The Good, The Bad and The Uncertain of Opening Weekend

The Diamond Dawgs dropped their opening series against Long Beach State 1-2, and there was plenty to take away from everyone's performances this weekend.

Mississippi State's baseball team dropped two of three games in the opening weekend series against No. 24-ranked Long Beach State thanks to pitching struggles and a few cold days of batting.

The Bulldogs lost Friday's game by a score of 3-0 and were blown out 13-3 on Saturday to start the 2022 season 0-2. They managed to rebound with a big 12-4 victory on Sunday to avoid being swept. Plenty of new and returning faces had big moments for MSU and showed promise for the season, while others struggled under the pressure. If one thing is certain, it's evident that it will take some time for everything to click for the team. 

With the season now underway, here's the good, the bad and the uncertain from the first weekend of competition. 

The Good

If you were to look at starting pitching performances alone, you'd believe that the Bulldogs won at least two games. Landon Sims started the weekend off with an incredible performance that included a personal best. Through seven innings pitched, he allowed only one run on five hits and threw a career-best 13 strikeouts. Cade Smith stole the show on Sunday when he tossed only 68 pitches through 5.2 innings of work. He struck out six batters and gave up just one run on one hit. On Sunday, the bats also began heating up for the Bulldogs. Newcomer Matt Corder went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs scored and one home run. Tanner Leggett was brought into the game as a pinch hitter and went 1-for-2 with a home run.

The Bad

Mississippi State was in an offensive slump to start the series, and that's putting it lightly. It's understandable that the Bulldogs struggled on Friday, given how good Long Beach State pitcher Luis Ramirez has been for the past few years. However, there was no reason for the team to struggle just as much as they did on Saturday. The Dirtbags' pitching staff was talented, but the Bulldogs couldn't capitalize off of the nine hits they did have, and that was a huge momentum killer for the team. Even if the team was able to produce more runs, bad pitching certainly didn't help things. KC Hunt was decent as a starter-- through three innings pitched, he gave up five runs on six hits and struck out four batters. Reliever Preston Johnson was the top pitcher for the Bulldogs as he struck out nine in four innings. MSU's other relievers, Cam Tullar and Jack Walker, struggled tremendously.

The Uncertain

What would be the best possible batting order for Mississippi State? The Bulldogs had their best day on Sunday when Kamren James served in the leadoff position and Hunter Hines was a cleanup hitter, but it might be hard to keep both players' momentum going. The team's best hitters were spread throughout the lineup, but everyone still seems a bit shaky. It's going to take a few weeks for each player's true potential to shine through, but until then, expect to see plenty of trial-and-error. One last uncertainty centers around the Bulldogs' Saturday pitching rotation. Hunt, Tullar and Walker all struggled, but which of those should be given another chance, and how soon? Hunt will probably remain the starter for at least the next series. If he still has problems to work out, then there's no telling who will be brought in for him. Johnson performs well as a reliever, so that leaves Jackson Fristoe and Andrew Walling as the most probable options to start on Saturday.