Through six starts, Mississippi State freshman pitcher JT Ginn had been practically untouchable, rolling off wins in every outing. On Friday at Dudy Noble Field, LSU finally broke the aura of invincibility, touching Ginn for 9 hits and 5 earned runs, sparking a 10-5 win in Game 2 of this SEC series. State once again fell behind early, as a Gunner Halter error kept the first inning alive and put the Bulldogs in a 3-0 hole. State would cut the lead to 3-2 and 6-4, but in each of the following frames, the Tigers were able to tack on more runs and keep State at bay. MSU falls to 24-4, 5-3 in the SEC, with the rubber game set for tomorrow at 1 P.M.
ANOTHER SLOW START FOR THE BULLDOGS
Nothing fazes the freshman @Cole__Henry12
💻: https://t.co/YxlloipiNW pic.twitter.com/zhkKTSyeDP
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) March 29, 2019
We already talked about the pitching defense, but tonight, State couldn’t get anything going until the first trip through the order, as freshman right hander Cole Henry set the Bulldogs down in order the first trip through the batting order. By the time State got its offense going, they were already down and the Tigers had some momentum. One thing that’s been a constant these past few games is that as MSU would fall behind, they would either strike back immediately or at least put some runners on base. Tonight, Henry put together a great start and his defense backed him, as the Tigers were incredibly clean in the infield.
WESTBURG CONTINUES TO RAKE
Cue the light show.#HailState🐶 | @jordan_cw21 pic.twitter.com/Qjdu3hT9ON
— Mississippi State Baseball ⚾️ (@HailStateBB) March 30, 2019
One Bulldog unfazed by the Tiger pitching tonight was Jordan Westburg, who continued his scorching streak at the plate with a two run homer and an RBI single. Westburg’s approach reminds me of golfer John Daly, just grip it and rip. He’s looking to drive the ball every time up, and it should be no surprise that he has 8 of the 10 hardest hit balls of the season based on MSU’s bat tracking. What State needed tonight was the guys following Westburg to deliver, and that didn’t happen. Tanner Allen, Elijah MacNamee, Justin Foscue, and Dustin Skelton were a combined 3-16 on the evening, and no Bulldog beyond Westburg and Jake Mangum had more than one hit. Game 3 of an SEC series all about hitting, so the Bulldogs need to get back on track if they want to capture this rubber game tomorrow.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Final#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/bLWZiW7U8k
— Mississippi State Baseball ⚾️ (@HailStateBB) March 30, 2019
Mississippi State will look for its third straight SEC series win, and its first series win over LSU at home since 2003 tomorrow, first pitch moved to 1 PM. On the mound for the Bulldogs, that is a question we cannot answer, as Coach Lemonis said he still had not made a decision as to who will take the hill in Game 3. All of State’s four losses this season have come in weekend series, and twice before they have followed a loss with a win, only the Florida series couldn’t do that, as the Bulldogs lost the finale. We’ll see if the maroon and white can bounce back against their old rivals tomorrow at Dudy Noble.
Photo courtesy of Mississippi State athletics
