Diamond Dawgs take the sweep of Missouri State with a 6-4 Sunday win

After entering the ninth inning on the verge of a combined no-hitter, things got a little hairy for No. 18 Mississippi State in game three of the series against Missouri State.

The Diamond Dawgs saw a 6-1 lead cut to 6-4 with one out in the inning after Luke Dotson gave up a three-run home run. After exiting the game, Chase Hungate came in and slammed the door shut with the final two outs and the Diamond Dawgs earned a 6-4 win.

The victory for the Bulldogs secured a sweep and got the team off to a 6-1 start this year.

“You just don’t come out and throw strikes and that’s the key. You ignite their rally and they don’t have to do anything,” Lemonis said. “I know we had a no-hitter into the ninth, but that’s a really good offensive lineup. That’s a really good ball club with good hitters and you let their guys get excited and it’s hard to stop. I thought Chase Hungate was really good.”

Diamond Dawg pitchers flirt with disaster despite just two hits

It was the second-straight day that the Diamond Dawgs had allowed an uncharacteristic amount of free bases. After walking nine batters in the win on Saturday, the Bulldogs walked eight on Sunday with two more hit batters.

Free bases would be all Stone Simmons would allow in his second start since returning from two Tommy John surgeries. Simmons (2-0) gave up no hits and a run in 4.0 innings with four walks and a hit batter. He struck out five in the win.

Charlie Foster threw 2.2 innings of no-hit, shutout baseball with two walks and two strikeouts. Robert Fortenberry threw 1.1 innings but gave up the first two batters in the ninth before Dotson surrendered the homer. Hungate earned his first save as a Bulldog.

Offensively, Mississippi State had no problems getting on base in the game. The Diamond Dawgs had 12 hits and walked four times in a shuffled up lineup. Lemonis gave the first starts of the season to Gherig Frei and Ethan Pulliam and Aaron Downs also started in the game.

The trio of Bulldogs all made an impact in the contest as well with Frei hitting his first home run in a maroon and white uniform. Frei finished 2-for-4 with the solo shot in the bottom of the first inning.

In the fourth, Aaron Downs was able to hit his second home run of the season and Pulliam followed with a triple that would eventually come home to score on Dylan Cupp’s RBI single making it 3-1. The Bulldogs added another run in the fifth on a solo homer from Hunter Hines and Ace Reese hit a two-run bomb in the sixth.

The Bulldogs also left 10 men on the bases including having five on the bases combined with less than two outs in the first two innings.

“We’re getting better. We’re still not maximizing our offensive opportunities,” Lemonis said. “We’re having a good at bat and a good at bat then a really bad one. You don’t need to have a great one, you just need to have an average one and move the inning alive. We’ll get up there and get a big hit and then a strikeout and a strikeout. We’ve got to get better.”

Up Next

It’s nice for Lemonis to be having teaching moments with his team and still winning ball games.

The Diamond Dawgs are now 6-1 in the first two weeks with the best start for the team since 2019. That will again be put to the test this Tuesday as State hosts No. 23 Troy (6-1) at Dudy Noble Field. Game time is set for 4 p.m. as Lemonis meets up with former player and Trojan head coach Skylar Meade.

“I feel good. Winning three at home against a quality opponent is big. I still think we have a lot of work to do,” Lemonis said. “The last two days of not throwing enough strikes and just being productive offensively. We have a really good opponent coming in on Tuesday night in a top 25 team coming in. The head coach is a former player of mine back at Louisville and another one caught for me back at Indiana. They’re talented and we’ve got to bring our A game.”