Entering its final midweek contest before the first road test of the season at Arizona, the Mississippi State University baseball team claimed its seventh-consecutive win in a 3-0 victory against South Alabama Wednesday night at Dudy Noble Field.
Three runs on five hits in the first three innings of play was all the Bulldogs needed to post their second-straight shutout. 
In a cold night at the park, the MSU pitching remained hot as three MSU hurlers completed the eight-hit shutout. Sophomore Preston Brown started on the mound and threw four innings while surrendering five hits and five strikeouts and has not allowed an earned run in his last 12.2 innings pitched. Brown said he becomes more comfortable with each start and has confidence in any player on the mound.
“Definitely played with fire a little bit tonight. I went out there and tried to throw it in the zone, and they kept getting guys on to start innings, but I just kept trusting my stuff and got out of it,” he said. “Ross (Mitchell) dealt and (Jacob) Lindgren finished it off, so pretty good stuff today.”
Brown showed signs of struggle as he allowed eight runners on base through the first four innings but said direction from pitching coach Butch Thompson allowed him to keep runs off the board.
“Coach Thompson talks about our patterns, pattern one and pattern two. So when no one is on to start the inning, you just try to shove it in there, try to get some early contact and get out of the inning  as quick as you can,” he said. “But if they have guys in scoring position, you have to pitch around them a little bit more — more swing-and-miss stuff.”
Mitchell followed suit with 3.1 innings before Lindgren closed the door with his first save of the season.
Head Coach John Cohen said pitching and defense set the tone for the game and continue to become a concrete identity of his team. 
“I thought we really pitched well tonight. All three guys who pitched this ball game did a really great job for us. I think the story of this ball game is how we attacked the strike zone with our arms and played the whole field pretty well tonight,” he said.
For Brown, Cohen said he has seen the right-hander progress with each start and can pose a threat from both sides of the plate.
“He can sink it, he can get the ground ball, and we’re seeing now he has a swing-and-miss pitch with his change-up to left handers and slider to right handers. He has come a long way, and he keeps getting better every time,” Cohen said. “He’s given up some early hits and then runners get in scoring position, but he has that ability to really focus in and make big pitches when it matters the most.”
Offensively, the Bulldogs struck for a pair of runs against the Jaguars in the first inning and took advantage of two USA errors. Senior Alex Detz extended the lead and set the final score when he blasted his second-career home run to right field to lead off the third inning.
Detz said hitting a home run always feels good and boosts his confidence to keep a rhythm at the plate.
“Any home run feels good. It doesn’t happen for me that often, so any time that happens it’s a good feeling,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been out of rhythm. This past week was the first time I really felt I was in rhythm, and hopefully I can carry that on.”
The Bulldogs are now 10-0 this season when plating the first run. Detz said scoring the first run is important to set the tone of the game, especially when the Dogs take advantage of opponents’ errors.
“Any time you score first it’s a better atmosphere in the dugout. You get that run early, and hits feed off each other,” he said. “When a team is making some errors you always want to pressure them a little bit more, and I think we did a good job of that tonight.”
The Bulldogs seek to carry the momentum to Tucson, Ariz., to face the University of Arizona and the University of California at Santa Barbara in the Hi Corbett Classic. 
Cohen said the experience of playing a top-ranked schedule has prepared his team for its first road games.
“I think we’ve played some really good teams so far. This South Alabama team is going to do really well in their league and has a really good club,” he said. “Arizona won the national championship two years ago. Santa Barbara is off to an incredible start. They do so many things well. It will be a battle for us. We’re looking forward to it. I think it’s one of those neat trips — a lot of our kids have never been to that area, so hopefully we’ll go up there and play well.”
MSU starts the weekend with a double header against UC-Santa Barbara at 3 p.m. followed by a night cap against Arizona at 8 p.m. The Dogs will face the Gauchos Saturday at 3 p.m. before finishing the weekend against the host Wildcats Sunday at 7 p.m.