Bulldog pitchers dig a deep hole in loss at home
There were some low moments for Mississippi State in a tough 2022 baseball season and last Saturday was another tough one for the Diamond Dawgs.
On Tuesday evening, however, MSU might have had its lowest moment in several years.
Hosting the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks, not a single phase of the game went well for the Bulldogs. State played sloppy defense, got knocked around the mound and couldn't find a semblance of offense as it was dealt an embarrassing midweek blowout loss 11-5.
For the better part of the game, the Bulldogs did nothing right. They had three errors on the defensive side, the middle innings saw pitchers struggle to get outs and the offense never found a rhythm against the ULM pitching staff.
It was the second loss of what's already been a frustrating start to the season for MSU following a losing season and just two years removed from the team's first national championship.
It also put a damper on what was a solid first start for true freshman left hander Bradley Loftin, who pitched well enough to give the Bulldogs a chance. Loftin wasn't perfect. He gave up four walks but scattered a couple of hits and the only run he surrendered was unearned after an error on shortstop Lane Forsythe kept the opening inning alive.
Loftin struck out eight batters in his first start as his fastball was sitting at 92-94 miles per hour from the left side and his changeup caused issues for the opposing hitters. After that, though, MSU really struggled on the mound.
Tyson Hardin came in with a 1-0 deficit in the fifth inning and immediately surrendered five-straight base runners, including a two-run home run. Hardin lasted just
0.1 inning giving up four hits, three runs, a walk and a strikeout. Tyler Davis saw more troubles in the inning behind him recording just two outs total with 0.2 innings, four hits and four runs.
Former Starkville Academy pitcher Evan Siary competed well in his Bulldog debut. A tough-luck play on a fly ball in the outfield allowed two runs to score with two outs as Kellum Clark and Dakota Jordan collided. Siary gave up three hits and one earned run with no walks and five strikeouts.
Freshman Brock Tapper also came into the game and got a three-up-three down ninth inning.
“We knew that Loftin was going to throw well,” MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said. “He's special. I thought our freshmen Siary and Tapper threw really well, but we've got to have better defense and we're going to have to pitch it in the middle innings. It's just not a very good outing.”
State's hitting, or lack thereof, didn't help the situation on Tuesday. The Bulldogs had just one hit in the first six innings and were being shut out before Luke Hancock hit a two-run home run. Hunter Hines drove in another run in the eighth and then MSU tried to get a rally going in the ninth.
As had been the case, the damage was limited. Bryce Chance hit a two-run home run and then the Bulldogs left two on base to end the game.
Out of the six hits in the game, no one had more than one base knock. MSU had two RBI each from Hancock and Chance on the home runs and the Bulldogs walked five times.
“I think our guys thought they were just going to come in, swing it and hit home runs everywhere,” Lemonis said. “We don't have great strike zone discipline. We didn't make the guy work. We were just trying to get our swings off.”
MSU will try to find some sort of improvement today as the two teams will meet once again at 3 p.m. Another freshman will be starting on the mount in switch pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje and he's just one of several that have been impressive in the early going.
If more older players continue to struggle in certain situations, Lemonis said there might be a youth movement in certain spots.
Hancock doesn't disagree. “Competition is great for everybody, especially here,” Hancock said. “Everybody is good here, so you have to compete and be ready to throw strikes and I think the freshmen did a great job of that.”