Mississippi State Bats Show Life in Game 2 as Bulldogs Top The Norse
On Friday night, Chris Lemonis said that if his team cannot hit the fastball, it’s going to be a rough season going forward.
In Saturday’s game, the Diamond Dawgs answered the skipper’s call, beating Northern Kentucky 10-1 after a slight tweak to the batting lineup, in which Tanner Leggett drew the start at second base instead of R.J. Yeager.
Brad Cumbest got the scoring started in the 3rd inning, blasting a three-run shot out to left field. Logan Tanner later notched his first home run on the season - a two-run shot in the bottom of the 7th - which set the score at 7-1 in MSU’s favor.
The scoring didn’t stop there by any means, as third baseman Kamren James decided to get in on the action in the very next frame, smashing a two-run shot to left field. That moonshot set the score at a commanding 10-1, Bulldogs’ lead.
Luke Hancock also turned in a solid outing after stating after Friday night’s game he needed to be more patient and wait on his pitch. He did just that, going 2-3 at the plate with another two walks. Hancock had only one AB in which he didn’t reach a base, which came in the bottom of the eighth after the affair was well within control.
Lemonis spoke about how well his team faired at the plate today to reporters after the game.
“We talked a lot last night and this morning about just hitting the fastball and being ready to hit, and we saw some of that today” said Lemonis, “I thought we were a lot better today, just being ready to hit.”
Possibly the biggest bright spot of the day, though, was Preston Johnson. The junior right hander threw for 6.1 innings, only surrendering two hits - one of which was a solo home run. He notched five strikeouts in the contest and only surrendered two walks and one hit by pitch before freshman reliever Pico Kohn took over in the top of the 7th.
“He was really good,” said Lemonis of Johnson’s play, “and he probably could have gone farther because his stuff didn’t come off. He just kind of hit his pitch limit and with it being this early in cold weather, we need him for the long run.”
From the way it sounds, Johnson has thrown his name into contention for the Saturday slot for the foreseeable future.
Kohn also continued to impress in his appearance, throwing 2.2 scoreless innings in relief while notching three strikeouts.
MSU will return to action on Sunday at 1 p.m. as they look to secure the series victory over Northern Kentucky. That game will be aired on SEC Network Plus.