Rain is a Good Thing: Mississippi State beats Evansville in game one
The Mississippi State Bulldogs managed to take game one of the three game series against Evansville via a final score of 5-2 on Friday night at Dudy Noble Field.
The result came after a day full of rain that had some fans concerned whether or not start times would be pushed back. In fact, head coach Chris Lemonis said postgame that he had to shut off his phone Friday due to the influx of texts and calls.
Nate Dohm led the way for the Bulldogs on the mound in 6.1 IP and finished with 10 strikeouts, one walk, seven hits and a pair of earned runs in a stellar starting effort. However, Dohm’s exit is what had fans talking after play had concluded.
After his 101 pitch, Dohm called pitching coach Justin Parker and a trainer out to the bump only two pitches after a previous visit to voice concern over some tingling in his arm. Thankfully for Bulldog fans, head coach Chris Lemonis said that Dohm acted like he felt fine in the dugout after his exit.
“I think he just had a little zinger,” said Lemonis. “He said that he was tired, but it was just a little zing. It didn’t feel like anything major. I’m not a doctor, but if he doesn’t act like it’s a big deal, I’m not going to.”
Dakota Jordan finished the night a triple shy of the cycle, and was well on his way to getting there, too, as he had a pair of at bats to take a crack at it. That was until the Purple Aces intentionally walked him to load the bases in the eighth inning.
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“(Hitting for the cycle) never even hit me until I got to first and the first baseman said something to me,” said Jordan of just missing out on the accolade. “He was like ‘yeah, we can’t let you get the triple for the cycle,’ and I was like ‘Wow, I didn’t even know I was a triple away.'”
Aces Offense vs. Mississippi State pitching
Evansville barrelled up plenty of pitches on the night despite only plating the pair of runs. Only one player in the lineup came into the game hitting less than .300 on the season so far, and it showed. According to Lemonis, this forced his pitching staff to adjust and throw the breaking ball more – something Dohm did masterfully in his winning start.
As the Mississippi State bullpen thins out this weekend, though, the defensive battle for the Bulldogs will be something to keep an eye on. By the numbers, this is the best hitting lineup that Mississippi State has faced up to this point in the season, and will serve as its best barometer before SEC play begins next weekend.
The Bulldogs will go for the series victory tomorrow at 4 p.m. while trying to push their seven game win streak to eight in a row against the Purple Aces tomorrow. That game will be aired on the SEC Network+, with Khal Stephen drawing the start for the Bulldogs on the hill.
