MSU struggles in SEC opening set at Kentucky
It took just three days for Mississippi State baseball to take away what the Diamond Dawgs had produced for the past two weeks.
After the Bulldogs had a seven-game winning streak for the first time in two years, they went to Lexington, Kentucky, and had a chance to expand it against a Wildcats team that had won double-digit games consecutively. It turned into a nightmare weekend.
It was cold, windy and disastrous in every phase of the game for the Bulldogs. From giving a game away on Friday night late to backto-back blowout losses, it was a game that left Bulldog fans both embarrassed and angry on social media. The coaches and players didn't feel much different.
One of the biggest issues for State remained on the mound. The Southeastern Conference's worst pitching team when it comes to free bases, the Bulldogs routinely gave them away. MSU walked 22 batters, hit six more, threw six wild pitches and had another passed ball. The Friday game was lost on two wild pitches that brought home the winning run in extras and the Saturday and Sunday game saw the Bulldogs routinely get burned for putting players on base.
Sunday starter Graham Yntema didn't even record an out for State and former Starkville Academy pitcher Evan Siary had to put out the fire for several innings. It was, across the board, a series to forget.
“We've got to make pitches,” Bulldog head coach Chris Lemonis said after the series sweep. “We're not competing. We don't get a start – we don't get an out (from Yntema), and then we don't make a play in that inning. A ball is hit at us and we can step on the base. We've got a couple of areas right now we're getting exposed in. We have to correct it.”
With the loss, MSU fell to 13-8 for the year and started the season 0-3 in SEC play. That's a continuation of what's been a downward spiral in the league since last year for the Bulldogs.
State finished 9-21 in the SEC last year, but lost an incredible 11-straight games to finish the season in the conference. That has extended to a school-record 14-straight now, though when asked about the losing streak on Saturday, Lemonis said it's irrelevant to this year's team.
“We're young, but we know we can play good baseball,” Lemonis said. “It's a long season and hopefully we can get this thing going in the right direction, and get some guys in the right spots.”
The good news for the Bulldogs is they get to come home to try to get back right this week. Arkansas State is first up tonight at Dudy Noble in a 6 p.m. first pitch on SEC Network+.
The bad news is MSU is about to go through the ringer in the conference slate. No. 4 Vanderbilt comes to town this weekend in a series against the Bulldogs after sweeping State's rival Ole Miss last weekend. The Commodores likely have revenge on their minds, too, playing the Bulldogs for the first time since that 2021 NCAA National Championship series.
“It's about us,” Lemonis said about life in the SEC. “Every week, somebody is hot. (Kentucky is) on a 14-15 game winning streak. They're no slouch themselves, but it's about us playing good and getting hits and us making plays. The opponents are tough, but we knew that going in.”