Mississippi State Baseball: No. 5 Mississippi State 7, Jackson State 3
No. 5 Mississippi State (3-1, 0-0 SEC) returned to Dudy Noble Field for the first time since March 8, and the Diamond Dawgs cruised to a 7-3 win over Jackson State (0-4, 0-0 SWAC). Kamren James looked like himself again after a tough weekend at the plate, going 4-5 with a double and two-run home run on Wednesday night.
Brandon Smith (1-0) started and got the win for Mississippi State, who used seven pitchers on the night. Smith held the Tigers to no-hits through 2.0 innings and had two strikeouts and no walks. No Bulldog pitcher went past two innings, with Davis Rokose joining Smith in going 2.0 innings in his maroon and white debut.
Mikey Tepper also made his Bulldog debut, going 1.1 innings and giving up one unearned run. Chase Patrick, KC Hunt, Xavier Lovett, and Jaxen Forrester all made appearances out of the bullpen on Wednesday night.
After struggling mightily in Arlington, going 1-14, Kamren James’ lead all Bulldogs batters going 4-5 on the night with 3 RBIs. He bounced back Tuesday in a big way after being moved to the four-hole. James’ homer in the first inning got things rolling for the Bulldogs, who controlled the game from start to finish.
KJ6! No doubter to The Lounge 😳
— Mississippi State Baseball (@HailStateBB) February 24, 2021
Dawgs lead 2-0 in the first! pic.twitter.com/SitZBBGDl9
Landon Jordan, Drew McGowan, and Tanner Allen each finished 2-3. Mississippi State out-hit the Tigers 10-2 on the evening, but JSU capitalized on three Bulldog errors to manufacture three runs.
Mississippi State will be back at Dudy Noble this weekend to host a three-game series against the Tulane Green Wave. The first pitch is set for 4 PM CT on Friday, as Christian MacLeod will toe the rubber for MSU. Highly touted starters Will Bednar and Eric Cerantola are expected back this weekend and will start on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.