A day ago, Mississippi State got great pitching, but couldn’t put anything together at the plate in a 1-0 loss to Southern Mississippi. On Saturday, the Bulldogs put together a complete effort on the mound and at the dish to take the second game of this series, 8-1. MSU put up a 4 run 2nd inning to get going, then two home runs from junior catcher Dustin Skelton provided some insurance that the Diamond Dawgs didn’t need, as true freshman JT Ginn threw seven shutout innings to grab his second win in two starts.
BULLDOGS GO DEEP
"That rascal got all of that!"
Indeed.#HailState🐶 | @dskelt12 pic.twitter.com/bcaq6hso4e
— Mississippi State Baseball ⚾️ (@HailStateBB) February 23, 2019
I don’t know if MSU just has some good hitters, or if the new Dudy Noble has altered the schematics enough to make this into a hitter’s park, but State has had been hitting more home runs through the early days of this season than you might have expected. State’s barrage began with Justin Foscue’s solo shot in the second, then Skelton’s two bombs in the 5th and 7th. Skelton’s first shot was a monster, 402 feet to dead center field. This comes after last weekend where four different Bulldogs also went deep. The long ball has been something State hasn’t had much off beyond Brent Rooker the past couple of seasons, it would be a welcome addition in 2019.
FRESHMAN DELIVERS A-GINN
Stating to see that wicked JT Ginn power slider now in the 2nd and 3rd innings – he used it to flrecord 2 Ks in the 3rd, one a back-foster vs dangerous lefty Matt Guidry. Power pitch at 82-85 with hard tilt. He's sitting comfortably at 91-92 and bumping 93 with his heater now.
— Aaron Fitt (@aaronfitt) February 23, 2019
JT Ginn hasn’t done anything in his first two starts to make you doubt why he was a first round pick in last year’s MLB Draft. Outside of a hiccup in the first inning last weekend, he hasn’t allowed a run. He and Friday’s starter Ethan Small have been completely dominant in the first two weekends of the year, and look like the kind of duo that any SEC team would love to have at the top of their rotation. Ginn’s line, 7 IP 2 H 1 BB 9 K. MSU was counting on Ginn to deliver on his preseason hype, two starts in, the returns look good.
SERIES DECIDED TOMORROW
FINAL | Tomorrow will decide the series.
Bounce back Sunday 👊#SMTTT pic.twitter.com/owJZxNqjr8
— Southern Miss Baseball (@SouthernMissBSB) February 23, 2019
Assuming a fleet of tornadoes don’t blow us all away today, the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles will look to decide this series tomorrow at 1 PM at Dudy Noble Field. MSU has Keegan James scheduled to take the mound, as of now, USM has not revealed their Sunday starter. USM has a win in this series despite only scoring two runs total on seven hits, they will need to get that offense going tomorrow to have a chance to grab the final game, specifically from their All-American slugger Matt Wallner. Wallner had some pointed comments about last year’s series prior to arriving in Starkville, but hasn’t backed that up in the plate, going 0-8 thus far with three strikeouts. For State, it’s about building off what they did at the plate today, getting hits up and down the order and being a little more patient at the plate. We’ll see who can grab a big series win.
Photo courtesy of Mississippi State athletics
