Starkville, MS- Maybe it was the pressure of avoiding a sweep, or perhaps the warmer weather, but Mississippi State came out on fire today, taking down Long Beach State 12-4.
With a Sunday crowd of 10,751, Mississippi State set a new record for attendance of an Opening Weekend Series, with 34,325.
Getting the start for the Bulldogs today was sophomore Cade Smith, a righty from Southaven, MS. After hitting the first batter, Smith really settled in and went 5.2 innings, allowing just 1 hit and 1 earned run, while striking out 6. Smith exited the game with 2 outs in the sixth to a standing ovation from the crowd.
“I had a dominant start today,” said Smith.
Today was only Smith’s 2nd career start. He said it was “a dream come true.”
The Bulldog offense got things going in the second inning. Matt Corder, the center fielder from Hinds C.C. hit a 2-run homer 428 feet out of the ballpark off of Long Beach starter Juaron Watts-Brown.
“We came in hunting the fastball today,” said Corder.
State added another run in the third inning, as catcher Logan Tanner drove in 3rd baseman Kamren James on a groundout.
Long Beach State starter Juaron Watts-Brown only lasted into the fourth inning, and was relieved by righty Jake Rons.
State really put the game away in the fifth inning, putting up 7 runs. 3rd baseman Kamren James got it started by getting hit by a pitch, followed by 3 consecutive singles by 1st baseman Luke Hancock, catcher Logan Tanner, and designated hitter Hunter Hines. 2nd Baseman R.J. Yeager then drew a walk, and Long Beach State would turn to righty Zach Voelker.
Voelker would face just 2 hitters, allowing RBI singles to center fielder Matt Corder and left fielder Brad Cumbest. Long Beach State then put in righty Jonathan Carlos, who immediately gave up a 2-RBI single to right fielder Drew McGowan to put Mississippi State up 9-0.
Long Beach State finally recorded an out, retiring the 9th batter of the inning Lane Forsythe with a strikeout. Kamren James, in his 2nd plate appearance of the inning, would then knock in a run on a sac fly to put State up 10-0.
After such a long inning in the dugout, Cade Smith would walk the first batter of the sixth inning, Chris Jimenez. He would get the next 2 hitters to fly out, and would be taken out of the game.
“It’s kinda hard to stay loose in that situation,” said Smith.
State turned to righty Brandon Smith, a senior from Richland, MS, to finish out the inning. Smith immediately gave up an RBI double to Dirtbag 1st baseman Jonathan Long, which would end up being Cade Smith’s only earned run. Right fielder Chase Luttrell followed that up with an RBI single, cutting State’s lead to 12-2.
In the bottom of the sixth, catcher Logan Tanner led off with a single. Tanner Leggett, a senior infielder from Raymond, MS, would pinch hit for RJ Yeager, and he sat on a curveball, blasting a home run to left field off of Jonathan Carlos.
Brandon Smith went back out to pitch the seventh for the Bulldogs. After allowing a single, and walking 1, he surrendered an RBI single to pinch hitter Brennan Rozell.
State then gave the ball to Brooks Auger, a righty from Hinds C.C. to pitch the eighth, and he impressed, striking out 2 batters looking.
Mikey Tepper, a righty from Fort Mill, SC got the nod in the ninth. Tepper immediately allowed a double to Devereaux Harrison, an All-American relief pitcher who got some at bats as a designated hitter today. Pinch hitter Jared Anderson then knocked Harrison in with an RBI single to make it 12-4 Mississippi State, but Tepper was able to close out the game with no additional damage.
With the win today, Mississippi State was able to avoid getting swept. “It was good, we had to get one today,” said Mississippi State Head Coach Chris Lemonis. “We’re still trying to figure ourselves out. Week 1 to week 2 is big.”
Mississippi State will host Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Tuesday, and then will welcome Northern Kentucky to The Dude for a 3 game series next weekend.
