Winning all four of their games against the likes of Cincinnati and Miami (Ohio), the Mississippi State University Bulldogs started their season off strong over the weekend. The contributions came from a bevy of both underclassmen and upperclassmen, and the weekend proved to give some insight into where the production may come from in the lineup. 
The temperature over the weekend became a factor MSU Head Coach John Cohen said all three teams managed to fight through over the course of the three day stretch. 
“I think this was one of those days where you just have to compete with the elements as much as the other team,” Cohen said. 
In total, the Bulldogs scored 48 runs, collected 46 hits, hit three home runs, batted .343 as a team and stole four bases to round out the string of impressive performances. The first of three games against Cincinnati served as the scene for opening day for the Bulldogs. Approximately 7,981 fans turned out to see their team take the field for the first time. Cohen gave the starting nod to Junior Preston Brown, who did not disappoint. Brown picked up the win as he went five innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and struck out seven batters for the game, tying his career high for a game. Offensively, senior Seth Heck paced the Bulldogs with four hits, to go along with two RBI and plated a run. Redshirt sophomore Jacob Robson added two runs on a pair of singles leading the Bulldogs to a 6-2 victory over the Bearcats.
The Bulldogs played a double header on Saturday, beginning with Miami. The Bulldogs began their offensive production when first baseman Wes Rea hit a grand slam to left field in the bottom of the first inning. 
Senior Lucas Laster allowed only two hits in his 3.1 innings of work in which he only gave up one run and struck out two batters. Senior Ross Mitchell picked up the win after he came in during the fourth inning and went the rest of the length. Mitchell’s final line read 5.2 innings, three strikeouts and no runs allowed against the 18 batters he faced. The final score would read 7-1 in favor of the home team. 
Robson said he was pleased to see all of his hard work come to fruition after the struggles he endured during last season’s injury-riddled campaign. 
“It feels good to see all that hard work pay off,” Robson said. “Myself along with the rest of the team put in countless hours in the offseason leading up to this weekend. I’m just glad that it kind of paid off for me. I know it’s going to pay off for other guys too.”                
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Bulldogs overcame an early 4-0 deficit, but outscored Cincinnati on a 19-1 run to earn the blowout win 19-5. The debut for freshman Jesse McCord did not go how he would have liked, as he was pulled after just 1.1 innings of work and gave up four runs on three hits. Following McCord, a platoon of five of his teammates were able to come in and steady the ship, giving up only one run for the rest of the contest. This would prove good enough, with the Bulldog offense exploding for 19 runs on 13 hits, to cap off a dominating performance in front of 9,159 fans for the entirety of the day.    
Cohen expressed his pleasure with his team’s play after the conclusion of the doubleheader. 
“A good afternoon,” Cohen said. “We got a lot of good swings from a lot of different players. When you have someone like (Jacob) Robson and some of the guys in our order, you’re going to hurry a defense a little bit, and there’s going to be some throw aways.”
Early Sunday afternoon saw the Bulldogs complete the series sweep against the Bearcats, as MSU was able to hit the ball early and often against the multitude of young arms it saw from Cincinnati. The final score of 16-7 does not fully depict the ease at which the victory was obtained, as the Bulldogs held a 14-1 lead coming out of the fourth inning. 
The major story coming out of the final game against Cincinnati was Rea’s absence, who was hit by a pitch in the knee during the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday. There is no timetable for his return.
MSU returns to action this weekend with a pair of games against Marshall and Alabama A&M.