The Middle of the Lineup Leads Mississippi State Baseball to Victory
STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State Bulldogs won their seventh straight game with a 5-2 win over Evansville. Once again, Bulldog ace Nate Dohm pitched well.
The Indiana native threw 6.1 innings, allowing two runs while striking out ten. Dohm allowed seven hits, but Evansville came into the game with the most hits in Division One, so this was the best lineup the right-hander has faced thus far.
MSU head coach Chris Lemonis was pleased with the start.
“He was good,” Lemonis said. “He had to really pitch with his off-speed.”
However, there was concern in the ballpark when Dohm came out of the game due to injury. The right-hander seemed to be shaking his arm, trying to get feeling back into it, and he later gave a thumbs up to the dugout on his walk back.
“I think he had a little zinger,” Lemonis said. “He didn't feel like it was anything major.”
MSU's pitching has been solid all season, but there have been concerns about the Bulldog lineup. The offense racked up 11 hits tonight, and sophomore outfielder Dakota Jordan continued his hot streak.
Jordan finished the day with four hits and was a triple-shy of the cycle. The former Jackson Academy Raider also gave MSU the lead in the third after he hit a mammoth homerun to left field.
It was an excellent sign for the Bulldog faithful that junior first baseman Hunter Hines had a good game. Hines has been struggling at the plate at times this season and is yet to hit a home run after hitting 22 a season ago.
However, Hines was significant for the Bulldogs tonight as he racked up three hits and an RBI. The Bulldogs did not play perfectly on offense, leaving some runs on the table.
After back-to-back singles from Jordan and Hines in the sixth, the Bulldogs failed to get a run after Bryce Chance flew out to right field, and Jordan was thrown out trying to advance to third. The little things are something MSU needs to clean up going forward, but it was encouraging to see the middle of the lineup lead the way tonight; that trend will need to continue with SEC play on the horizon.
The Bulldogs will be back in action tomorrow at 4 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
