3-2-1: Diamond Dawgs take another step forward with big week

Last week was another step forward for Mississippi State baseball as the Bulldogs inch closer to locking up an NCAA Tournament berth.

With postseason back in site for State for the first time since the national championship in 2021, MSU’s recent success has brought up the topic of hosting a Regional again at Dudy Noble. That’s something that will be settled in the next few weeks and all State can do is continue to win.

After knocking off No. 11 Vanderbilt and going 3-1, the Bulldogs have followed up a series loss against rival Ole Miss by winning seven of the last eight games. That will be put to the test this week with State playing Ole Miss in the Governor’s Cup game in Pearl followed by a tough three-game set against Alabama this weekend.

Before we get to the big game on Wednesday, let’s look back at the week that was in the 3-2-1..

3 Hunter Hines home runs bring him to life

Sometimes a player just needs a couple of hits to go his way and that could be a spark for Hines.

After seeing the average dip down to .275 on the season, Hines came through with four hits in two days and was a major reason why the Diamond Dawgs won a series on the road at Vandy. Hines had a solo home run on Saturday to get the Bulldogs a lead and then drove in a run on a double the next time up. He followed that with a three-run blast in the game to push the lead out and State eventually won 7-4.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs had a runner on base with two outs when Hines stepped to the plate. He got the pitch he wanted and destroyed a ball off a building beyond the outfield fence in right field. He finished with seven RBI in the last two days with three home runs and a double.

Hines is now back up to .284 with 12 home runs, six doubles and 42 RBI. His last home run hit over the weekend was the 50th of his career as he now moves to sixth in MSU history and is one away from the top five.

2 Unsung Heroes

Saturday was a huge win to get for the Bulldogs in Nashville.

State lost with ace pitcher Khal Stephen on the mound on Friday night as the offense could never get things rolling. The offense would come alive on Saturday, but the pitching was going to be the question mark.

Chris Lemonis made a decision that seemed to pay off on the weekend as he moved Jurrangelo Cijtnje to pitch on Sunday against a to be determined pitcher for the Commodores and that set up Brooks Auger for Saturday. Auger came out and more than delivered for the Bulldogs as he gave State a career-high 5.0 innings with six strikeouts.

Auger has returned from Tommy John this year and performed several roles, but he looks to be moving into State’s third starter position. On the year, he is 1-1 with a 3.08 ERA in 26.1 innings and has given up nine earned runs, 11 walks and struck out 28 batters.

Also coming through big on Saturday was Ethan Pulliam. The Starkville native has emerged as a steady player for the Bulldogs since being inserted into the lineup two weeks ago. With issues occurring at second base with Amani Larry defensively, Lemonis tried out Pulliam at second and it appears the Bulldogs have their answer at that position.

The freshman played in just five games all season coming off the bench before Lemonis inserted him into the lineup and now he’s making a case to stay in it. Through those eight games, Pulliam has eight hits and has recorded a base knock in all but two games. He has three games during this stretch in which he’s recorded multiple hits and one of those was Saturday vs. the Dores.

Pulliam stepped up in the ninth inning with the Bulldogs clinging to a one-run lead and he delivered an RBI double to push the lead out a bit. It was the biggest hit of his career and continued his upward trajectory.

1 Big Takeaway

Over the last two weeks, something has shifted in the mentality and execution of the Bulldogs.

It hasn’t been pretty, but State is winning games that they weren’t earlier in the season. The Bulldogs came into the Auburn series having gone 3-9 in games decided by two runs or less. In the last two weeks, the Bulldogs had four games that were decided by two runs or less and they won all four games.

A big reason for that has been the success out of the bullpen from Tyson Hardin and Tyler Davis. Two players that were routinely hit hard last season have been exceptional this year. Davis is down to a 1.52 ERA in 18 games pitched with two saves. He’s thrown 23.2 innings, given up just four runs, walked 11 batters and struck out 29.

Hardin has a 2.31 ERA in 15 appearances with two saves as well. In 23.1 innings, he has just six earned runs, 10 walks and 19 strikeouts.

The offense has been very up and down for State but its pitching staff is worlds better than it has been the last couple of years. Currently, the Bulldog staff ERA is down to 4.20 with 160 walks and 450 strikeouts. The team ended last year with a 7.01 ERA, 539 strikeouts and 321 walks.

A big opportunity awaits this week with a matchup against rival Ole Miss on Wednesday night at Pearl and State’s series against No. 23 Alabama beginning on Friday.

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