The Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team won a pair of non-conference games this week over the South Alabama Jaguars and the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils at Dudy Noble Field.
On Tuesday, sophomore Forrest Moore pitched six solid innings to lead the Bulldogs to victory over South Alabama.
The Jaguars got on the board first in the third inning. Designated hitter Brandon Brown started the inning off with a double and was moved to third on center fielder Clint Reynolds’ single. He then scored after left fielder Nathaniel Lami’s sacrifice fly.
The Bulldogs got going in the fourth inning on junior first baseman Conner Powers’ solo home run and sophomore shortstop Ryan Powers’ RBI single which scored junior DH Ryan Duffy.
In the fifth inning, Duffy’s double drove in junior second baseman Jet Butler and Conner Powers, and senior catcher Scott DeLoach’s single scored Duffy to give the Bulldogs the 5-1 lead they carried to the end of the game.
Moore received the win for the Bulldogs, taking his record to 2-0. He pitched six innings, struck out six and gave up only five hits and an earned run. Senior Chad Crosswhite earned the save after pitching the final three innings and allowing only one hit.
Dustin Crenshaw drew the loss for the Jaguars after pitching only 3.1 innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs.
“Today, Mississippi State just outplayed us,” South Alabama head coach Steve Kittrell said. “We didn’t swing the bats as well as we can and we made some baserunning mistakes. We’ve got to hurry up and learn from them. We pitched well and played some good defense, but we’ve got to run the bases smarter and swing it better.”
On Wednesday, the Bulldogs survived a tough challenge from Mississippi Valley State and won 4-3.
MSU head coach John Cohen said MVSU has improved greatly since head coach Doug Shanks took over.
“They’re competitive and they’ve got some athletes and they can do some things to you,” Cohen said.
The Delta Devils scored first in the top of the second, when catcher Cody Pride’s double scored first baseman Sean Bard from second. Cohen pulled starter freshman David Hayes at that point and replaced him with junior Greg Houston, who held the Delta Devils to no hits through the next 4.1 innings.
Sophomore left fielder Jason Nappi tied the game in the bottom of the fifth when Ryan Powers was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The Bulldogs opened up a lead with two outs in the seventh when junior third baseman Jarrod Parks scored on Delta Devil third baseman Hogan Barnes’ error. Senior center fielder Mark Goforth’s double to left field drove in Ryan Powers to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead.
In the top of the eighth, left fielder Chris Herron scored for the Delta Devils on shortstop Curtis Ford’s single to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to one, and Ford tied the game after a stolen base, wild pitch and passed ball.
In the bottom of the eighth, senior Grant Hogue, making his first appearance of the season after injuring his shoulder, pinch ran and scored from second on freshman left fielder Brent Brownlee’s double to give the Bulldogs a 4-3 lead that they took to the end of the game.
“When Grant was on second, I knew I had to do something to get him over,” Brownlee said. “I hit a fastball. He had a little sink on it. He’d been getting under us all night, and coach just told me to stay beneath him, and I did on that last pitch, and good outcome.”
Justin Bussey picked up the win for the Bulldogs, allowing no hits and no earned runs in the final 1.1 innings. Scott Reid was the losing pitcher for the Delta Devils.
Despite the win, Cohen was disappointed with the team’s hitting. The Bulldogs were held to only five hits in the game.
“I don’t know how many at-bats we had tonight, but very few of them were good at-bats, and that’s bothersome. We just did not have good at-bats,” Cohen said. “We’ve got to get better with at-bats. It’s not hits, it’s not about always finding barrel at the plate, but it’s always about tracking the pitch. We’re getting out in the same ways over and over again, and that’s disappointing.”
The Bulldogs are now 5-1 on the season. They will be back in action this weekend, as they host three games against Nicholls State.