What Stood Out this Weekend for Mississippi State Baseball against Georgia Southern

Themes from Mississippi State's series win over Georgia Southern

 STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State Bulldogs bounced back from a pair of midweek losses with a home series win over Georgia Southern. There were some positives and some negatives from this weekend. What stood out on the diamond at Dudy Noble Field this weekend?

Nate Dohm and Jurrangelo Cijntje

These two starting pitchers led the way for MSU in their two wins this weekend. Dohm set the tone on Friday night for MSU as the right-hander had the best game of his Bulldog career to this point.

The Indiana native threw 6.2 innings, stuck out 10, and did not allow a run. Last week, Dohm was solid, but this week, he looked like a Friday night starter in the SEC.

Cijntje threw a gem this weekend as well. After allowing a run in the first inning, the sophomore bounced back, threw four scoreless innings, and struck out seven. If MSU can continue to get these solid starts, it will help them tremendously.

Returning Faces

The Bulldogs were without Logan Kohler after he sustained an injury, but the Memphis transfer was inserted back into the starting lineup this weekend. The third baseman played well defensively and was solid at the plate as he racked up four hits.

David Mershon also got his start of the season this weekend after a minor injury kept him out the first five games. Mershon stayed in the DH role and got six hits on the weekend and five RBIs.

Lemonis said Mershon should be healthy enough to play in the field shortly.

Lack of Clutch Hits

On Friday and Saturday, MSU struggled to get the big hits to either get back into the game or break the game open. On Saturday, the struggles were magnified as the Bulldogs were trailing 4-0 after the first, and MSU batters looked lost at the plate, leading to some ugly ABs.

MSU has had no struggles getting runners on base via walks or hits, but finding the big hit has often alluded them. However, on Sunday, Bryce Chance got a three-run double to give MSU the lead, and it was never relinquished.

Realistic

MSU won the series, and normally, that is a successful weekend, but the Bulldogs needed a sweep. MSU has dug themselves into a hole with two mid-week losses to Austin Peay, and it might be too much to ask to get a sweep, but it should not.

Both Friday and Sunday produced a lot of positives, but trailing 11-1 in your home park should never be acceptable. This was a solid weekend for the Bulldogs, but they still left some meat on the bone. 

The expectations for Mississippi State baseball never change, so a series win over Georgia Southern should never be looked at as anything more than the bare minimum. Also, given their hole, MSU can ill-afford to drop any non-conference games at this point.

It was an average weekend for Mississippi State, but there were some glimmers of hope. MSU is back in action Tuesday against Jackson State at 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network+ 

Mississippi State Baseball defeats Georgia Southern 10-2