Hines' monster home run leads Diamond Dawgs to Sunday win, series win at No. 11 Vandy
Sunday afternoon took Mississippi State fans on a rollercoaster ride of a lifetime.
The Diamond Dawgs had a 6-0 lead in the sixth inning on No. 11 Vanderbilt before the wheels fell off. Trailing 7-6 and down to its final out, Hunter Hines stepped to the plate and connected with a monster two-run home run to right field giving the Bulldogs a lead and, eventually, a win.
No matter how it was done, State went on the road to Nashville and took the last two ball games to grab the biggest series win in three years.
The home run in the ninth inning was the third of the weekend for Hines who appears to be breaking through at the right time. The Madison native had dipped down to a .275 average but put together two-straight days of big hits as he hit three home runs, drove in seven and had a double to help the Bulldogs take the series.
State’s offense came to life in the final two games as the Bulldogs followed up seven runs on Saturday with eight on Sunday. The Diamond Dawgs had been shutout on Friday night, but the bats came alive.
Of the 10 hits, David Mershon and Connor Hujsak finished with three each with Hujsak driving in two runs on a double back in the third inning that got State on the board. Logan Kohler added to the lead with two outs by hitting a three-run home run that would extend the lead to 5-0.
Mershon answered that in the fourth with a solo home run of his own and the Bulldogs had a 6-0 lead with starter Jurrangelo Cijntje cruising.
Cijntje had just one hit allowed in his first five innings pitched but things began to unravel as his pitch count grew. With one out in the sixth, Cijntje gave up a three runs and would come out of the ball game. Nolan Stevens came in and promptly gave up a three-run homer that would tie the ball game.
It was a tough pill for Cijntje who threw 5.1 frames, gave up give hits, four runs and just one walk and struck out a career-high 11 batters. He was untouchable until the fifth and almost made it through unscathed.
Behind Stevens, Karson Ligon would throw 1.1 innings of relief with a walk and strikeout and State went into that ninth down by a run before Hines’ heroics. RHP Tyson Hardin came in for the ninth and allowed a two-out walk, but the Commodores had three groundouts against his sinking fastball and he earned his second save in the last two weeks.
The Bulldogs (29-15, 12-9 SEC) have won seven of the last eight ball games since dropping the series to Ole Miss and are pushing themselves closer to locking up an NCAA tournament berth.
There’s no letting up now for State as the Bulldogs have another crucial week. It starts on Wednesday for the Governor’s Cup game in Pearl as State hopes to exact some revenge on the Rebels at 6 p.m. inside Trustmark Park. That game will be broadcasted by ESPNU.
Beginning Friday, the Bulldogs host a three-game homestand with a hot Alabama team.
