Starkville - Mississippi State freshman Jurrangelo Cijntje turned heads Wednesday with a spectacular switch-pitching performance.

The both-handed pitcher from Willemsted, Curaçao, made the first start of his collegiate career and shut down the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks in four innings of work to help lead Mississippi State to a 14-3 win and give them a series split.

Cijtnje allowed only one hit and walked just one batter in his four innings while striking out seven Warhawk hitters. As a righty, his fastball sat at 95 MPH and topped at 97. He hit the 92 MPH mark as a lefty. Cijntje could've gone longer if he hadn't pitched Sunday, but upon exit, he gave the Bulldogs a lot of promise going forward.

"He's as chilled as you'll find in everything that he does. Nothing has fazed him," Head Coach Chris Lemonis said. "He left his country and came here. New kid came to Starkville, Mississippi. Just nothing fazes him. He's just a competitor. He's easy out there. He's going to get hit at times, but he can get a lot better with his stuff over time."

Mississippi State's offense woke up after a slow performance Tuesday night. Redshirt freshman Bryce Chance knocked in the only run off ULM starter Corley Brandt on an RBI single in the 2nd inning, but the Bulldogs teed off on the ULM bullpen.

Freshman catcher Ross Highfill posted a 3/4 day at the plate with two doubles and two RBIs. New Orleans transfer Amani Larry plated a run on a sac fly in the 4th, and VCU transfer Connor Hujsak hit a pinch-hit 2 RBI double when the game had gotten out of hand in the 7th.

The real fun for Mississippi State came from the long ball. Former Samford outfielder Colton Ledbetter got the party started in the 4th with a 117 MPH 2-run homer onto Aderkson Plaza, and he later knocked in two runs on a single in the 7th.

Sophomore 3rd baseman Slate Alford launched a 460-foot blast off the left field lofts in the 6th, only to be topped by freshman left fielder Dakota Jordan an inning later as he demolished a fastball 474 feet to left-center.

The Bulldog bullpen stepped up after having a rough day yesterday and got scoreless frames from four different pitchers. Junior college transfers Graham Yntema and Colby Holcombe each shut ULM down an inning in their 2nd Mississippi State appearances. Senior KC Hunt kept the Warhawks' offense quiet for an inning, and freshman Will Gibbs sat them down in the ninth.

Logan Forsythe, a freshman from D'Iberville, Mississippi, surrendered the only ULM runs in the 8th, but he got a bit unlucky. The first batter he faced reached on an error, and he hit the next guy and an 0-2 slider that just broke a bit too much. The Warhawks scored their first run on a pass ball and got a couple more across on a single from Travis Washburn and a sac fly by Cardell Thibodeaux.

The Bulldogs will be back in action Friday when Arizona State comes to town for a 3-game series in the first power-5 test of the 2023 season.