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Here’s Why Mississippi State Baseball’s Wins over New Mexico State are Important

By Ethan Lee

STARKVILLE, MS - NOVEMBER 11: Mississippi State Bulldogs mascot Bully shakes his head during the second half of an NCAA football game at Davis Wade Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images)
STARKVILLE, MS - NOVEMBER 11: Mississippi State Bulldogs mascot Bully shakes his head during the second half of an NCAA football game at Davis Wade Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images) /
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Mississippi State Beat New Mexico State by Combined Score of 15-1

The Mississippi State baseball team came away with two solid out of conference wins this week. Both came against New Mexico State. Both are pretty impressive for the Bulldogs, who struggled early on this season.

New Mexico State, on the other hand, had a very impressive start this year. The Aggies have won games by margins of 24-4, 13-3, 39-0, 15-4, 20-0, and 23-4. Yes, these games came against fairly weak competition, but the fact that their offense can score 39 runs in a game should catch anyone’s attention.

And, in two games, Mississippi State only gave up a single run to these guys.

Zach Neff, a transfer pitcher for the Bulldogs who didn’t fare too well in his appearances against Southern Miss and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, came out and excelled. Neff started the game for the Bulldogs last night and absolutely dealt all night.

And the day before that, Cole Marsh and Denver McQuary kept the Aggies quiet, striking them out a combined 7 times through 9 innings. They only allowed a single earned run in the entire game. Which, as you now know, is the only earned run NMSU had this week.

No, these wins aren’t coming against a juggernaut. New Mexico State’s baseball program isn’t one that you typically associate with big wins. But, for a team that lost its head coach and has had pitchers struggling at times.

Before Zach Neff got his start against New Mexico State, he had an ERA of 6.35 through 5.2 innings. After rolling through the Aggies for 6 innings of scoreless baseball, Neff’s ERA is down to 3.09. Similarly, McQuary’s ERA is down to 3.12 from 5.79. Cole Marsh hadn’t had a single appearance before he started against the Aggies.

If Mississippi State’s pitching can continue to round into shape and the Bulldogs keep winning, MSU’s season can continue to improve. These two games are important from the fact that it allowed State to find some wins with pitchers who, prior to these matchups, were fairly unproven.

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