The Bulldog Box Score: Hancock and company hammer Samford

They call him Hammer. On Tuesday night, Mississippi State's Luke Hancock once again had a game where he showed why.

Hancock's big bat blasted a pair of home runs to fuel an offensive barrage as No. 3 MSU rolled to a 10-2 win over Samford at Dudy Noble Field. The left-handed hitting Hancock pulled a no-doubt, two-run shot over the right-field wall in the fourth inning, then followed that up with an impressive opposite-field, solo shot to left-center in the sixth.

"He’s been good all year," MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said of Hancock. "He was really good (Tuesday). He had some really big swings."

Hancock's two-homer night only continued what has been a fantastic season for the Houston, Mississippi, native. He's now hitting .308 for the year, leads the Bulldogs with his five home runs and is tied for the team lead with 18 RBI.

"Right now he’s healthy, he’s 100 percent, and he’s getting to catch a couple of days a week," Lemonis said of Hancock. "His ability is starting to show."

To be fair, Hancock had help powering MSU to victory on Tuesday. State totaled 10 hits in all with nine different Bulldogs collecting at least one. Josh Hatcher joined Hancock in displaying some power. MSU's first baseman also drilled a long ball with a drive over the centerfield fence in the fourth inning.

As has been the case all season for Mississippi State, the Bulldogs didn't really need much offense. MSU's pitching – while not quite as dominant as it has been of late – still allowed just a total of two runs and seven hits.

Seven different State arms saw action. Houston Harding started for MSU. The left-hander labored a bit, but still got through 3.1 scoreless innings.

"I didn’t think he was great (Tuesday)," Lemonis said of Harding. "I told him that afterward. We took him out a little earlier than expected. He’s such a competitive kid, he still gets outs when he’s not great. (Velocity) was a little down, but he was really in the middle of the plate, which he hasn’t been all year. He had more hard contact (against him) than he has all year combined. But I give him credit for competing. He got out of three jams. He just wasn’t his 100-percent self tonight."

Brandon Smith relieved Harding and Smith continued his stellar work. The right-hander retired all five batters he faced and earned the win.

Relievers Parker Stinnett, Xavier Lovett, Dylan Carmouche, K.C. Hunt and Stone Simmons combined to cover the last four innings for MSU. Though Lovett and Hunt each surrendered a Samford run, State was still able to coast to victory thanks in large part to bats like Hammer's.

"I think I’ve just matured as a hitter a lot since my freshman year," Hancock said. "My plate discipline has gotten better. I’m swinging at good pitches. I’m aggressive in counts where I know it’s a heavy fastball count. Just maturing as a hitter I feel like is the biggest part (of my success) right now."

(NOTE: YOU CAN VIEW HANCOCK'S FULL POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE WITH THE VIDEO AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE. YOU CAN VIEW LEMONIS' FULL POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE BY CLICKING HERE.)

Now let's take a look at Tuesday's numbers, as well as Cowbell Corner's Game MVPs and the Moment of the Game:

Samford at Mississippi State box score

Offensive MVP: C Luke Hancock

With his pair of home runs, Hancock easily gets the nod here for Tuesday.

Hancock has really become a complete hitter for State. It was on full display throughout Tuesday's game, not just with his two long balls, but with a walk he took as he held off on a close 3-2 pitch.

He's got a good eye at the plate, and when he swings his bat, it is seemingly getting more and more dangerous by the day.

Pitching MVP: RP Brandon Smith

A five-up, five-down night for Smith continued his successful return from Tommy John surgery. At this point, the right-hander is just making things look easy.

For the year now, Smith has a minuscule 0.64 ERA over 14 innings of work. Opponents are hitting just .087. No, that's not a typo.

Guys like Landon Sims and others in the Bulldog bullpen gain attention with their ridiculous strikeout numbers. And while Smith holds his own in that regard with 16 strikeouts over his 14 innings pitched, he's not quite the punch-out machine that his teammates are. But Smith is certainly as effective as anyone MSU sends to the mound.

Moment of the Game: Hancock's no-doubter

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Mississippi State led just 1-0. It'd already been a bit of a frustrating night offensively for MSU after getting the leadoff man on, then not scoring in the first, followed up by leaving a couple of runners stranded in scoring position in the third. Hancock ended the frustration.

After Kamren James walked to lead off the fourth and then stole second, Hancock unloaded. He swung and drilled the first of his two homers for the night. The ball screamed through the Starkville air and settled well beyond the right field wall.

At that point, MSU had a 3-0 lead and was soon on cruise control towards what eventually became a seventh-straight win.

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