Mississippi State needed length out of its starting pitching over the weekend, and although he wasn’t at his sharpest, ace lefty Pico Kohn was giving the Bulldogs just that as he worked into the seventh inning of a tied game Friday night.
Kohn retired the first two Auburn batters, both left-handed hitters, and he remained in the game even at 111 pitches. After issuing a two-out walk to Eric Snow, Kohn allowed an RBI double to Cooper McMurray before he was finally pulled. That run was the difference as the No. 11 Tigers defeated MSU 6-5, opening a series in which the Bulldogs lost two out of three.
Home runs by Noah Sullivan and Joe Powell accounted for all of MSU’s offense in the opener.
“He got the first two hitters (quickly),” head coach Chris Lemonis said. “We stayed with him because he had had success against Snow all night long. And you have McMurray next. They have a lot of great left-handers, and we usually don’t stretch Pico. Tonight we felt we could. We just don’t have a lot of left-handers in the bullpen.”
Siary delivers best start of season
The junior right-hander out of Starkville Academy started the year in the bullpen but has worked his way into the weekend rotation and was at his best Saturday evening, holding Auburn to three runs on four hits over six strong innings in a 12-7 victory. Siary struck out four and walked just one, throwing an efficient 81 pitches.
The Bulldogs (25-19, 7-14 Southeastern Conference) gave Siary plenty of run support. Ace Reese and Hunter Hines each hit a two-run home run in the first, and MSU appeared to break it open with six runs in the fourth, when Joe Powell, Sawyer Reeves, Reese and Bryce Chance all came up with huge hits.
But even a 10-1 lead was not safe. The Tigers (30-14, 11-10) touched Siary for a pair of solo shots in the fifth and sixth, then hit two more bases-empty homers in the seventh against Stone Simmons. Simmons was touched up for two more runs in the eighth before Nate Williams took over, and Williams walked the first two batters he faced before escaping the jam with a double play. Luke Dotson struck out the side in the ninth to secure the win.
“I’m a little disappointed when we had it 10-1, we had a chance to blow it open,” Lemonis said. “That’s the youth of our team. We just give away an at-bat or two there in the middle where it could be 12, 13 or 14-1. They get a hold and then get a couple of hits here and there. We had to use a couple of our (high-leverage) guys, but I was going to do whatever we could to get that win here on the road.”
Ligon’s rough outing overshadows Reese’s big day
It’s commonly said that momentum is only as good as the next day’s starting pitcher, and Karson Ligon had one of his worst starts of the year Sunday, costing the Bulldogs a chance to win the series.
Ligon lasted just 1 ⅓ innings, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits and three walks. The second inning quickly unraveled on him, although Dylan Cupp — starting at second base with Gatlin Sanders out due to an illness — did Ligon no favors with a couple of misplays. McMurray’s three-run homer capped the six-run frame for the Tigers, who went on to win 14-8.
“The first couple of innings, we don’t defend great at a couple of spots,” Lemonis said. “We have a chance to make a couple of plays, and then Karson wasn’t great today. He left a couple of pitches up against a great lineup in an offensive ballpark. They got separated from us, and then we did a pretty good job stabilizing, started working our way back, and unfortunately gave up a couple of runs late.”
Reese went deep twice for MSU, and Hines also homered for the second straight game. The Bulldogs scored in six different innings, giving themselves a chance to get back into the game, but the bullpen could not hold Auburn’s offense down. Ben Davis allowed three runs in the fourth, and after MSU managed to climb back within four, the Tigers tacked on three more in the eighth against Ryan McPherson.
The Bulldogs’ NCAA Tournament hopes are now on life support, as they need to win at least six or seven of their remaining nine SEC games. MSU’s next eight games are at home, starting with a midweek game Tuesday evening against Memphis followed by a three-game series with Kentucky.
“(We need) consistent play,” Lemonis said. “Just across the board, come out and give a consistent effort and get hot. We keep thinking we’re getting hot and playing some really good baseball down the stretch.”
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