There was a lot of worry coming into this weekend that weather would keep Mississippi State and Southern Mississippi from even getting a game in. It looked as if both team’s batters thought the game had in fact been canceled, as the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles combined for a measly 10 hits, with the boys from Hattiesburg grabbing a 1-0 win in ten innings. In a game that featured some incredible starting pitching, it was USM that was able to strike for the game’s only run by touching State’s Riley Self in the top of the 10th inning.
SMALL PLAYS BIG
Another 3 up, 3 down inning for Ethan Small!
K counter: 1️⃣3️⃣#HailState🐶 | State 0, USM 0 pic.twitter.com/mBo5tCY1cS
— Mississippi State Baseball ⚾️ (@HailStateBB) February 22, 2019
Ethan Small is proof that wins are the most overrated stat when you look at a pitcher. Through 10 IP this season, Small has only given up 2 runs while striking out 22 batters. He got a career high 13 punchouts on Friday, hurling 6.1 innings of no hit ball. Small just hasn’t seen much in the way of the run support, in fact, he’s seen none at all through his first two starts, as the Bulldogs have not crossed the plate with him in the game. Small is giving MSU all you want out of your Friday night ace, we’ll see if his teammates can pick him up and get him some wins.
WHERE’S THE OFFENSE?
B8 | Ryan Och comes in for Walker Powell.
Powell's final line: 7.2 IP | 5 Hits | 0 Runs | 2 Strikeouts — Have a day. pic.twitter.com/XSoXPz5LjQ
— Southern Miss Baseball (@SouthernMissBSB) February 22, 2019
Powell really had his way with the Bulldog hitters, scattering five singles and only throwing 77 pitches in 7.2 innings pitch. State was impatient at the plate, not working the count, allowing Powell to get deep into the game. The Bulldogs ran up 36 runs last weekend against Youngstown State, in the two games since, only 3 runs on 10 hits. I’m interested to see what the true MSU offense is, as the Bulldogs were unable to get anything going at the plate today. State has to come up with something offensively if they want to win this series.
WHAT’S NEXT?
It looks like the chances of baseball tomorrow at Dudy Noble are slim, with 100 percent chance of rain predicted. State hasn’t made any kind of announcement regarding schedule changes or cancellations, but if I were a betting man, I’d think we are looking at a Sunday doubleheader at Dudy Noble. State will throw true freshman JT Ginn, USM will counter with lefthander Stevie Powers. First pitch is scheduled for 2 PM, I’ll update on Twitter as soon as some sort of official announcement is made.
Photo courtesy of Mississippi State athletics
