State takes momentum into series at Kentucky
It's Southeastern Conference baseball season and Mississippi State is finding new life.
After a losing season a year ago and some ups and downs in the early part of this schedule, it appears the Bulldogs are playing baseball on their own terms again. They enter the weekend in Kentucky on a seven-game winning streak – the longest since 2021 – and have tightened up on the mound. This weekend is a chance to put it all to the test.
“We had a slow start with a lot of young kids and we didn't play well,” MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said about the start of the season. “You can see them starting to play with some confidence and we are going to need that confidence when we head to Lexington and get ready for SEC play. We've got a good ball club. We are a little young, but we've got a good ball club and they are competing well right now.”
The Bulldogs (13-5) start a series today against a Wildcat team that is even hotter. Former
MSU assistant Lane Burroughs has helped his team reel off 11-straight itself and is 15-2 heading into conference play.
The key for the Bulldogs has been cleaner defense and their work on the mound. MSU has shown the ability to hit and score runs early this season, but during the seven-game winning streak, the Bulldogs have limited the runs to just over three a game after giving up more than seven in the games before.
MSU'S crossroads so far seem to have come in Frisco, Texas, at the Frisco Classic two weeks ago. The Bulldogs struggled to throw strikes and play clean defense in losses to Ohio State and Oklahoma. MSU rebounded well on the Sunday game against California as it won 8-4 thanks to offensive work and a dominant outing in relief from Nate Dohm.
The Bulldogs followed that up with a run-rule win over Valparaiso and a three-game sweep of Lipscomb in which the starters of each game all threw at least 5.1 innings. This week has been more of a test for MSU as it had to travel to Biloxi to take on Nicholls and Louisiana. While trying not to overwork the arms, the Bulldogs managed those two games well with 12-4 and 4-2 wins.
Now the eyes turn to Lexington as MSU looks for more momentum. The Bulldogs do it with an offense that has been productive top to bottom batting .304 with 38 doubles and 31 home runs. Redshirt freshman Bryce Chance is leading the team with a .379 average while New Orleans transfer Amani Larry has a .367 average and a .534 on-base percentage.
Hunter Hines has gotten red hot in the last two weeks raising his batting average to .271 and hitting a team-high eight home runs after driving two out of the yard against Nicholls.
On the mound, Jurrangelo Cijntje will make his thirdstraight Friday start this week. The ambidextrous freshman has only given up one earned run in 15 innings with 20 strikeouts and eight walks.
The Saturday starter
Hunter Hines has gotten red hot in the last two weeks for Mississippi State raising his batting average to .271 and hitting a team-high eight home runs after driving two out of the yard against Nicholls. (Photo by Craig Jackson, SDN file)