STARKVILLE — Lane Forsythe didn’t know what had happened until he heard the voice.

“Go, go, go!” shouted teammate Landon Sims, coaching first base with his right arm still held tightly in a brace after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March.

Only then did Forsythe see the baseball rolling away, getting past the first baseman and under a metal bench in the visitors’ bullpen. He picked himself up and began to run, making it all the way to third base.

Lane Forsythe had taken off.

At long last, the Bulldogs’ slick-fielding shortstop had himself a breakout offensive game — just when Mississippi State needed it.
Forsythe paced MSU (19-15) with a four-hit game, going 4 for 5 in Tuesday’s 6-5, 10-inning win over UAB (21-11) at Dudy Noble Field.

“That was probably his best night offensively in our program,” Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis said.

Forsythe scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly by Kamren James after taking two bases on the pickoff error, crossing the plate to hand the Bulldogs a comeback win in the midweek contest.

Mississippi State battled UAB to a 3-3 draw through eight innings before the Blazers jumped back on top with a two-run double in the top of the ninth.

But freshman Hunter Hines responded with a two-run, opposite-field home run to tie the game.

Hines had two hits Tuesday after just one hit in his previous 30 at-bats as he struggled to make the necessary tweaks to break out of his slump.

“Instead of adjusting, he just tried a little harder, and that’s not good in this game,” Lemonis said.

Hines, of course, couldn’t be kept down for long. He sliced an 0-1 pitch down the left-field line and over the wall with one out in the ninth, scoring Luke Hancock to make it a 5-5 game.

Hines’ homer set the stage for the Bulldogs to walk the game off in the 10th, not long after an MSU comeback seemed unlikely.

Jackson Fristoe ran into trouble in his second inning of work, giving up back-to-back doubles as UAB pulled ahead in the ninth. A bunt single put men on first and third with no one out and sent Fristoe to the showers.

Then KC Hunt got two huge strikeouts and a groundout, extinguishing the rally. Hunt pitched around a leadoff hit and a strikeout/wild pitch in the 10th, finishing the game.

The New Jersey native made only his sixth appearance all season after missing 23 games with an injury, but he’s already fitting well into the late-inning slot he hopes to keep.

“Being out six weeks kind of hurt,” Hunt said. “I wanted to get out there as soon as I can, so coming back and playing a huge role is awesome.”

Hunt was the Bulldogs’ sixth and final pitcher Tuesday after Pico Kohn, Parker Stinnett and Drew Talley each threw two innings. Brooks Auger pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, but Fristoe replaced him and couldn’t manage a second strong frame.

Kohn allowed two runs and Stinnett gave up a solo homer to his first batter as UAB took an early 3-1 lead.

But RJ Yeager hit an RBI single in the fourth inning, and a grounder by James in the sixth snuck under the glove of third baseman Josh Sears and down the left-field line, scoring Forsythe to tie the game.

The sophomore shortstop had hits in four straight at-bats — against four different pitchers — after a fielder’s choice in the second inning. He had an infield single in the fourth, a liner to center in the sixth, a single up the middle in the eighth and another in the 10th.

Forsythe said he and hitting coach Jake Gautreau recently “figured out” something with Forsythe’s swing, and the change is paying dividends already. Forsythe upped his average from .224 to .278 on Tuesday night alone after going 2 for 3 on Friday against LSU.

“It seems like it’s a lot of confidence coming back because I started out struggling, so I’ve just got my confidence back,” he said. “I’m trying to get that all the way back and get back out there.”

Stinnett out of rotation

Stinnett’s third-inning appearance seemed to signal that he wouldn’t be starting this weekend against Auburn at Dudy Noble Field, and Lemonis confirmed as much after the game.

“Parker’s not starting this weekend,” Lemonis said. “TBA is. He throws a lot of strikes. I don’t know where he’s throwing or what day he’s throwing, but he’s good when he competes.”

Preston Johnson and Cade Smith are locks to retain their spots in the weekend rotation, while the third spot could go to senior Brandon Smith, who pitched six strong relief innings Saturday against LSU. Lemonis said he wasn’t sure how to handle the third game but will likely put Stinnett in the bullpen.

Smith came in during the first inning to replace Stinnett, who gave up three runs and left with two men on base. Stinnett owns a 6.32 ERA in 31 1/3 innings this season.

The Bulldogs face Auburn from Thursday to Saturday in Starkville.

 

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