Question marks popped up for Mississippi State baseball following a 1-2 showing at the Frisco College Basketball Classic two weekends ago.

Those question marks have been answered over the last week as the Bulldogs stretched their winning streak to five games, punctuated by a weekend series sweep of Lipscomb.

Some noticeable holes in the pitching staff took center stage early on, but with a string of recent pitching performances carrying Mississippi State, things look to be heading in the right direction as Southeastern Conference play begins this weekend.

“We’re going to have to have everyone chip in,” Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis said on Saturday. “We play two good opponents during the week. Both teams are playing well, so we’re going to take it game-by-game and see what we got and try to maximize our staff.”

The Bulldogs (11-5) head on the road, first to Biloxi on Tuesday and Wednesday for the Hancock Whitney Classic.

Mississippi State takes on Nicholls State and Louisiana-Lafayette at MGM Park, home of the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers, before traveling to Lexington, Kentucky, for a weekend series against the Wildcats, a team the Bulldogs haven’t faced since sweeping them in Starkville in April 2021.

Last week was a good way to set the tone for a week on the road as the Bulldogs went 4-0 at Dudy Noble Field and stabilized the rotation, bringing down the team ERA from over 5.50 to just above 4.80.

“Four good days in a row this week,” head coach Chris Lemonis said. “It’s not easy. I tip my hat to Lipscomb. I thought they threw some really nice arms at us today and competed. I’m just proud of the way we competed. … Our kids are competing at a high level.”

Competition will continue to be high in Biloxi as Nicholls State (11-7) has won two-straight weekend series against Memphis and Louisiana-Monroe, respectively.

The Ragin’ Cajuns (10-5) have seen similar success, with series wins against Rice and BYU to begin the season. 

Mississippi State will need a strong showing from its pitching staff. As the offense has continued to click, scoring nearly nine runs a game through 16 games, the pitching has started to follow suit.

Since last Sunday’s win against Cal, an 8-4 win powered by late offense and the relief outing of Nate Dohm, Mississippi State pitching has allowed four runs or fewer in its last five games.

“It’s honestly a really big confidence booster,” senior right-handed pitcher Landon Gartman said. “Knowing that my team is behind me, even when I don’t have my best stuff, knowing that they’re going to go out and compete and win the game, gives me more confidence.”

Performances over that stretch include freshman Bradley Loftin striking out 11 in six innings against Valparaiso on Tuesday and freshman switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje striking out eight over six innings of one-run baseball in Friday’s 8-2 win over the Bisons (5-11).

Freshmen are making big statements early on, and it’s not just hitting as catcher Ross Highfill became the 10th player in Mississippi State history to hit three home runs in a game, something he did in Saturday’s doubleheader and series finale.

“I think I’ve really dialed in on not ever missing my pitch,” Highfill said. “Now that I’ve gotten up to this level of pitching, if you get behind, you’re screwed from there on out, so it’s ‘just don’t miss your pitch and you’ll be alright.’”

The Bulldogs hit seven homers on the weekend, none bigger than junior outfielder Kellum Clark’s walk-off solo homer in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

“I feel good,” Clark said. “I think a lot of our guys feel really good right now, which is good going into SEC play.”