BASEBALL
From page 11
“It's a really good lineup. We've got a long ways to go. It's a great start.”
No one had a bigger opening weekend that Allen. The slugging sophomore was the poster child for the Bulldogs' strong weekend at the plate as he went 7-for-13 over the entirety of the three-game set with a pair of home runs, three doubles, five runs scored and a whopping 13 RBI.
“I'm truly blessed,” Allen said. “Those guys in front of me keep getting on base and giving me the opportunities and I was able to take advantage of it.”
Allen had numerous big hits on Saturday. On the heels of a 2-for-5 showing on Friday's Opening Day that included a home run, Allen got the State bats in gear again Saturday. In the first game of the doubleheader, Allen cranked a three-run shot over the right-centerfield wall. That stretched what was already a 4-2 Bulldog lead out to 7-2 and sent MSU on the path to an easy win. Allen added a three-run double an inning later.
If that wasn't enough, Allen came through with another key three-run two-bagger in the nightcap as part of his monstrous weekend.
Allen wasn't a one-man wrecking crew either. State got contributions from all over on Saturday and throughout the whole series. In fact, five of the 10 Bulldogs that started a game this weekend finished the series hitting .333 or better. Seven of the 10 batted .273 or higher. That included sophomores Jordan Westburg and Justin Foscue, as well as freshman Landon Jordan and junior college transfer Gunner Halter.
“I've been hoping for that next step,” MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said of State's offensive success. “(The new members of the coaching staff) took over and we knew there were some really good sophomores in there and some young players. Everybody knows Jake (Mangum) is a great player and Elijah (Macnamee) with how he finished (last year), but put them all together as a group right now and how they're playing as a unit, you're seeing some guys do some special things.”
The offensive highlights were plenty on Saturday. In addition to Allen's momentous day, Foscue cranked a homer to get State on the scoreboard in the second game. Later, freshman catcher Hayden Jones hit his first career long ball when he mashed one over the wall in right field.
“You get the chills,” Jones said of his shot. “I was hoping the guys would give me the silent treatment, but it was an experience for sure.”
All the offense was plenty for State's pitching staff. After Ethan Small put up a solid Friday start, freshman J.T. Ginn and junior Keegan James followed suit Saturday. All three starting pitchers hurled five innings in their respective starts. None gave up more than two runs. James pitched five scoreless frames to help State secure the sweep.
The MSU bullpen shined in the two games Saturday too. Jack Eagan, Eric Cerantola and Brandon Smith all made their Bulldog debuts with scoreless innings of work. Riley Self and Jared Liebelt also didn't allow anyone to touch home plate.
Spencer Price and Trysten Barlow returned to the MSU mound for the first time since the two suffered elbow injuries last year and like their bullpen brethren, didn't give up runs in their respective outings.
As good as the pitching was, it was the offense that stole the show and was the talk of opening weekend. Were the hot bats a sign of things to come? That's anyone's guess at this point.
Count Allen among those confident that State will keep putting crooked numbers on the scoreboard as the spring goes forward.
“We're not done yet,” Allen said. “We've got a lot of work to do. We're going to come in here (Sunday) and review the film and study our mistakes and learn as a group.”
It's said that it's not how you start, but how you finish that counts. The Bulldogs are a long ways from the finish, but thanks to their bats, they couldn't be off to a better start.
“We came out, played with energy, took care of business and swept the weekend,” Allen said.