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Diamond Dawgs bring the bats in 13-3, run rule win over No. 12 Alabama

3rupauk8_400x400by:Robbie Faulk•about 19 hours•

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sawyer reeves
Sawyer Reeves (Photo by Mississippi State Athletics)

Mississippi State met a big moment in Friday night’s game at No. 12 Alabama and the Diamond Dawgs responded emphatically.

After the Bulldogs’ 4-0 lead began to dwindle in the middle innings, State’s offense would explode. Leading 4-3 in the fifth, the Bulldogs scored seven runs that inning and kep the pedal down in an impressive 13-3, run-rule win in eight innings in Tuscaloosa.

Pico Kohn couldn’t make it past the fourth inning this Friday start, but Stone Simmons was nails out of the bullpen. For the fourth-straight SEC game, the Bulldogs needed just two pitchers as Simmons went 4.0 frames, gave up five hits, no runs, no walks and he struck out five batters.

“We’ve been playing better. I thought we made great plays,” coach Chris Lemonis said. “I thought Pico competed and Stone was great, but how many great at bats did we have tonight? That’s what you have to do to put someone away in this league.”

In a game where the two teams combined for 28 hits, State’s were the biggest.

Kohn and Simmons combined to surrender 11 base knocks against a solid Bama offense, but just the three runs. State’s offense would be relentless all night as the unit struck for 13 runs on 17 hits and four walks.

Reeves delivers after being inserted into lineup

Six different players had two hits in the starting lineup with eight players garnering a hit. Sawyer Reeves with the big hitter in the game as the senior was inserted in the lineup at shortstop for Dylan Cupp and delivered his best game as a Bulldog with a 4-for-5 night, four RBI, two doubles and his first home run at State.

Ace Reese finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and a double. Gehrig Frei, Noah Sullivan, Hunter Hines and Joe Powell all had two hits a piece. Hines moved past Will Clark for second in school history with his 62nd and he’s just six away from standing alone in first. Ter j

Powell drove in two runs on a double with Sullivan and Frei also getting two-baggers. Bryce Chance finished with just one hit, but he scored three runs and had a double as well. The Bulldogs had seven doubles and two home runs.

After jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a Reese double and the two-run home run from Hines with two outs, the Bulldogs made it 4-0 in the third with Reeves’ first homer. Bama would get a run back in the third and then had a two-run home run from Justin Lebron to cut the lead to 4-3.

That’s when the Bulldogs would leave no doubt.

State had five hits to start the inning with doubles from Reeves and Sullivan and then Chance and Powell came through with their own doubles later in the inning. Powell started the inning with a single and his two-run double with two outs would push the lead all the way out to 11-3.

“I thought Joe Powell was huge in that inning,” Lemonis said. “Gets the inning started and then ends it with a double in the gap. Caught a great game and got some big hits in that inning.”

Simmons shut things down the rest of the way for State on the mound and the Bulldogs scored a run in the seventh and eighth to get the run rule win.

With that victory, State has won four-straight games and moved to 21-13 and 4-9 in the SEC after a 1-9 start in league play. The Diamond Dawgs will try to keep that rolling on Saturday at 2 p.m. when the teams meet again. Evan Siary will be on the mound against Riley Quick.

“We have to come back out with the same effort,” Lemonis said. “We’re playing good baseball and we’re a good team, but we’ve got to go beat them. Let’s go out, compete and win a game.”

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