base in all six of his plate appearances with five hits and a walk, capped by a three-run home run in the ninth inning that landed 463 feet away from home plate. The first two hitters in the MSU batting order, Amani Larry and David Mershon, had three hits apiece, with Mershon connecting on a two-run homer in the sixth.
The Bulldogs (40-22) put up their first crooked number in the third, starting a four-run rally on a leadoff double by Aaron Downs. Joe Powell and Larry followed with singles to plate the game’s first run, and after Mershon bounced into a double play that scored another run but emptied the bases, MSU added two more in the inning on RBI singles by Connor Hujsak and Bryce Chance.
Jordan and Hunter Hines each delivered run-scoring singles an inning later to extend the lead to 6-0. Chance and Hines drove in two runs apiece, with Chance collecting three hits. Logan Kohler, who had three extra-base hits against the Red Storm on Friday night, was the only MSU starter who did not hit safely in Sunday afternoon’s game.
Brooks Auger may not have replicated his eight-inning, one-run performance against Ole Miss from his last start in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, but he was solid, holding St. John’s (38-18-1) to three runs (two earned) in 4 1/3 innings. Cam Schuelke pitched the rest of the game, working out of a mess in the fifth and tossing a season-high 4 2/3 innings. He scattered five hits but allowed just one earned run.
Takeaways
1. If the Bulldogs can keep hitting like this, look out. Head coach Chris Lemonis said before the regional that Jordan and Hines had never really been hot at the same time at any point this season. Both look locked in at the plate right now, and if MSU can continue to get quality at-bats from Larry, Mershon and Chance, the Bulldogs might just be able to take two from the Cavaliers.
2. The pitching staff is in good shape, all things considered. MSU has used just two pitchers in each of its first three games this weekend, with left-hander Pico Kohn in line to start Sunday evening. Top relievers Tyler Davis and Tyson Hardin should be available, and Nate Dohm has yet to pitch in the regional. Virginia used its two best starters in its first two games and may be thin on depth going forward, even though the Cavaliers have played just twice so far.
3. Defense can make a big difference. Mershon in particular was dazzling in the field Sunday, starting an impressive double play in the second inning by showing off his range and flipping the ball to Larry with his glove. Hujsak and Chance each took a home run away from a Virginia batter later in the game by reaching over the short outfield wall, and Larry made a sliding stop at second for the final out in the fourth.
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