Bulldogs open key SEC series with victory over Tigers
MSU's Pilkington says Brown's play key during victory
Win, lose or draw, Konnor Pilkington isn't one to show emotion when he's on the mound.
Yet on Friday night when his teammate, Cody Brown, fielded a leadoff single in left field to start the 7th inning and proceeded to gun down the Auburn runner trying to advance to second, Mississippi State's ace left-hander couldn't hold his feelings in. He visibly and emphatically pumped his fist and pointed in appreciation to Brown.
“I usually say it's just another game,” Pilkington said. “It is another game, but this was a big game. Cody making a play like that gets everybody fired up. Me, being a pitcher, it's awesome to see someone make a play behind me like that.”
It was a big-time moment in a big-time contest for the Bulldogs as No. 8 MSU went on to defeat No. 5 Auburn 5-2 at Dudy Noble Field. The victory kept Mississippi State (30-14, 14-5) on top of the Southeastern Conference standings all by itself, one game ahead of Kentucky and two ahead of Auburn (30-14, 12-7).
“No one expected us to do anything,”
MSU shortstop Ryan Gridley said of a Bulldog squad that has been hampered by injury and adversity. “People thought we were going to be last in the SEC. Let's be honest.”
It was Pilkington that paved the way for the Bulldogs' victory that kept MSU on the mountaintop. The southpaw, who earlier this week called his recent performances “average,” was anything but on Friday. For the first time in six weeks, Pilkington got through the seventh inning. He was perfect over his first three frames before ending the night allowing just four total hits and two runs (one earned). He walked three and struck out four as he earned the win.
“He's awesome,” Gridley said of Pilkington. “He just pounds the zone for us. When you're in the infield, you know you can get ready for a ground ball or you know he's going to get a strikeout to get us right back to the plate.”
Gridley's bat helped make Pilkington a winner. Gridley produced three of MSU's seven total hits. He scored a pair of runs and drove in one.
“(In the) pregame, I just focused on getting my hands ready,” Gridley said. “I'd been late a little the last couple of games and I told myself I had to get on time and it just worked out.”
Gridley's single to start the bottom of the fourth inning was the spark that ignited a rally that put MSU up for good. State took a 1-0 lead in the first when Jake Mangum was hit by a pitch and later came around to score on a balk from Auburn starter Keegan Thompson.
The Tigers tied things up in the top of the fourth on a Josh Anthony sacrifice fly.
After Gridley's base hit to start the home half of the fourth, MSU went on to score twice in the frame. Elijah MacNamee had an RBI triple and Josh Lovelady provided a runscoring double.
A pair of MSU fielding errors elongated the fifth inning and allowed Auburn to push across its second run to cut the Bulldogs' lead to 3-2, but back-to-back doubles by Gridley and Brown put MSU back up by two runs at 4-2 in the sixth. State added its final run on an RBI single by Gridley in the seventh.
From there, MSU relievers Peyton Plumlee and Riley Self each pitched hitless innings to clinch the win for the Bulldogs. Self earned his third save.
“This was a terrific win for us,” MSU head coach Andy Cannizaro said. “I felt like we played a really good ball game.
“I felt like our guys rose to the occasion.” Two more games await the Bulldogs and Tigers today as Mississippi State looks to stay atop the SEC. Because of weather, Sunday's series finale was pushed up to today as part of a doubleheader with games beginning at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
It's two more big-time games for the Bulldogs. MSU wouldn't have it any other way.
“To be in first place right now is a privilege and we just want to keep it going,” Gridley said.