Chris Stratton pitched a gem as the Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team rebounded from Friday’s loss to defeat Belmont 5-3.
Stratton went 7.2 innings, striking out 13 and only allowing four hits and no walks. His 13 strikeouts are the most of any Bulldog pitcher in a single game since 2005. Head coach John Cohen praised Stratton’sperfomance and said Stratton was “dying” to finish the game.
“[Stratton] was dominant today, and that’s great to see,” Cohen said. “He can really elevate a team’s strike zone because his breaking ball gets in the same area as his fastball. It was exciting to watch. We needed that from Chris, and he gave it to us.”
Luis Pollorena retired the next two batters and was pulled in ninth after allowing a single.
“We wanted Pollorena to face two left-handed hitters because that’s what he’s going to do in a relief role for us as we get into conference play,” Cohen said.
Cohen then brought in freshman Victor Diaz, who walked the first batter he faced before recording a strikeout. However, Tim Eggerton then hit a home run to left-center to narrow the score to 5-3. Diaz then Josh Davis to ground out and preserve the Bulldog victory.
“We finished pretty sloppy,” Cohen said. “[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.”
Jonathan Ogden went 3-for-4 on the day with a home run and 3 RBIs. He is now hitting .363 on the year, a large improvement on last year’s average of .207. 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
The Bulldogs, now 6-1 this season, capitalized on three Belmont errors and registered nine hits on the day. The Bulldogs scored first in the second inning when Cody Freeman scored on a Ryan Collins groundout. Freeman had reached third following a bizarre play in which Belmont made two errors and was unable to turn an inning-ending double play.
The Bulldogs added another run in the fourth on a Jonathan Ogden infield single which drove in Daryl Norris. The Bulldogs scored three more runs in the sixth when Jaron Shepherd doubled in Jarrod Parks and, in the next at bat, Ogden homered to left-center.
MSU shot itself in the foot early on with several baserunning blunders which prevented the opportunity to score more runs. In the fourth inning, Shepherd was thrown out at second while trying to stretch a single into a double, and Brent Brownlee was picked off in the fifth.
“When you’re not scoring, kids try and do things that you don’t want them to do. They try and go outside the box a little bit,” Cohen said. “Kids, when it doesn’t happen for them, try to do something extra, and that’s when you get in trouble.”
Stratton earned the win, bringing his record to 2-0. His ERA remains at 0.00 after pitching 13.2 innings on the season. Belmont’s Nate Woods drew the loss, dropping him to 0-2.
The Bulldogs finish the series with Belmont Sunday at 1:30 at Dudy Noble Field. Cohen said he had not yet decided which pitcher will start for the Bulldogs.
