Three Takeaways From Mississippi State's Series Win Upset Over No. 2-ranked LSU
Going into the weekend, things looked grim for Mississippi State baseball.
Facing the number two team country in one of the most challenging places to play in the country, Alex Box Stadium. How did MSU pull off the upset of the weekend in college baseball?
After embarrassingly losing in a 12-1 run-rule on Friday night, nobody would have ever thought this team would return to win this series. "They just kept competing. I give the kids a lot of credit for that, and I'm proud of them," Lemonis said.
A late offensive explosion, followed by one of the wildest college baseball games you, will see MSU emerged victorious with the 14-13 win over 10 innings to register its second consecutive win over the Tigers.
There were multiple reasons why MSU pulled the upset -- here are the three biggest.
1. The performance of Cade Smith
After Friday night's embarrassing loss, the Bulldogs could have easily mailed in, but Cade Smith gave the Bulldogs one of their best starts of the year. Smith went six innings allowing just two runs on seven strikeouts.
MSU starting pitching has been a rollercoaster this year, but Smith delivered for the Bulldogs in a big way to help even the series. Lemonis was asked about his thoughts on Smith's performance, giving a plenty positive review.
"Cade was great. He mixed and pitched. He was in and out, up and down."
2. Bullpen Arms
Like starting pitching, the bullpen for MSU has been a disaster most time this year. However, a trio of veterans came up big this weekend for State. Aaron Nixon, KC Hunt, and Tyler Davis all threw a combined scoreless nine innings over the two wins for MSU.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs tied the game in the top of the seventh inning, and KC Hunt was brought into a tough spot in the bottom of the inning with runners on first and second with nobody out.
Hunt limited the damage and held the Bulldog lead in the 8th to pick up the win. Tyler Davis, an unlikely hero, pitched four innings for MSU on Sunday and held the Tigers scoreless, giving the Bulldog offense a chance to mount a comeback.
Aaron Nixon is the most reliable arm of the MSU bullpen, and he lived up to that, pitching three scoreless innings over two games while securing two wins for the Bulldogs.
3. Resilience
MSU had to come back in both of their wins this weekend. This season has been forgettable for MSU, so facing a two-run deficit on Saturday and a nine-run deficit on Sunday, it would have been easy for this team to quit. The Bulldogs did not and instead decided to rise to the occasion.
Lemonis was asked postgame about the fight he saw within his players and responded simply.
"To come in here and play the way we did. We fell behind in the fourth inning, 13-4," he said.
"The way our season has been going, our team could have just put their heads down and quit. That's the biggest compliment I could give them. They just keep playing hard," Lemonis said.