The Bulldog Box Score: Dogs sweep the Cats

Pitching powers a successful weekend for MSU

For the second straight weekend, Dudy Noble Field has been the site for a sweeping. Only this time, it was the homestanding Bulldogs breaking out the brooms.

No. 8 Mississippi State topped Kentucky 4-3 on Saturday to complete a three-game sweep. It was an emphatic response after MSU fell in three home games to Arkansas only a few days prior.

"It’s huge," MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said of the sweep. "Getting (our team) going this week has been a bit of a challenge because they got knocked down a little bit. It’s fun to watch them bounce back and get their confidence back."

(NOTE: TO SEE LEMONIS' FULL POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE, CLICK HERE)

As has been the norm for State all year long, pitching carried the Bulldogs all weekend. Christian MacLeod and Will Bednar began the trend with strong starts on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Jackson Fristoe then did his part on Saturday. The freshman right-hander earned the victory with five strong innings in which he allowed just two runs on three hits while striking out eight.

Five MSU relievers finished things off for the Bulldogs. Preston Johnson hurled scoreless sixth and seventh innings. Then, after Lemonis played the matchup game in the eighth – using three pitchers to get through the inning – Parker Stinnett shut the door on Kentucky in the ninth. 

Offensively on Saturday, Mississippi State's biggest weapons were Logan Tanner, Luke Hancock and the sun. The Bulldogs notched a pair of extra-base hits on Saturday that were caused when Kentucky was unable to find the ball in the brightly-lit sky. One of those occasions led to a run when Rowdey Jordan was gifted a first-inning triple then came home to score a batter later on a Tanner Allen sacrifice fly.

Kentucky picked up a sun-aided run itself in the top of the second to tie the game, then MSU surged in front 3-1 in the home half of the inning thanks to a solo home run from Luke Hancock and an RBI single from Lane Forsythe. Tanner later made it 4-1 with a solo homer in the fourth.

Kentucky scored single runs in the fifth and eighth innings to pull within a run of MSU, but in the ninth, Stinnett closed it out. In a spot many expected might be handed to late-inning relief star Landon Sims, Lemonis went with Stinnett after Sims had a long pitching appearance last weekend followed by getting warmed up on Thursday and pitching a couple of innings on Friday.

Stinnett ran into a bit a trouble as an error and a walk put Wildcats at first and second with two outs. However Stinnett struck out Cam Hill to end the Kentucky threat, as well as the game. 

As a result, only one week after getting swept away, the Bulldogs were able to somewhat push the reset button. It was precisely the bounce-back weekend MSU was hoping for.

"Kentucky’s really good," Lemonis said. "We just swept a really good team. They’re well coached and they have physical hitters. And good arms every game. That team is going to win a lot of games this year. Getting a game back from last weekend in the conference rankings is huge."

Alright, let's have a look at the numbers, MSU's MVPs of the game, the Moment of the Game and a couple of notes.

Kentucky at Mississippi State box score

MSU Offensive MVP: C Logan Tanner

In a lineup not exactly clicking on all cylinders, Tanner was a key piece of the Bulldog offense on Saturday. He was the lone MSU player with more than one hit.

Both of Tanner's hits were part of run-scoring innings for State as well. He singled and came around to score in the second. He then hit his solo homer in the fourth that ultimately ended up being the game's decisive run.

You can hear from Tanner with his full postgame press conference below:

MSU Pitching MVP: SP Jackson Fristoe

The youngster Fristoe just keeps on impressing. For Fristoe, it was another game, another win and another strong performance. 

"I thought he was great," Lemonis said of Fristoe. "He’s a Kentucky kid. He originally committed to Kentucky. For him to go out there with all that emotion today...I thought his stuff was really good. His composure was really good. He’s growing weekly. We’re starting to see a more complete pitcher every week."

(NOTE: YOU CAN VIEW FRISTOE'S FULL POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE.)

Moment of the Game: Stinnett slams the door

A lot of folks might've been expecting Lemonis to turn the game over to Sims for the final three outs. Instead, he went with Stinnett. Why?

"I’d like to use Landon every day if I can," Lemonis said postgame. "But the reality is he threw 60 (pitches) last Sunday, and then we warmed him up Thursday. Then he threw in a stressful environment (Friday). And we’ve got to see if Parker can do it."

Well Stinnett indeed did do it. He was hurt by an error behind him and a walk, but the moment wasn't too big for the right-hander in the ninth and he slammed the door shut to save the game.

"I thought he was great," Lemonis said of Stinnett. "He’s got plus-plus stuff. My only fear is him getting too much adrenaline in those moments. He kind of handled it there."

Notes

– As reported here at Cowbell Corner on Friday, Mississippi State relief pitcher Riley Self is out for the year and will undergo Tommy John surgery. Lemonis addressed Self's situation after Saturday's game.

"Yeah, he’s out for the year," Lemonis said of Self. "We’re not sure of all the details yet of when and what, but he hurt his elbow last weekend. He’s going to help me coach a little bit. He’s always telling me what to do anyway, so it’ll be nice if he can officially be helping me out."

– With an 0-for-4 Saturday, Josh Hatcher's batting average has fallen all the way down to .200. Nevertheless, Lemonis remains hopeful his first baseman will soon turn things around.

"He’s just trying to do a little too much," Lemonis said. "All year long – in our fall ball and last year – he’s one of our top hitters. You try to do a little too much and you end up missing a little bit. I pulled him in after Friday’s game and spoke to him because I think he let the slump get to him, let it bring him down a little bit. The last two days he’s played with great energy. He’s been a great teammate. He’s making plays. He’s actually hitting some balls hard and getting no luck, which is the way this goes. I give him a lot of credit for that. He’s working and he’s a very talented kid. We’re just hoping he can get going."

– Brayland Skinner was pulled out of left-field mid-game by Lemonis. Lemonis revealed why after the contest.

"He felt something in his hamstring when he came out of the box on his last swing," Lemonis said. "Just kind of tweaked his hamstring a little. I’m sure he’s still day to day. He was dealing with it a little bit last week. If you notice, he didn’t run, kind of popped out of the box. Right now, I don’t need him being out for the whole year. I’d rather him be out for four or five innings than a long-term injury."

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