It Was Utter Domination for Mississippi State in Game One against Ole Miss

The Bulldogs dominate the Rebels to open the series.

OXFORD, Miss. — The Mississippi State Bulldogs dominated the series opener against their rival Ole Miss. The final score was 8-0, but somehow, it still seemed worse than that.

It started with Khal Stephen, who quickly has become one of the top pitchers in the SEC. The stuff is not flashy, but it is effective, and he is a big reason for the MSU turnaround.

Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis raved about Stephen post-game.

"He was awesome," Lemonis said. "He dominated the game from the first pitch."

The final line for the Indiana native was eight scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and only allowed three hits. Stephen's approach was simple: attack.

"Fastball command, and pressuring their at-bats and had a good slider," Stephen said.

The Purdue transfer pitched against at Swayze Field last season and only lasted two innings. Stephen said that was in the back of his mind tonight.

"He is a lot different pitcher than he was last year," Lemonis said.

The Bulldog offense struggled early in the game as they had only put up a run until the sixth inning, and then the floodgates opened. Like last week, David Mershon started the rally with an uncalled-bunt single, and it set the table for Dakota Jordan, who blasted a two-run home run to center field.

Like Stephen, Mershon is not flashy but constantly does the little things to help his team.

"He is the heart of the team," Jordan said.

MSU did not score another run but constantly kept their foot on the gas and attacked. The Bulldogs struggled with that for the past two years, but the leadership is strong this year.

"I just kept preaching, keep going," Jordan said.

This was an excellent night for MSU; not only did they dominate, but they also did it in front of a hostile crowd. However, due to their play, the crowd was sparse to end the game.

This team has great potential and showed it tonight, but they must continue to stack good days. A series sweep is possible and would go a long way for MSU's hosting chances.

Jurrangelo Cijntje will draw the start tomorrow as the Bulldogs go for the series win at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.