Generally speaking, if you can score 11 runs a game, your favorite baseball team is going to win a lot of games. Generally speaking, it’s a good thing for your favorite college baseball team to average 11 runs a game over a three game series against one of the highest ranked teams in the country.
You know, generally speaking, if you’re able to take two games from your rival all while averaging 11 runs a game, you’re doing a really good job.
And it’s pretty clear that the Mississippi State Bulldogs made a resounding statement to kick off their SEC campaign as they did just that. MSU managed to take two of three games from the No. 2 LSU Tigers at Dudy Noble Field over the weekend.
Table of Contents
Let’s start reviewing what happened for the Mississippi State baseball team. But let’s focus in on recapping things first.
MSU baseball weekend review: Chris Lemonis and the Bulldogs might be back
Here’s what happened over the weekend against the LSU Tigers:
Game 1: Mississippi State 10 – LSU 4
Is Miss. State baseball back? I have no clue, but there was no better way to start a series against the No. 2 team in the country. In the series opener, Mississippi State’s bats came alive, pounding out 16 hits in a 10-4 victory over No. 2 LSU.
Hunter Hines led the charge, going 2-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs. On the mound, Nolan Stevens provided 5.2 innings of stellar relief, allowing just one run to secure the win. The Bulldogs’ offensive firepower and timely pitching set the tone for the series.
Mississippi State made it clear that the Bulldogs, at least in this series, were ready to compete with the nation’s best.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSU | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| Mississippi State | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | X | 10 | 16 | 1 |
Game 2: Mississippi State 8 – LSU 9
But as much fun as game 1 was, the first few innings of game 2 were the exact opposite for the Bulldogs.
LSU managed to build a commanding 9-1 lead over Mississippi State and really gave the Bulldogs’ pitching staff problems. But the bullpen duo of Karson Ligon and Tyson Hardin limited damage and allowed the Bulldogs to steadily get back in the game.
Mississippi State was able to score seven unanswered runs, but MSU couldn’t complete the comeback. Still, the fact that there was a comeback was something to be mindful of and to enjoy. Especially considering with what happened in game 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSU | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 2 |
| Mississippi State | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 0 |
Game 3: Mississippi State 15 – LSU 5 (8 innings)
MISSISSIPPI STATE RUN RULED THE LSU TIGERS.
In the rubber match, Mississippi State left no doubt, run-ruling LSU 15-5 in eight innings to clinch the series. As was the case in the first two games, the Bulldogs scored runs with relative ease.
Dakota Jordan launched a three-run blast to give Mississippi State a lead and the Bulldogs just kept building upon that advantage that they had. This decisive victory marked the first series win over the Tigers in Starkville since 2003.
That’s a long time.
Now, can the Bulldogs build upon this momentum? Will Mississippi State be able to play up to that sort of potential on a regular basis? Can we please set the stage for an exciting SEC campaign up ahead?
Is MSU baseball back?
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| Mississippi State | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
High notes and Mississippi State baseball highlights from series win over No. 2 LSU Tigers
Mississippi State’s offensive prowess really shined for the Bulldogs over the weekend. Throughout this three-game series against the Tigers, Mississippi State managed to score runs with ease.
The Bulldogs racked up an impressive 41 hits and 33 runs, proving that they can score in a hurry and pretty much whenever they want to.
Hunter Hines was huge all throughout the weekend, hitting three home runs and eight RBIs. Meanwhile, Aaron Downs and Dakota Jordan also made huge contributions (including a three-run home of Jordan’s own).
The Bulldogs were dynamic at the plate and not enough can be said about how impressive that is to do that against a team as talented as the LSU Tigers.
Oh, and Cam Schuelke was a lot of fun as well.
Low moments from the Miss. State baseball series vs. LSU
The weekend was fun, but not everything was perfect for Lemonis and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Despite the overall success of the series, Mississippi State’s game two performance exposed some vulnerabilities, particularly in the early innings.
The Bulldogs found themselves in a deep hole, trailing 9-1 after just three innings. LSU’s offensive barrage, fueled by home runs from Mac Bingham, Tommy White, Jared Jones, and Hayden Travinski, put Mississippi State’s pitching staff on the ropes early.
And that’s not great to see. Now, this is LSU and the Tigers have a lot of firepower at the plate. They can score a ton of runs in a hurry. But that’s something that will need to be addressed at some point this season.
Final Thoughts on Mississippi State baseball’s series win over LSU
This was huge. It was clear from the first game of this series that Mississippi State was playing up to its full potential. The Bulldogs looked flat out dominant against one of the most talented teams in the country.
To beat LSU in this manner, outscoring the Tigers 33-18 over the three game series, is really impressive. It just is.
It’s not great the way that LSU was able to score some sizable amount of runs here and there, but that’s generally expected from a team as good as they are. The fact that Mississippi State managed to put up 33 runs over that series? That’s just absolutely insane.
MSU might be back. Or maybe the SEC West curse of winning the Men’s College World Series that plagued both the MSU Bulldogs and Ole Miss Rebels has extended on to the LSU Tigers.
I don’t know.
Chris Lemonis might have this team in a pretty good spot to win plenty of games and get the fanbase back behind him. And that’s a good thing for him. Starting SEC play in this manner was crucial for him.
Now he just needs to find a way to keep the Bulldogs moving in the manner that they are.
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