The Bulldog Box Score: MSU no-hits, bashes way to win over Kent State

Lane Forsythe is known for his glove. The Mississippi State freshman infielder has been touted frequently by his coaches as a defensive specialist. And on a beautiful, sunny day at Dudy Noble Field on Sunday, Forsythe's glove cemented history for the Bulldogs as – playing shortstop – he made an improbable catch in shallow centerfield to complete a combined no-hitter. It locked down a 13-0 Mississippi State win over Kent State and cemented MSU's first no-no since 1999.

The play the secured the No-No pic.twitter.com/GzHqX0hWrx
— Hail State Stool (@HailStateStool) March 7, 2021

Four different Mississippi State pitchers combined to accomplish Sunday's rare feat. Freshman Jackson Fristoe started things off with six perfect innings as, despite his youth, he continues to be the most consistently reliable starting pitcher on MSU's staff so far this year.

(WATCH FRISTOE'S FULL POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE WITH THE VIDEO AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE.)

Landon Sims, Mikey Tepper and Cam Tullar polished things off for the Bulldogs. The only baserunners Kent State mustered all day came on a pair of walks and an MSU error.

Not to be lost in all the State pitching greatness of Sunday, the Bulldog bats came to life as well. MSU head coach Chris Lemonis shook up the lineup and it reaped dividends. The Bulldogs scored in all but two innings in which they batted and they totaled 16 hits as a group. A total of 11 MSU players had at least one hit for the day.

It was an all-around impressive showing for the Bulldogs and it couldn't have come at a better time. One day after a less-than-stellar showing in which MSU fell to Kent State 9-5, the Bulldogs responded with a resounding victory that earned a series win and shoots them into a new week with tons of momentum.

"I thought (Saturday) was our worst game of the year," MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said. "I thought (Sunday) was our best. I give the guys a lot of credit for just bouncing back and being mentally ready to go."

(WATCH LEMONIS' FULL POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE BY CLICKING HERE.)

Alright, let's dig a little deeper into Sunday's game with the stats, Cowbell Corner MVPs and the Moment of the Game:

Kent State at Mississippi State boxscore

Offensive MVP: 3B Kamren James

Kamren James saw a couple of changes on Sunday. For one, after starting at shortstop all year, Lemonis moved James to third – a position he played for the Bulldogs last year. Also, James was shifted into the No. 4 spot in the batting order and as it turned out, he responded by looking every bit the part of a cleanup hitter.

On a big offensive day for the Bulldogs all around, it was James that stood out. He was 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, a single, five RBI and a run scored.

James has hit second in the order this year and he's also hit seventh. Perhaps it's right in the middle though that suits him best. We'll see. But after a few games where James has struggled with the glove, he showed again Sunday why he's so valuable to the the MSU lineup.

"I try not to take my defense to the plate," James said. "I'm still confident in my ability. I'm going to play wherever (Lemonis) puts me and do it to the best of my ability."

Here's more from James with his full postgame press conference:

Pitching MVP: SP Jackson Fristoe

In a weekend rotation that came into the year expected to feature three possible first-round MLB Draft picks, the rookie Fristoe has stolen the show. While ace Christian MacLeod and veteran Eric Cerantola have struggled mightily – and Will Bednar works his way back from injury – Fristoe has become State pitching's Mr. Consistent.

On Sunday, Fristoe wasn't just good. He looked special. The right-hander worked six perfect innings, striking out eight. It was 18 Kent State batters up and 18 down against Fristoe.

"I just went out there with the mindset of just fill (the strike zone) up," Fristoe said. "I've been practicing all my pitches this week and just kind of getting a feel based off the two starts I'd already had (previously this year) – knowing what to work on and what to fix. I just had kind of a different mindset going into this game which I think helped me fill up the zone a little bit more."

(AGAIN, YOU CAN WATCH FRISTOE'S FULL POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE WITH THE VIDEO AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE.)

Moment of the Game: James opens the floodgates

After Saturday's tough day at the plate for pretty much the entire Mississippi State squad, the Bulldogs needed something to go right early. They got just that.

After Scotty Dubrule and Rowdey Jordan led off the bottom of the first with walks and Tanner Allen's fly ball to right field moved Dubrule to third, James' RBI single up the middle got MSU on the scoreboard early. It was as though the Bulldogs completely relaxed at the plate from there.

It's said that hitting is contagious. Well it sure was on Sunday and it was James that started passing the hitting bug along.

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