A season ago, true freshman Kellum Clark made his presence felt in the Mississippi State lineup. At the beginning of May, the native of Brandon, Mississippi got a chance to start at the designated hitter spot and ran away with the job.

Clark started every game the rest of the way for the Bulldogs. In his 93 at-bats, he hit for a .849 OPS and 5 home runs and had two of the most memorable moments in Mississippi State history during State's run to a College World Series Championship. In the 2nd game of the College World Series, Clark's home run against Virginia starter and Phillies 5th-round draft pick Griff McGarry in the eighth inning broke a no-hitter and set the Bulldogs up for a comeback victory. His home run against Vanderbilt put a dagger in the Commodores and was the moment many Mississippi State fans knew they'd be winning a national title.

Now a sophomore, Clark had big expectations entering the season but was ice cold to begin the year, starting at 0-16 with 5 strikeouts.

"I was low on some confidence in the beginning," said Clark. "I was looking for that first one, and it seemed like it wouldn't fall."

Clark finally got his first knock last Friday against Tulane, with an RBI single into right field during the second inning. It was a 3-0 count, and Head Coach Chris Lemonis gave the struggling sophomore the green light.

"He gave me a 3-0 green light, and I was like 'did he really do that?' but I had pretty much made up my mind before the pitch I was swinging no matter where it was."

"Sometimes, all it takes is a 3-0 green light to get the bat going and give you confidence."

Surely enough, that base hit sparked Clark's confidence, as he hit his first homer of the year in the fifth inning of that ballgame and another the next day.

The 6'4" right fielder has been red hot ever since, going 8-24 in his last 6 games with 4 homeruns and 13 RBI's. Yesterday however, Clark may have had the game of his career against Princeton, going 3-5 with 2 homeruns, a double, and a 7 piece ribeye steak (7 RBIs.)

"I was just trying to hit a laser beam, to be honest," said Clark. "When I'm good, I don't think, so I get in there, and I'm literally like I'm trying to hit this ball hard."

Clark is finally hitting his stride, providing the big power bat the Bulldogs need in the middle of the order, and it's just in time for SEC play beginning next week.