Hujsak moment proves that it's worth keeping the faith
It's easy to lose faith in any sport. When it comes to baseball, the statement takes on even more of a meaning.
There is no better example of that than Tuesday night's Southeastern Conference Tournament game between Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
For eight innings and two outs, the Bulldogs really showed no life on offense.
They struggled to get hits and had not scored at all.
One swing by Connor Hujsak changed everything in the bottom of the ninth inning.
It was Hujsak's home run in the clutch that turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory for MSU.
The Bulldogs were being shut down by the Rebel pitching and only had three hits before the emphatic blast by Hujsak. Amani Larry had the only extra base hit to that point for MSU with a double.
There were posts on X (hand raised) that criticized the lack of offense by the Bulldogs and there was not much hope given that they were going to get the job done.
Even in the ninth inning with David Mershon on third base and two outs, there was no way to predict what Hujsak was about to do. He found a pitch to his liking and crushed a no doubter to left field.
The moment just goes to show that the old saying by Yogi Berra is true. “It ain't over till it's over.” If the game is close at the end, there is always a chance.
It was definitely a unique storyline. There wasn't even a guarantee that Hujsak was going to play in the game. He had missed two weeks nursing a back injury.
After letting the solo shot by Will Furniss of Ole Miss go off his glove and over the wall in the fifth inning for a solo homer, Hujsak redeemed himself by slugging the game winner.
Hujsak may have been the hero at the end for MSU, but
there is no way the Bulldogs win that game if not for the eight innings of solid pitching
from Brooks Auger. Auger only gave up one run and struck out 13 in one of the most dominating performances on the mound MSU has had in a while.
It would have been tough for Auger to be pinned with a loss in that game, but Hujsak took care of that with one mighty swing of the bat.
Danny P. Smith is the sports editor of The Starkville Daily News. The opinions in this column are his and not necessarily the views of The SDN or its staff.