Bulldog starters turned in three strong performances, but one swing prevented the Mississippi State Bulldog baseball team from sweeping the Belmont Bruins this weekend.
Friday, Devin Jones pitched a gem for the first eight innings, allowing no runs and only three hits and three walks. He walked onto the mound to start the ninth up 1-0, hoping to become the first Bulldog pitcher to throw a complete game shutout since 2003.
Belmont’s Derek Hamblin led off the ninth with a single to right center, and then Dylan Craig hit a deep ball just over centerfielder Brent Brownlee’s glove. By the time Brownlee got the ball back to the infield, Hamblin and Craig had rounded the bases to give Belmont a 2-1 lead.
Cohen said he did not regret leaving Jones out there for so long, despite the result.
“You get a runner on first base; you’ve got [the batter] 1-2. [Jones] was our best opportunity to get a ground ball. We can bring in [Luis] Pollorena at that point in time, but he’s not going to get a ground ball — he’s more of a fly ball guy,” Cohen said. “When the temperature’s like it is right now, bringing a guy out of the bullpen with as small of a zone as we had today, you’re running a real risk right there.”
The Bulldog offense went down quietly in the ninth, just as it had for most of the game. The Bulldogs managed only six hits on the day, none of which were extra-base hits, and the team was 0-7 with runners in scoring position. The one run the Bulldogs did score came in the second when Daryl Norris scored as Belmont turned a double play.
The Bulldogs avenged the loss Saturday, defeating Belmont 5-3 behind another quality start from Chris Stratton, who went 7.2 innings, striking out 13 and allowing no runs, four hits and no walks.
“[Stratton] was dominant today, and that’s great to see. He can really elevate a team’s strike zone because his breaking ball gets in the same area as his fastball,” Cohen said. “It was exciting to watch. We needed that from Chris, and he gave it to us.”
The Bulldogs broke the game open in the sixth inning with Jaron Shepherd’s RBI double followed by a Jonathan Ogden home run, taking the lead to 5-0.
Ogden, who went 3-4 at the plate Saturday, is now hitting .346 and has hit three home runs. Last season, he hit .207 and only hit six home runs in the entire season. Ogden said he has been feeling good at the plate this year.
“I’ve been working out a lot of things in the offseason. Coach Cohen’s done a lot of things with me, and things have been working,” Ogden said.
Again, Belmont made it interesting in the ninth, as Tim Eggerton hit a three-run home run off freshman pitcher Victor Diaz. Cohen said although Diaz’s performance Saturday was sloppy, he was glad to give him the opportunity to pitch with a five-run cushion.
“[Diaz] is going to be very, very good, but the tempo wasn’t there. There are some things he needs to improve on, but if you can’t give a freshman the opportunity up five, then you’re not going to have opportunities for him,” Cohen said.
The Bulldog offense finally exploded on Sunday as MSU defeated Belmont 14-5. The Bulldogs wasted no time, as Jarrod Parks hit a three-run homer in the first inning. The Bulldogs added two more in the second on Norris’ single.
“We wanted to score a few in the first and second early to get on top of them because they didn’t have much left in the bullpen,” Parks said.
Ryan Collins and Taylor Stark each homered Sunday, and all nine starters recorded a hit.
In his first career start at MSU, Evan Mitchell lasted six innings, giving up two runs, five hits and a walk. Mitchell said he was pleased his plan of throwing strikes went well.
“It turned out real nice for me today. I was just trying to throw strikes and stick to the plan Coach Thompson and Wes Thigpen came up with,” Mitchell said. “I was mainly trying to get ahead with the fastball and then allow myself the opportunity to throw second and third pitches for strikes as much as I could.”
Cohen said he has not yet decided whether Mitchell will regularly fill the Sunday starter role for the rest of the season.
“In our league, with as much of left-handed pop as there is, it’s hard to go in there with three right-handers,” Cohen said. “But you have to throw your very best guys, and I think Evan may end up one of those guys.”
The Bulldogs’ record now stands at 7-1. The Bulldogs play Alcorn State today at 5 p.m. at Dudy Noble Field.