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Diamond Dawgs win Friday pitcher's duel in Norman, 2-1

3rupauk8_400x400by:Robbie Faulk•about 13 hours•

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Pico Kohn (Photo by Mississippi State Athletics)

It was a good old fashioned SEC pitcher’s duel on Friday night and Mississippi State would win the battle.

Pico Kohn pitched arguably his best game as a Bulldog and State manufactured just enough runs to beat No. 10 Oklahoma. It was the first game-one loss of the season for the Sooners and the first loss at home all year.

Going head-to-head with Sooner ace Kyson Witherspoon, Kohn would win the matchup. Both pitchers went stride for stride, but Witherspoon didn’t get the offensive support and Kohn wouldn’t blink.

The junior LHP Kohn threw 6.0 innings, gave up just two hits and two walks and he held the Sooners scoreless during his time on the mound. Kohn struck out 10 batters and, at one point, had eight-straight retired via the strikeout. That came after the veteran got himself in some trouble in the third by loading the bases with one out before getting out of the jam.

Kohn improved to 4-0 on the season while  Witherspoon was handed his first loss of the year. The right-hander was equally as strong with his 6.2 frames of five-hit, two-run ball. He allowed just one earned run and walked a batter while striking out 11.

State scratch across just enough offense to win it

The unearned run came in the first inning when Witherspoon rolled a two-out grounder to his short stop and the defender couldn’t make a play. State forced Witherspoon to throw nearly 30 pitches in the first inning as he fell behind 1-0, but he would recover.

It wasn’t until the seventh that State would get to him again. After nailing Ross Highfill in the head with a pitch to leadoff the inning, Witherspoon had a run manufactured against him when a couple of productive outs from Nolan Stevens and Dylan Cupp would score Michael O’Brien for the 2-0 lead.

Stone Simmons came in to pitch the bottom of the inning and had a similar situation as Witherspoon. With two outs, a ground ball to Cupp was booted to keep the inning alive and the Sooners would score that run on a double from Jason Walk making it 2-1.

Simmons recovered to get the final out of the inning and then Luke Dotson pitched the final two frames. The sophomore lefty was strong in relief as he gave up a hit and a walk but came out unscathed with three strikeouts and no runs surrendered. He rolled a ground ball double play after a leadoff hit in the eighth and then left a one out walk in the ninth stranded, ending the game on a swinging strikeout.

State had seven hits in the game to the Sooners’ four with Sawyer Reeves and Bryce Chance each finishing 2-for-4. Noah Sullivan had a double.

It was a sweet win for the Bulldogs (15-7, 1-3 SEC) as they broke the ice in their SEC schedule. After dropping all three games to No. 8 Texas last week as home, State is hoping to get back on track with a big weekend in Norman.

The two teams are back in action on Saturday at 2 p.m. when State throws Ben Davis (1-1, 3.26 ERA) against Oklahoma LHP Cade Crossland (1-1, 4.70 ERA).

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