Evan Siary's gem earns SEC Pitcher of the Week honors
It was arguably the best pitching performance inside the “new” Dudy Noble Field and it’s being recognized by the SEC just a few days later.
Evan Siary is this week’s SEC Pitcher of the Week after the junior put together an incredible effort against Ole Miss. His game two performance against the rival Rebels allowed the Bulldogs to rebound from a 10-4 loss earlier in the day and even a series that they eventually won.
The Starkville Academy grad threw a career-high 8.0 innings as he dominated Ole Miss pitching to the tune of six hits, no runs, no walks and another career-high 15 strikeouts. It was the most strikeouts from a State pitcher since Will Bednar took down 15 Texas hitters in the first game of the College World Series in 2021.
“It was just such a special outing. He’s probably our hardest worker,” interim head coach Justin Parker said following the game on Friday night. “I didn’t even realize he had 15 strikeouts until someone told me in the dugout. He had all four pitches working. Commanded all four pitches and had strikeouts on all four pitches – a lot on the fastball, several on the curveball.”
Siary’s command of the strike zone the difference
Siary was dialed in from the start as he efficiently worked the Ole Miss lineup. He didn’t allow a walk all game long and never got to a three-ball count in a single at bat. Additionally, Siary rarely felt pressure in the game but he did come through when it came.
In the eighth inning of a 2-0 ball game, Siary allowed a single and a hit batter with two outs. A mound visit from Parker settled him back in and he would finish with a flyout on the very next pitch. It gave Siary the standing ovation he deserved from Dudy Noble Field as they walked into the dugout with the lead.
“It was his game; I wasn’t taking him out. I was just checking his pulse and giving him a breather, but I knew how the crowd would react to that,” Parker said. “I felt like that got him over the hump and through the eighth.”
The outing from Siary followed up a relatively tough outing in a State win over Kentucky the week prior. He lasted just 3.1 innings and gave up two walks, four hits, five runs and struck out five.
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On the season, Siary has been the best he’s been in a State uniform. After carrying an ERA over 7.00 in each of his first two seasons with 24 appearances and seven starts, Siary has become a primary weekend starter for the Bulldogs.
Siary is 2-1 with a 4.06 ERA this year and has thrown 44.1 innings in 13 appearances and eight starts. He’s surrendered just 13 walks and struck out a career-high 57. In his game against the Rebels he hit 107 career strikeouts to just 31 walks in 94.0 innings.
The win from Siary set up a Saturday victory for the series. MSU moved to 31-20 on the year with a 12-15 mark in SEC play and the team moves into the final week of the schedule with a chance to make postseason.
“It means a lot. The team came out and played great overall and it was a great team win overall,” Siary said. “It was definitely different. Every SEC game means a lot. Every night is going to be a dogfight no matter what. It was just stay focused, keep going, trust the guy next to me and do whatever it takes to win the ball game.”
State starts with a Tuesday matchup against North Alabama at 6 p.m. to close out the regular season at DNF. This weekend will be a trip to last place Missouri to take on a Tiger team that is coming off of three wins at Texas A&M. The series begins on Thursday night. The first two games will take place at 6 p.m. with Saturday’s contest set for 2 p.m.
