The Mississippi State Baseball team bounced back with a 9-4 victory over Samford Tuesday night, but they still have a very challenging opponent in South Carolina coming this weekend in Starkville. It is officially “put up or shut up” time for the Bulldogs.
Tuesday night’s contest against Samford was hopefully a confidence booster for Mississippi State baseball. After a 9-4 victory with some major contributions from Dakota Jordan (3-4, 2 RBI) and K.C. Hunt (2.0 IP. 2 SO), the focus of the Bulldogs now shifts to the Gamecocks of South Carolina.
The last two SEC weekends have been pretty simple for the Bulldogs, simply embarrassing. Two weekends of complete sweeps by Kentucky followed by Vanderbilt have seemed to come with ease against Mississippi State. But now to salvage the rest of the 2023 season, or to even make an appearance in Hoover for the SEC Tournament, the Diamond Dawgs need every ounce of momentum they can muster.
South Carolina’s baseball team will roll into Starkville on Thursday with an astounding 24-2 record, and undefeated in league play. The challenge inevitably already seems almost near impossible. Mississippi State currently ranks last in the Southeastern Conference in team ERA (6.51) while USC ranks second with a very impressive 2.81 ERA, only second to Tennessee’s 2.62. The run differential alone on the mound is only the first mountain to climb.
But what about hitting? The offensive talent on the Bulldog roster on paper looks menacing. Hunter Hines, Ross Highfill, and Kellum Clark fill in the middle of the order with power while Amani Larry and Luke Hancock swing for contact, but the Dawgs seem to struggle against SEC pitching. In the past two weekends, the Diamond Dawgs have only produced a total of 26 runs against league opponents. In the past two non-conference games, the Bulldogs have scored 25 runs.
In my opinion…
Something is going to have to give for the Bulldogs this weekend in Starkville. Chris Lemonis and his staff’s future might depend on it. Starting the season 0-9 or even 1-8 in league play leaves any team with an insurmountable amount of ground to try and gain back for the rest of the season. But with the schedule looking the way it is for the Bulldogs and competition in the SEC this year, another series loss might mean an entire season loss.
I have seen this Mississippi State baseball program turn seasons around in weekend series before, and I truly believe they will need to do it again this weekend. “Now or Never” should be the mentality for the Bulldogs from this point forward. Grind at bats, throw competitive pitches, make routine plays, and let loose. Get the crowd into the game in the early innings and keep them in the game. Maybe we need a little Dude magic.
Forget the past two weekends and just do what this program does. Win.