Mississippi State Hits Five Home Runs, Rallies Past Southern 14-5

Mississippi State baseball had an outstanding night at the plate and took down the Southern Jaguars by a score of 14-5.

Pico Kohn started for the Diamond Dawgs and pitched three complete innings with three hits and one run on one batter walked and three strikeouts. Ultimately, pitcher Brooks Auger stole the show with four strikeouts and no hits or runs in two innings of play. Kellum Clark scored two runs, drove in four more and had a home run while going 3-for-5 at the plate. Kamren James went 2-for-2 at the plate with a home run, one run and 2 RBI. Brad Cumbest had a home run, one RBI and two runs scored on 2-for-2 batting. Hunter Hines and RJ Yeager had one home run apiece.

Although both teams threatened in the first inning, it wasn't until the bottom of the second that the Bulldogs became the first team to put runners across the plate. Jess Davis doubled to center field to start the game and reached third on an error, scoring RJ Yeager and Cumbest. James followed that up with a two-run home run to give the Diamond Dawgs a 4-0 advantage.

Southern got a run back to start the third inning, but that only motivated Mississippi State as the team went into the bottom part of the frame. Logan Tanner got things started with a double up the middle, then Hunter Hines brought him home with an RBI single. That's when the magic happened. Kellum Clark hit a two-run home run, then Cumbest and Yeager followed that up with a solo home run each. The fans in the stands were having fun, and the Bulldogs were heating up. The inning ended with MSU claiming a monstrous 9-1 lead.

Mississippi State continued adding runs in the bottom of the fourth. Tanner had his second double of the game, and Von Seibert was put in to pinch run for him and serve as the new designated hitter. Hines drove Seibert home but was thrown out trying to steal second. Matt Corder was sent into the game to pinch run after Cumbest walked, and both he and Clark scored on a wild pitch.

Southern added four runs on five hits against pitcher Drew Talley with no outs in the top of the fifth inning, so Brandon Smith was brought into the game to try to escape the inning. It was strange to see Talley struggle after doing so well early in the year, but head coach Chris Lemonis had an idea as to why he struggled.

“Once he didn’t throw a slider for a strike everybody started hitting the fastball,” Lemonis said.

Smith recorded all three outs without giving up another run, and the Bulldogs still clutched the 12-5 lead. However, they were unable to do anything offensively to close out the inning.

The game remained relatively quiet for both teams for a few innings, mainly due to Auger's impressive work on the mound. The Diamond Dawgs finally scored again on a two-run home run by Hines to push the score to a comfortable 14-5.

Pitcher Jackson Fristoe was brought in to close things out in the top of the ninth inning and tallied three consecutive strikeouts.

Mississippi State will open SEC play at home against Alabama on Friday night. Despite it being a big series against nearby opponents, it doesn’t seem to stand out above any other game to players from Alabama, including pitcher Pico Kohn.

“It’s just another game,” Kohn said. “I mean, we’re just going out there just to compete and play our game.”

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