No. 16 Diamond Dawgs lack focus as No. 23 Alabama salvages game three of series
A chance at the 15th SEC victory was there for No. 16 Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon against an Alabama team struggling through illness.
After dealing with a bout of food poisoning for the last two days, the Crimson Tide looked ripe for a sweep. Instead, the Bulldogs were the team that looked ill.
State was poor in every phase of the game and the Crimson Tide took advantage in a 10-5 victory. The loss took away an opportunity for the Bulldogs to move closer to locking up a hosting spot for the NCAA Tournament with two weekends remaining.
“Disappointed. We just didn’t show up locked in ready to go,” coach Chris Lemonis said. “We gave up six freebies with HBPs and walks. I know we had two errors and I feel like we made four of them. You could easily look up and say six of those runs shouldn’t have been on the board but we gave them opportunities in those spots.”
For a team that has been getting strong starts on the mound, Sunday didn’t fall into that category. Brooks Auger couldn’t replicate his career outing from last week at Vanderbilt as he lasted just 2.0 innings and gave up four runs on two hits, three walks and a hit batter.
The Crimson Tide scored all four of those runs on him in the fourth inning and it was highlighted by nine-hole hitter Max Grant hitting his second home run in as many days as he drove in three on one pitch.
Cole Cheatham gave State two-straight innings without any runs surrendered but ran into trouble in the fifth with three runs surrendered. Luke Dotson, Karson Ligon and Nolan Stevens also surrendered a run each in the loss.
State pitching gave up just four runs the first 19 innings of the weekend before surrendering a 10 spot on Sunday. 12 hits, four walks and three hit batters were an issue, but the Bulldogs also had two errors on defense.
At the plate, State had nine hits and five runs scored, but the Bulldogs also ran themselves out of innings and couldn’t get enough big hits with runners on base. The game ended, fittingly, with a double play for the State offense.
Despite some struggles offensively, State did have 10 hits as a team. Connor Hujsak remained steady in SEC play as he finished 3-for-3 with two RBI and his eighth home run of the year.
“We definitely came out slow. I don’t think any of us were happy with how we started,” Hujsak said. “That game matters and we know it and it got away from us there.”
Third baseman Logan Kohler continued his hot streak with a second-straight multi-hit game as he was 2-for-4 with two home runs and two RBI. It was the third home run for Kohler in the last two days and he’s hit all four of his long balls within a week’s time.
Bryce Chance and Dakota Jordan finished with two hits each as Jordan drove in a run on a double.
The Bulldogs (32-16, 14-10 SEC) still ended the weekend with a series victory and have taken 10 of the last 12 games over the last three weeks. The team will be back on the field with a series on the road at No. 2 Arkansas this weekend.
With hosting aspirations still alive, Lemonis is preaching the importance of every ball game at this point. Sunday left a sour taste in the coach’s mouth.
“They went, ‘hey we got the series,’ and they just don’t understand the importance of everything – of taking care of business,” Lemonis said. “You’re really making up for (a game) you goofed down the road. I think that’s the hardest part and it’s on me. It’s my job to make sure they’re motivated and understand that, but it is a frustrating day not to come out and be locked in like we should.”
