TCU arms keep Bulldog bats at bay as MSU falls

Mississippi State is now 1-1 at the State Farm College Showdown

Sunday was a pain in the neck for Mississippi State, both literally and figuratively. 

MSU's expected starting pitcher Will Bednar was a late scratch from Sunday's game due to neck soreness, then the No. 7 Bulldogs couldn't figure out the arms of No. 10 TCU and MSU fell 3-2 at the State Farm College Showdown in Arlington, Texas.

From Bednar's ailment to the silent Bulldog bats, things were just never totally right for MSU all day long, on the field or off.

"It was a little frustrating, but I think we handled adversity well," State centerfielder Rowdey Jordan said. "(TCU starting pitcher Russell Smith) was a great pitcher. He was attacking the first time through the lineup. The second time, he was mixing it up. And they just pitched really well. At the end, you look up and we had seven hits and only two runs, so that's real frustrating, but that's the way baseball goes sometimes."

If you believe in omens, MSU was possibly bound for a bad day from the start. Bednar got up out of bed and it was decided that it'd be best if he not make his scheduled start.

"(Bednar) got up (Sunday morning) and had a knot in his neck after sleeping," State head coach Chris Lemonis said. "With all our guys, they have the chance for long careers and to put somebody out there that's not comfortable, it just isn't a smart decision."

(CLICK HERE TO WATCH LEMONIS' FULL POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE. YOU CAN WATCH ROWDEY JORDAN'S POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE WITH THE VIDEO AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE)

Bednar was replaced by left-hander Houston Harding, who was making only his third career start. Harding responded with a solid performance that kept State in the game. The southpaw gave up only one run and one hit over 3.1 innings. He struck out four. His biggest issue was that he issued three walks, but still, he exited in the fourth with the Bulldogs very much still in things, down only 1-0.

"I thought (Harding's start) was good under the circumstances," Lemonis said. "We had to crank him up against Texas (on Saturday) in the ninth (then didn't use him). So he had to warm up in the ninth possibly to close. Then he found out about 45 minutes before the game (Sunday) that he had to pitch. He was really good for us in spring training. His strike percentage was just OK (on Sunday). But I think that's more of just the situation we put him in. He's a really tough kid and to go out in that environment and compete without much preparation, I'm really excited about him."

Mississippi State (1-1) had five different relievers hold things down the rest of the way following Harding's exit. The Bulldog pitching staff, combined, surrendered only the three TCU runs on just four hits and somewhat successfully navigated around seven walks.

The Horned Frogs (1-1) got on the board first with an unearned run in the opening inning. They added another in the sixth with an RBI groundout.

Down 2-0, MSU's bats finally delivered a run in home half of the sixth when Jordan cranked his second home run in as many days. Just like that, it was 2-1.

TCU extended its lead to 3-1 with a sacrifice fly in the seventh. That'd be all the scoring until the Bulldogs nearly staged a ninth-inning comeback.

Josh Hatcher delivered a one-out RBI single to get MSU within one. A Luke Hancock single and Scotty Dubrule walk then loaded the bases.

However TCU would escape. Speedy MSU outfielder Drew McGowan laced a ground ball to second that the Horned Frogs turned into a game-ending double play. 

"It's about the only ball (McGowan) could hit to (turn a double play on him)," Lemonis said. "He runs about 4.1 (seconds) to first and it had to be hard hit. It had to be right there (near the second base bag). It was a really good swing off a really good arm."

It was a frustrating ending to a somewhat frustrating day. The Bulldogs will hope for better fortune Monday. That's when MSU plays its final game at the State Farm College Showdown, at 11 a.m. central against Texas Tech. 

It's possible Bednar could get the start for the Bulldogs on Monday. But that's up in the air.

"We'll reassess (Sunday night)," Lemonis said. "We'll look at (Bednar). We probably won't know about him (Sunday night). And we've just got to see which arms are available for (Monday) and how we match up with Texas Tech. It'll probably be a lot of guys (Monday) like you saw (Sunday), being that we've had a couple of issues here. But we'll be ready to go."

Thank you for coming to Cowbell Corner for coverage of Mississippi State sports. Be sure to follow Cowbell Corner on Twitter (@SIBulldogs) by clicking here, and like it on Facebook by clicking here.