Mississippi State Baseball Goes Unblemished in Midweek Games with Victory over Louisiana Tech

Tuesday, May 14

Starkville

6:30 PM

Mississippi State

43-10

Louisiana Tech

32-21

Louisiana Tech

Mississippi State

Mississippi State Baseball Goes Unblemished in Midweek Games with Victory over Louisiana Tech

May 14, 2019 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Quotes (PDF)Photo Gallery (Web)

Eight pitchers take the mound, five Diamond Dawgs post multi-hit games

STARKVILLE – It's a rare occurrence that a college baseball team can navigate an entire midweek schedule unblemished, but the No. 5 Mississippi State baseball program did just that as they toppled Louisiana Tech, 7-3, on Tuesday (May 14) evening at Dudy Noble Field to post a perfect midweek record.

Mississippi State (43-10) used two runs in the second inning and three in the third inning to build a 5-0 edge, before a solo home run opened the scoring for Louisiana Tech (32-21) in the fifth inning. State got a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth, before Tech capped the scoring with a pair of runs in the eighth.

With the victory, head coach Chris Lemonis posted his 43rd win in his first season as head coach at Mississippi State, marking the most wins by a first-year head coach in the history of the program. His 43 wins are one more than Pat McMahon's 42 victories in 1998.

The win made MSU 15-0 in midweek games for the 2019 campaign, which is the first undefeated midweek showing since the 2013 program posted an 11-0 mark in midweek tilts.

Freshman Brandon Smith (3-0) tossed two innings in the abbreviated start to earn the win. He allowed three hits and struck out one, not allowing a run. Redshirt-junior Keegan James posted the longest outing of the night with three innings of work. He allowed one run on four hits and struck out two.

Five Diamond Dawgs posted multi-hit games, led by a three-hit night from sophomore Justin Foscue. Senior Marshall Gilbert, sophomores Rowdey Jordan and Jordan Westburg, along with freshman Luke Hancock each chipped in two hits apiece. Gilbert led the way with three RBIs, while Jordan added a pair of runs batted in.

Quotable
Head Coach Chris Lemonis
On finishing undefeated in midweek games
"It's really hard in this league. I know we're usually the favorite, but the emotion of weekend [series] and then coming down to midweeks [it can be hard to stay focused], you see it all across our league. I think it is the consistency of our team. They come out every day. We do have good pitching depth so that helps you in the midweek. We've put a pretty consistent product on the field all year long with the effort, the focus and the energy that we play with. I am proud of the guys. I thought it was a big deal. I have never done it in my career."

Quick Hitters
Mississippi State
Chris Lemonis – With the 43rd win of the season, Lemonis became the winningest first-year head coach in program history, passing Pat McMahon's 42 wins in 1998.
Undefeated Midweek – Mississippi State finished 2019 with a 15-0 mark in midweek games, marking the first time since 2013 the program owned an unblemished record in midweek contests.
Marshall Gilbert – Drove in three RBIs with a 2-for-4 day at the plate. Hit his fifth home run of the season in the second inning.
Rowdey Jordan – Went 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBIs.
Justin Foscue – Led the way with a three-hit night, scoring two runs.
Multi-Hitters – Along with Foscue, Gilbert and Jordan, Luke Hancock and Jordan Westburg each chipped in two hits apiece.
'Penning It Down – Mississippi State used eight pitchers on the night to limit Louisiana Tech to just three runs. The staff struck out six and walked four in the victory.

Louisiana Tech
Tyler Young – Hit a solo home run to score the first run for Louisiana Tech.
Shelton Wallace – Drove in a pair of runs in the eighth inning after entering earlier in the game as a pinch hitter.
Parker Bates & Hunter Wells – Each collected three hits on the night.

Scoring Recap
Bottom Second
Luke Hancock singled with one out and Marshall Gilbert put the Diamond Dawgs on the board with his fifth home run of the season to right field.
Mississippi State 2, Louisiana Tech 0

Bottom Third
Five of the first six batters reached, as Tanner Allen walked and moved to third on a Justin Foscue single. Rowdey Jordan followed with a double to score the first two runs of the frame, before Dustin Skelton added an RBI with a single to left field.
Mississippi State 5, Louisiana Tech 0

Top Fifth
A solo home run from Tyler Young got Louisiana Tech on the board with two outs.
Mississippi State 5, Louisiana Tech 1

Bottom Fifth
State plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning against a trio of Bulldog pitchers. A one-out single from Foscue ended the night for starting pitcher Logan Robbins., before reliever Kyle Griffen walked two and gave up an RBI single to Hancock. Tyler Follis entered after Griffen walked Brad Cumbest loaded the bases. Gilbert followed with his third RBI of the night on an infield base hit.
Mississippi State 7, Louisiana Tech 1

Top Eighth
After Jared Liebelt got the first out of the inning, Trysten Barlow gave up an infield single and coaxed a pop out, before giving way to Eric Cerantola. The Bulldogs followed with a second infield hit and a two-RBI double from Shelton Wallace pulled the visitors within four.
Mississippi State 7, Louisiana Tech 3

Up Next
The final weekend of the regular season will have the Diamond Dawgs hosting South Carolina in a three-game series that begins on Thursday, May 16. The series opener on Thursday, as well as the Friday, May 17 contest will begin at 6:30 p.m., while the series finale is slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 18. On Thursday, the program will honor its graduates and Friday evening will be Senior Night for the six Bulldog seniors.