The Bulldog Box Score: Big fifth and strong relief gives MSU victory over Flashes
Mississippi State is making a habit of making life hard on itself.
On Friday night, the No. 3 Bulldogs once again found themselves in a mid-inning hole at home. However just as MSU did last weekend with a pair of come-from-behind wins over Tulane, the Bulldogs once again roared back. This time, MSU used a six-run fifth inning to propel itself to an eventual 8-3 victory over Kent State.
Let's quickly catch you up on (or let you relive) what all went down at Dudy Noble Field. First, let's take a look at a few highlights that heavily feature MSU's fifth-inning rally:
As you caught a glimpse of there, State took complete control in the fifth. Up until that point, MSU had been on shaky ground, mainly because starting pitcher Christian MacLeod was not sharp. MacLeod still hasn't recorded an out past the fourth inning all year. On Friday, he didn't even make it out of the second before being forced out of the game with the Bulldogs trailing 3-1.
"Usually (MacLeod is) really good with his command," MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said. "He just kind of nibbled around the plate (on Friday)."
(CLICK HERE IF YOU'D LIKE TO WATCH LEMONIS' FULL POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE)
Fortunately for MSU, the bullpen – led by 4.1 spectacular innings from Brandon Smith – settled things down and the offense put together the huge fifth to pave the way for State's fourth straight win. Here's a full look at Friday's stats:
Kent State at Mississippi State boxscore
Offensive MVP: CF Rowdey Jordan
(NOTE: You can see Rowdey Jordan's full postgame press conference with the video at the top of this page)
Rowdey Jordan has been off to a slow start this season, but his bat showed signs of waking up on Friday. Jordan was 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored. Even an out or two he made came on hard-hit balls.
Jordan was instrumental in getting the Bulldogs going on Friday. After State fell down 1-0 in the top of the first, Jordan led off the home half with a triple and scored on Scotty Dubrule's groundout one batter later. Then, with MSU down 3-1 in the fifth, it was Jordan's leadoff single on a hot shot to third base that couldn't be handled that fueled State's game-changing rally.
Jordan is still hitting only .195 for the season, but it sure seemed like Friday could be the start of something.
"It felt good to get two hits and get my average up a little bit," Jordan said. "Take this into (Saturday) and (maybe I can) get rolling a little bit."
Pitching MVP: Brandon Smith
Brandon Smith delivers a pitch for Mississippi State on Friday night. Smith pitched 4.1 perfect innings in MSU's 8-3 win over Kent State. (Photo courtesy of Mississippi State athletics)
The Brandon Smith comeback story continues. The right-hander, who didn't pitch at all in 2020 as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, hurled 4.1 perfect innings on Friday to settle things down for the Bulldogs after MacLeod's struggles. Kent State sent 13 batters to the plate to face Smith and he sat all 13 of them down. Smith struck out five of the 13. He was credited with the win as he was in the game when the Bulldogs surged ahead with their fifth-inning outburst.
For the year, Smith has only given up one run over a team-high 11.1 innings of work. That's an earned run average of just 0.79. Opponents are hitting only .105 against him.
"When I first came in there (on Friday), I just had a good feel for fastball away and fastball in," Smith said. "And that's probably been the biggest part of my success so far, is being able to locate first pitch strikes."
For more from Smith, here's his full postgame press conference:
Moment of the Game: Bulldogs pile on in the 5th
It only takes a spark to get a fire going and that's exactly what happened when Rowdey Jordan's hot shot to third base couldn't be handled to start the bottom of the fifth inning. It wasn't long until State turned a 3-1 deficit into a 7-3 lead.
The Bulldogs sent nine men to the plate in the frame. After Jordan singled, Scotty Dubrule walked. Tanner Allen followed with an RBI single to get MSU within a run at 3-2, then Logan Tanner walked to load the bases with nobody out. The game got tied at 3-3 when Josh Hatcher was hit by a pitch to force home a run. Luke Hancock then put the Bulldogs in front with a two-run single. MSU tallied two more runs in the frame – one when Kamren James drove in Hatcher on a fielder's choice, and one more when Landon Jordan singled home James.
Just like that, MSU was in control and with Smith and the bullpen cruising, the Bulldogs marched to the win.
Items of note
- MSU left fielder Brad Cumbest is apparently just fine. After leaving Wednesday's game against Southern Miss with an undisclosed ailment, Cumbest was right back in action for the Bulldogs on Friday. Cumbest didn't start, but he pinch hit for Drew McGowan in the fourth. Cumbest stayed in the game until Tanner Leggett hit for him in the seventh. Cumbest ended his day 0-for-2, striking out in both at-bats.
- Will Bednar made his season debut for MSU on Friday. The hard-throwing right-handed pitcher – who entered the season expected to be a weekend starter for the Bulldogs – came in as a reliever in the seventh inning. Bednar has been out since the opening weekend of the season with what Lemonis has called a neck issue. Nothing looked to be bothering him on Friday though as Bednar sat down all three batters he faced, striking out the last two and touching 96 miles per hour on the radar gun. Lemonis was noncommittal postgame as to when or if he might try to get Bednar back in the weekend starting rotation mix.
- Speaking of Bednar, he was the 22nd pitcher to see action for Mississippi State this season. And it's a big pitching staff that keeps impressing. Bednar, along with Smith and Carlisle Koestler, combined to throw 7.1 hitless innings of relief. The only Kent State batter to reach against MSU's Friday night bullpen trio came on a leadoff walk issued by Koestler in the ninth. After Smith entered in the second, the Bulldog pen went on to retire 19 straight Kent State hitters and 22 of the final 23.
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