Dominant Pitching Leads the Way for Mississippi State Baseball

A trio of Bulldog pitchers come up big for MSU.

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State Bulldogs got back on track tonight at Dudy Noble Field with a 5-1 win over Georgia Southern. MSU desperately needed a win after midweek losses to Austin Peay.

The Bulldogs sent Nate Dohm to the mound tonight for the second week in a row, and the right dominated hitters all night. The Indiana native threw 6.2 innings, allowed zero runs while striking out a career-high ten, and only walked one. 

Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis was pleased with the start, and has seen the progression in Dohm's game.

"It's gonna start to become a four-pitch mix, which is what a starter needs," Lemonis said.

The junior pitcher pitched the best game of his career thus far and showed lots of emotion on the mound. Lemonis said in the postgame that Bulldog catcher Johnny Long called a players-only meeting, and whatever was said sure fired up Dohm. 

"That was a huge focus this week," Dohm said. "Getting better every day."

The MSU bullpen also pitched well tonight as a lefty and a righty were asked to hold onto the Bulldog lead. Gavin Black was the first Bulldog pitcher to come out of the bullpen and was immediately welcomed with a solo home run.

However, Black bounced back and pitched 1.1 innings, struck out three, and allowed no walks. 

"He's been doing really well. I mean, it's a really good slider," Lemonis said.

The Bulldogs then looked to Brooks Auger to close out the game, and he dominated his three batters.

The Louisiana native missed last season due to injury, but the former Hinds Community College Eagle has pitched well after the injury. Auger struck out two of the three batters he faced and was mid-90s with his fastball.

The Bulldogs desperately needed this win if for nothing else a morale boost for this team. MSU pitching coach Justin Parker has done a tremendous job rebuilding this pitching as Bulldog hurlers look completely different than they did a season ago.

The talent is there for MSU, and perhaps that is the reason these three early losses have been so frustrating, but tonight was a step in the right direction. Mississippi State will be back in action tomorrow at 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

Mississippi State Baseball Defeats Georgia Southern 5-1