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Davis' arm, Downs' bat leads Bulldogs to 10-2 win over Queens

3rupauk8_400x400by:Robbie Faulk•about 20 hours•

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aaron downs3
Aaron Downs (Photo by Mississippi State Athletics)

Though starting pitching wasn’t a foreign concept to Ben Davis, Saturday was his debut there inside the SEC.

Chris Lemonis and pitching coach Justin Parker selected the Itawamba Community College transfer for the spot this week and Davis was up to the challenge. 6.0 innings of one-hit baseball allowed the Diamond Dawgs to sit comfortably and runs kept coming by the starters in a 10-1 win.

“(Davis is) pretty special and can do some really special things,” head coach Chris Lemonis said. “It’s a turbo sinker so in relief he was striking out a lot of guys but today he had them banging the ball in the ground which is nice. When you get six innings and 57 pitches, that’s a pretty good day.

“He had a blister in the second or third inning and he gutted through it and gave us a quality start.”

Davis surrendered the game’s only run in the third inning when the Royals were able to step on home plate just before a double play was completed. From there, State pitching retired 13-straight batters and 19 of the final 21 on Saturday. Ryan McPherson and Mikhai Grant threw 2.0 scoreless and hitless innings with a walk surrendered.

Duke Stone closed the contest giving up two hits and a run in the ninth.

Aaron Downs delivers again at the plate

At the plate, it was Aaron Downs’ world. The senior outfielder got back in the lineup for the seventh time this season and had a 3-for-3 afternoon with two home runs, a double and five RBI.

“Coach Lemonis says it all the time that the bus comes back around,” Downs said. “You may not be in the starting lineup every day, but when that opportunity presents itself, I’m trying to have a positive mindset and put a great swing on the ball.”

MSU had 14 hits as a team and got playing time for 17 different players. Nolan Stevens had his second-straight game with two hits and he had two doubles in the win. Gatlin Sanders started for the second time in a row and finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. Bryce Chance hit his third home run of the season and drove in two runs.

Starting short stop Dylan Cupp didn’t play in the game due to a knee injury that occurred   Friday night but Lemonis said postgame the injury didn’t appear to be serious. The coach hopes that Cupp will be available when the Diamond Dawgs travel to Biloxi next week for a two-game matchup on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Those games will pit State vs. Old Dominion on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. with a Wednesday matchup against Nicholls also at 6 p.m. Both games will be at Kessler Federal Park, the home of the Biloxi Shuckers, and can be seen on ESPN+ with a subscription.

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