Hail Slate (And The Rest)
March 31, 2023 | Baseball, Joel Coleman
Diamond Dawgs bust loose for run-rule win over South Carolina.
STARKVILLE – It was Thursday night inside the Mississippi State locker room at Dudy Noble Field, and Bulldogs head coach Chris Lemonis was ready to light a fire under his club.
For weeks, MSU had been frustrated. Then came Thursday's game when State's ninth-inning rally fell just short. The Diamond Dawgs were close, but not close enough. Well, Lemonis didn't hold back postgame.
"That was the hardest talk [the team has] had in [the last couple of weeks]," Lemonis said. "I chewed them pretty good because we were so close… At Mississippi State, you're not happy to just lose [close]. I think that was the message that had to be sent."
Message sent. Message received.
Mississippi State came out Friday and pummeled No. 9 South Carolina, evening up this weekend's series with a 13-3, run-rule victory. This Bulldog team with so much potential flashed it on a Starkville Friday night and proved to themselves and those watching exactly what they're capable of. They also got to exhale.
"We've had a monkey on our back for awhile," Lemonis said. "He was getting really heavy the last couple of weeks."
No word on where the monkey ran off to, but the Dawgs are no longer shouldering that load. Behind standout performances all over the field, Mississippi State looked like a reinvigorated bunch Friday.
At the plate, Slate Alford led the way. The sophomore third baseman cranked a pair of home runs and finished the evening 4-for-4 with three RBIs to set the tone for State.
In many ways, Alford's evening mimicked the journey of his team. The ultra-talented, Madison, Alabama, native got off to a slow start this season. But he had a pair of hits on Thursday and followed that up with his monster night Friday and is reestablishing himself as the humongous piece of this MSU club that his coaches and teammates know he can be.
All it took was a little patience.
"Just take it one day at a time," Alford shared regarding his recent approach. "It's been tough. But I've got my brothers, and I feel like you've just got to keep going every day and just keep fighting and eventually it'll turn around."
Alford's season certainly appears to have spun 180 degrees this weekend. Perhaps the same can eventually be said for the Dawgs as a whole.
It's much too early to make that call, but MSU absolutely looked like a team jelling Friday.
There was Alford, but there was also Dakota Jordan with another multi-hit night. Jordan went 3-for-3 including a 487-foot homer that might still be sailing if it didn't collide with a Left Field Lounge balcony window.
"We start the year and Dakota and Slate are two of our best players, and they struggled," Lemonis said. "It's part of it, but they worked. They've gotten back out there. When we have two of our best players play the way they did [Friday]…those are nice pieces for us to get back and get us hot and give us some more flexibility."
Hunter Hines went 4-for-4 with four RBIs and a long ball of his own – his team-best 11th of the season. Amani Larry had three hits.
Shifting to the leadoff spot in the batting order, Kellum Clark had a pair of hits and scored three runs.
But this night wasn't just about the offense, even if State touched home 13 times on 18 hits.
There was Colton Ledbetter's jaw-dropping play in center as he leaped high above the wall and robbed what would've absolutely been a South Carolina dinger. It was the defensive highlight on a night the Dawgs played errorless ball.
There was Landon Gartman hurling five strong innings, not walking a single Gamecock and allowing only three runs on five hits.
There was Cade Smith, making his return to the mound for the first time in over a month. He tossed two hitless, scoreless innings to close out the ballgame after only seven innings.
Maybe it was just seven innings of outstanding Mississippi State baseball. Or maybe, just maybe, this was so much more. Only time will tell.
What's certain is this: behind Alford and the rest, the Dawgs Win Again. And no one's satisfied with just one good night.
"We have games to make up," Lemonis said. "We can't just sit back and be happy we won a game. We've got a chance to win the series [Saturday]…Hopefully, [winning Friday] gives [us] the chance to get going a little bit."
