After its run in the College World Series four months ago, the Mississippi State University baseball team returned to the diamond last weekend to begin fall scrimmages.
The Gray squad completed a weekend sweep over the Black team as veterans settled into a groove of another preseason while newcomers showcased their talents. 
Head coach John Cohen praised his incoming class and said multiple freshmen gained valuable experience in the weekend series — especially on the mound.
“We’re really pleased with our freshmen coming around. On the mound we have a lot of new faces,” he said. “We’ve had some guys who pitched well. It’s still early. You can do all the bullpen work you want, but when you’re on the bump after not being on the mound for a while, it takes a little time to adjust.”
Freshmen Dakota Hudson and Austin Sexton started for the Gray and each tossed 2.1 scoreless innings in their outings. Senior All-American Jonathan Holder closed the opener and series finale and tossed a scoreless inning in each outing.
Team captain Wes Rea said he has been impressed with the No. 2 recruiting class so far and said its rank reflects its abilities.
“As you saw earlier, they’re ranked second in the nation, and as far as I can tell, they have proven that,” he said. “We have a bunch of good guys that are getting the hang of things right off the bat. Things are starting to click a lot sooner, and we’re able to get things done sooner because of that.”
Offensively, the Bulldogs picked up where they left off in June. Seniors Rea, C.T. Bradford, Alex Detz and junior Derrick Armstrong provided much of the offense in the weekend. 
Newcomers Daniel Garner, Reid Humphreys and Jake Vickerson, younger brother of former MSU standout Nick Vickerson, also gained attention throughout the series. Garner collected a pair of home runs and plated four RBIs over the weekend while Humphreys cranked out a game-winning two-RBI double Saturday. 
Cohen said he knew his veterans would produce runs, but he was pleased with the way his newcomers approached the plate.
“I think we have some talented young players,” he said. “We just have to keep getting better, but thus far they’ve done some really good things.”
Of all the positions the Bulldogs seek to replace from a year ago, team chemistry is one intangible aspect Cohen said will take time to develop throughout the fall.
“We have 19 new players in our program, but we have that really good core of older guys, too, and it just takes a little while,” he said. “The freshmen are living in the dorms while the older guys are living in apartments around Starkville, and getting them all together is a little bit of a challenge. The chemistry we had on our club last year was phenomenal, and it’s not something you can just create. The kids have to do it, but you can put them in an environment where it can be done.”
Rea said the biggest factor in creating the team’s cohesion is each player learning his role on the team. 
“(Chemistry) begins now, but as soon as we get into games, that’ll pick up more,” he said. “It really develops when everybody knows their role. That kind of thing is determined when you start to play ball games against real competition. Everybody is going to know their role, and everything falls into place as far as team chemistry.”
MSU returns to the diamond Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 for its fourth scrimmage of the fall before playing another three-game series this weekend.