What Stood Out for Mississippi State Baseball against Arkansas

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State baseball drops the series to the Arkansas Razorbacks on the road. It was a frustrating weekend for the Bulldogs as they could have gotten a sweep, but they needed one win, and they got it.

There were positives and negatives this weekend. What stood out most?

Duo

Coming into this season, the Bulldogs had the potential to have a special middle of the lineup with Dakota Jordan and Hunter Hines.

However, the two can seemingly never play well together. This past weekend was an example of that. In game one, Hines had three RBIs while Jordan struggled, and in game two, Jordan was 3-4 with three RBIs while Hines came up short.

If these two guys can ever consistently play well at the same time, the potential for this lineup is through the roof, and more on that later.

Old Issues

Closing out games had been an issue for MSU most of the season, but they figured that out with the emergence of Tyler Davis and Tyson Hardin. However, the issue returned this weekend as the Bulldogs blew a lead in games one and three.

State took a 5-4 lead in the eighth inning after a sacrifice fly, and they gave the ball to Hardin looking for a six-out save. The junior right-hander did not do well as he always pitches to contact, but the Razorbacks were getting base hits instead of ground outs.

Arkansas would plate three runs and win game one 7-5. In the series finale, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but the trio of Karson Ligon, Gavin Black, and Cam Schuelke gave up nine unanswered runs.

It was puzzling to see some of the decision-making.

Questionable Decisions

Before handing out criticism, the coaching staff did an excellent job handling the staff in game two by turning to Brooks Auger in the sixth to settle the game and ultimately letting Tyler Davis close out the game. However, in the last game of the series, the pitching moves were very questionable.

Ligon takes over in the fifth with a 6-1 lead, which is fine as the Miami transfer needs to find a way to help State, but he struggled and gave up three runs. Holding onto a two-run lead, the Bulldogs turn to Gavin Black in the sixth, who pitched well against Alabama last week but had a ten-run cushion.

Arkansas would tie the game off Black, and they would take the lead off Schuelke. The decision was peculiar, but MSU had already used their top arms on the weekend, Hardin, Davis, and Auger, so maybe the coaching staff was just being cautious with their arms.

However, all that flipped on his head as Hardin took over in the seventh inning. If the Florida native was in the pitching plans, why did he not get the ball when State had a two-run lead instead of coming when they were down by two runs?

They were likely trying to save him to close the game out, but the Razorbacks had all the momentum after the fifth. They should have brought Hardin in to weather the storm, much like Auger did in game one.

Offense

Coming into the weekend, MSU struggled to score runs off the best pitching staff in the SEC, but it would be even more challenging without Connor Hujsak, who leads the team in batting average during SEC play. However, the offense played well, and players stepped up in place of Hujsak, as the Bulldogs scored at least five runs in every game, but still, somehow, it feels like they underperformed.

State stranded 37 runners over the weekend, and they still scored runs. The frustrating part is the lineup played well on paper, as they had a lot of success against a stellar pitching staff, but they could have done so much more.

That is the story of this team. While they are ranked in the top 20, it could easily be a top-five team if they could eliminate minor issues.

The offense had a successful weekend, but they could and will need to do more down the stretch.

Pico Kohn

The Bulldogs tried various starters from Ligon, Auger, and Evan Siary on Sunday, but none have stuck. Pico Kohn has started the past few mid-week games for State and drew the start against Arkansas.

The Alabama native pitched well, going four innings, allowing one run, and striking out six. The junior left-hander is returning from injury, but it will go a long way if he can become a solid third starter for MSU.