Dominant outing vs. LSU leads to SEC Freshman of the Week honor for Bulldog Nolan Stevens
While he might still be a freshman, Nolan Stevens certainly didn’t carry himself like one last Friday night.
Entering the ball game against No. 2 LSU with his team in a hole, Stevens pulled Mississippi State out of it and left with a standing ovation from the Diamond Dawg faithful. Helping the Bulldogs out to a 10-4 victory to begin a strong weekend against the defending national champions, Stevens has earned his spot as the SEC Freshman of the Week.
State was trailing 4-2 when Stevens came into the ball game in the fourth frame and he would leave with two outs in the ninth with the Bulldogs on top by six runs. Stevens threw a career-high 5.2 innings, gave up just one hit and two walks and struck out eight batters to earn his second win of the season.
“It’s a tough night, because we don’t have (Nate) Dohm, and then on top of that we go extra innings and have two mid weeks, so the bullpen is a little packed,” head coach Chris Lemonis said. “So you’re looking at it, and Nolan Stevens just solved every problem. I mean that is a coming out party. He’s been good, but that was a special performance tonight.”
The LHP had thrown 5.1 hitless and scoreless innings until Michael Braswell III doubled with an out in the ninth. He had allowed just one base runner from the fourth inning until that point.
From Elk Grove, Calif., Stevens is handling himself like a veteran to this point. He was brought into MSU as one of the top dual-position players out of high school and he wanted to pitch, hit and field on the college level.
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In six appearances this year, Stevens has given up just three earned runs through 14.2 innings pitched with an ERA of 1.84. Stevens has walked just two batters and struck out 19 along the way. The talented two-way player has also appeared in 12 games at the plate with three starts and is batting .417 with five hits and a home run in 12 at bats.
Stevens and the Bulldogs (15-6, 2-1 SEC) put the country on notice this week with their second-straight series win over LSU. The defending National Champions lost to State last year in Baton Rouge before making a run to the College World Series and winning it all, but this past weekend was the first time since 2003 that the Diamond Dawgs beat the Tigers in Starkville.
“It was a great feeling. Our team has been preparing for SEC play all year. When it comes to emotions, we have a saying ride the wave so you can’t get too high or too low,” Stevens said of the win over LSU. “As a pitcher coming out of the pen, you’ve got to be ready all of the time and I was ready.”
The results moved MSU into the top 25 and as high as No. 16 in the Baseball America poll. State is 21st in D1Baseball. This week will bring a midweek matchup for the Diamond Dawgs against Memphis on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. with a weekend series against a top 10 Texas A&M team on the road at College Station beginning Thursday night at 6:30 p.m.
