It is common knowledge in baseball that the team always wants to get hot at the end of the season, but starting off hot is important too.
The Mississippi State University baseball team opened up the season about as hot as a team can get, especially from the plate. The Bulldogs plated 48 runs over opening weekend, the most in a four game stretch since 2007.
In recent years, the Bulldogs have relied heavily on a solid starting rotation and ample bullpen help to win ballgames, but this year’s offense could change that trend.
To produce runs, it all starts at the beginning of the lineup, where Seth Heck shined last weekend. Senior shortstop Heck led the team in hits, going 9-for-16 on the weekend, while sophomores Reid Humphreys and Jacob Robson each added six hits.
The biggest reason for the offensive explosion was how well the Bulldogs batted with the bases loaded. The team went 7-for-16 with 22 RBI, and senior first baseman Wes Rea blasted a grand slam on Saturday.
Humphries and senior outfielder Jake Vickerson also went yard over the weekend. This could be a common theme for the Bulldogs in 2015 with more power coming into the lineup.
In the preseason, head coach John Cohen harped  that this team would show more power than in previous years, and he has not been wrong so far. Although it was just the opening weekend, the Bulldogs look to be in midseason form.
Robson had such a phenomenal weekend he received national honors. Robson reached base 16 out of 17 plate appearances and currently leads the SEC in runs scored with eight. Collegiate Baseball named him their National Player of the Week for the first weekend of the season.
Robson, aka the “Maple Hammer,” hit in the five hole for all of the Bulldogs’ four wins on the weekend. His play helped the Diamond Dogs move up in four of the five polls released this week. After staying put at No. 14 in Baseball America, MSU jumped to No. 18 in Collegiate Baseball, No. 20 in NCBWA, No. 21 in Perfect Game and entered the D1 Baseball top 25 at No. 24. If the Bulldogs can continue to play at this high of a level, they will continue to climb in the polls
The 2015 campaign could be a breakout year at the plate for some young players, and if the past weekend has taught us anything, it’s that the Bulldogs are not afraid to swing the bat. In the last two games, the Bulldogs scored 15 or more runs in consecutive games for the first time in 15 years.
The fans in Dudy Noble Field’s Left Field Lounge may want to take their gloves to more games this year, because if the Bulldogs can continue to swing the bats like they are, the Lounge may become a busy landing zone for more MSU homeruns.