State Sticks Together And Shines On Super Bulldog Weekend
April 16, 2022 | Baseball, Joel Coleman
Series win over Auburn gives MSU momentum headed into SEC season’s second half.
STARKVILLE – How many times have you heard it said: Baseball is a game of inches.
For proof, look no further than the final play of Mississippi State's Super Bulldog Weekend series against No. 14 Auburn on Saturday.
Matt Corder was on second base with two outs in the ninth inning representing the tying run for MSU. The Bulldogs' resident Mule, Brad Cumbest, stood in the batter's box. Cumbest roped a line drive to left field. Corder rounded third and headed home, looking to even the score.
Ultimately, Corder was called out on a bang-bang play at the plate. Upon further replay review, the call was upheld. Mississippi State fell 3-2.
It wasn't the picture-perfect ending to the weekend MSU wanted. After topping Auburn on Thursday and Friday nights, the Bulldogs came about as close as you can get to a sweep without getting to break out the brooms.
Still, in the spirit of reviewing things, it bears looking back and seeing this was quite the three-day span for MSU. It was a stretch that exemplified how, through all the ups and downs of the season's first two months, these Bulldogs have plenty of juice left in the tank for the stretch run.
Let's reflect on a reinvigorating weekend for the maroon and white and just a few of the reasons why it could be key moving forward.
Starting Strong
When Landon Sims went down with injury a few weeks back, it left a big hole in the Mississippi State starting pitching rotation. The Bulldogs' figurative boat was rocked. Well, it seems the ship has steadied.
Just look at the starting pitching numbers for the weekend.
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Brandon Smith: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Preston Johnson: 7 IP, 4 H, 4 R (3 ER), 12 K
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Cade Smith: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 5 K
It bears noting that in Johnson's start, he didn't allow an earned run until he pitched into the eighth inning and ran into trouble there. If you throw out that one frame, Bulldog starters gave up only two earned runs over 18 innings of work for the weekend.
"As a whole, I'd say we did pretty good," Cade Smith said.
Pretty good is an understatement. All three MSU starters gave the Bulldogs outstanding chances to win. All pitched into the latter stages of their respective games and left with leads against a Top-15 opponent.
When starting pitching is strong, you almost always have a chance and as the season wears on, the State starting staff indeed appears to be strengthening.
Swinging It
The arms excelled, but how about those Bulldog bats? As the weather heats up, so too are several of the guys in the MSU order.
No one is as hot right now as Cumbest. The country boy from Hurley went 7-for-13 in the three games against Auburn, cranking two home runs and a double. He drove in four. More than half of Cumbest's seven weekend knocks came on a four-hit Friday night. The only thing off about Cumbest was he didn't listen to directions.
Head coach Chris Lemonis told Cumbest before Thursday's game he'd be getting four hits that night. Well, Cumbest got only one on Thursday, then ultimately fulfilled his leader's prediction 24 hours later.
"He doesn't listen well to me," Lemonis quipped. "He probably thought I said get them [Friday]."
Cumbest might have had the most offensive success over the weekend, but he was far from the only one to have good swings or solid at-bats.
Kellum Clark had a 2-for-4 Saturday. The left-handed hitter had both a homer and double to the opposite field.
"Brad was really good. Kellum had some big at-bats," Lemonis said. "When the back end of our lineup hits like that, we have the chance to be pretty good."
Kamren James was 4-for-9 with a homer over the last two games of the weekend set. Logan Tanner had a hit in every game of the series. Hunter Hines went 4-for-10 against the Tigers, including a no-doubt dinger on Saturday.
Luke Hancock had a couple of hits on the weekend and drew three walks, most notably the walk-off free pass he worked on Thursday to push the Bulldogs to victory in the series opener.
All up and down the lineup, State competed, right down to the weekend's final swing.
Fight, Fight, Fight
And perhaps that competitive spirit at the plate exemplified what was the biggest takeaway of all from Super Bulldog Weekend for Mississippi State. These Bulldogs are still very much in the fight this season.
A week after a tough three games against LSU, MSU didn't cower. There was no pouting. The Bulldogs came out, rolled up their sleeves and went to work against Auburn and came within an eyelash of not just a series win, but a sweep.
It's a testament to toughness. It's grit exemplified. It's a team driven to power through the hard times.
There have been injuries. There have been hurdles. But the Bulldogs showed this weekend they still have plenty of bite left in them.
It's a good thing, too. The road gets no smoother in the days ahead. Then again, this group doesn't expect it to. They know they'll have to earn everything they get.
"It won't be easy for us," Lemonis said. "Nobody feels sorry for Mississippi State. We've won a lot of games over the last couple of years. Everybody's ready to play us. We just have to compete as a group. It's all we can do."
