Fighting Like A Dawg
April 15, 2022 | Baseball, Joel Coleman
Mississippi State finds a way against Auburn to set tone for Super Bulldog Weekend and possibly beyond.
STARKVILLE – Chris Lemonis sat atop the home dugout bench at Dudy Noble Field on Thursday night. The Mississippi State head coach had just watched his Bulldogs scratch, claw and put together a two-run, ninth-inning rally for a come-from-behind, 7-6 win over No. 14 Auburn.
With his players gathered around him, Lemonis preached these words.
"You've gotta keep fighting," Lemonis said. "Just keep fighting."
In a season that has so far seen more than its fair share of adversity and ups and downs, fighting has perhaps become this year's most important quality. Things aren't going to be easy. So, when those times come, all MSU can do is roll up its collective sleeves and get to scrapping.
On Thursday night, the Diamond Dawgs did just that and provided themselves with a textbook example of how, when you just keep on punching, you're often rewarded.
It was an evening filled with heroes and moments that exemplified toughness.
How about Brandon Smith? Only five days following an impromptu six-inning relief appearance against LSU, he drew the start on the mound and delivered with five strong frames to put the Bulldogs in a great position. He exited with MSU in front 3-2.
"I thought Brandon was really good," Lemonis opined. "He gave us a winning effort."
More would follow.
After Auburn staged a three-run rally to surge ahead 5-3 in the sixth, Mississippi State responded with a couple of haymakers in the seventh to even things up.
Brad Cumbest hit a baseball that soared high through the Starkville night and landed well beyond the left-field fence to make it 5-4. Two batters later, RJ Yeager followed suit with an almost-identical blast to tie the game at five apiece.
The fighting was just getting started. Auburn went back in front with a solo homer of its own in the top of the eighth. So, MSU went to the ninth trailing 6-5.
Many will ultimately remember Thursday for the offensive heroics in the home half of the ninth inning, but there was no bigger moment than what happened in the top of the frame. Auburn put together a massive threat to extend its lead, however they were held off the scoreboard and stranded a pair of runners when State reliever Parker Stinnett wiggled out of the jam.
It set the stage for a late Bulldog charge that was fueled by nothing other than pure old grit, desire and a refusal to give in.
Kellum Clark started the bottom of the ninth with a walk. What followed was the perfect demonstration of how, if you just keep your head up and keep fighting, you never know what can happen.
With two strikes on him at the dish, Cumbest refused to give in and ultimately made contact. The good news? He didn't strike out. The bad news? The ball was rolling towards the Tiger second baseman for what looked like would be a rally-killing, double-play grounder.
However, the ball wasn't handled cleanly. Clark was able to slide safely into second. Cumbest reached first. It wasn't pretty, but it was effective. No surprise. Fights aren't typically beauty pageants. They're often just about outlasting the opposition.
"Brad just put the ball in play and something good happened," Luke Hancock said. "That's what [hitting coach Jake Gautreau] always preaches. Just put the ball in play with two strikes and something good can happen – whether you get a hit, [reach on an] error or whatever the case may be. Ultimately, he put the ball in play and something good happened for us."
Tanner Leggett followed by pinch hitting and delivering as beautiful of a sacrifice bunt as you'll ever see. Yeager was then intentionally walked to load the bases as Auburn sought to set up a potential game-ending double play, but those efforts proved fruitless for the Tigers.
A wild pitch allowed Clark to sprint home from third. The baseball caromed off the backstop enough that it set up a play at the plate, however Clark slid home with the tying run just in front of the tag from the Auburn catcher.
The Tigers then issued another intentional walk to again put themselves in position for a double play, but Hancock stepped into the batter's box and after getting to a full count, fouled off a couple of pitches before ultimately drawing a walk-off walk that forced home pinch runner Drew McGowan with the game's decisive run.
The baseball never left the infield over the course of MSU's ninth-inning comeback. It didn't have to. These fighters just found a way.
"We've been talking a lot about toughness and fighting and competing, and I think that's what the guys did [Thursday night]," Lemonis said.
It's only one win, but perhaps it serves as so much more. It's a momentum booster. It's a feel-good moment at a time the Bulldogs could sure use it.
"It's huge for us," Hancock said. "We needed that win."
And, maybe, just maybe, it's a reminder. It's a reminder to the Bulldogs themselves and those that root them on that you're never, ever out of the fight – whether it's in a game or a season – just so long as you keep on swinging.
"I know you're excited, but we've got to come out and play great," Lemonis told his team in their postgame dugout huddle. "We can play better, but man I love our fight [Thursday night]. We never put our heads down. We never quit. Just keep playing. I promise you, the game rewards that. It rewards tough dudes. That's what we've got to become."
