Freshmen deliver in State’s home win over Utah Valley
There might come a day where Mississippi State’s young, freshman hitters hit a wall at the plate.
For now, though, the No. 21 Bulldogs are leaning heavily on the bats of their newcomers.
They did again on Sunday when MSU used four RBI from Tanner Allen and Rowdey Jordan to lead them to a 5-3 win. Jordan’s three-run homer in the fourth inning proved to be the difference for State in the rubber match as the two-out hit gave them the lead for good.
“I feel like we can hit anybody,” Jordan said. “When you have confidence, you’re going to succeed most of the time. We’re just trying to keep our bodies healthy and prepared for a long season.”
Offensively, State had nine hits in the game with freshmen Allen and Jordan going 2-for-4 each. Stovall also ended the game 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Things didn’t start off smoothly for Jacob Billingsley and
cult one. Should MSU defeat Nebraska on Wednesday, the
Bulldogs would then likely be facing a road game at Baylor, one of the NIT’s four No. 1 seeds, in the second round. Baylor faces Wagner on Tuesday.
Yet challenges are what the postseason is all about. MSU isn’t in the big dance like it hoped would be the
case a couple of weeks back, but the Bulldogs are happy to still be playing and getting the chance to face the obstacles that await them in
the NIT.
“We’re excited about this opportunity,” Howland said. “When you look at the field in this tournament, there are
definitely some teams in this tournament that are worthy of being in the NCAA Tournament. It’s going to be very tough.”