Hunter Hines leads SEC freshmen in HR, RBI

STARKVILLE — Hunter Hines knew the struggles would come ultimately, however he didn’t know what the severity could be.

The Mississippi State baseball freshman figured SEC pitching would determine him out over time, however a 1-for-30 stretch?

“I simply didn’t realize it was going to be that massive,” Hines stated.

He opened by hitting .330 (29-for-88) previous to his stoop in late March and into early April. It resulted in ugly at-bats the place Hines was swinging at strike three effectively above the zone and slamming his bat into the bottom.

Pitchers had been flooding at-bats with changeups to throw him off stability – the pitch he considers hardest to hit.

Hines knew what pitchers had been doing. Hitting coach Jake Gautreau knew it. Hines’ dad and lifelong coach, Richey, knew it from watching within the stands each sport.

“It’s an extended season than I’ve ever performed, so I type of hit a little bit wall there,” Hines stated. “It was a little bit irritating for me, however I simply saved grinding to get out of it every single day.”

Moderately than eradicating Hines from the lineup, coach Chris Lemonis let his freshman phenom be taught by means of the hearth. It resulted in Hines recovering and delivering one of many SEC’s high freshman seasons.

“I’m glad it occurred to me now, as a result of I’ve discovered from it,” Hines stated. “Now, it received’t occur to me once more.”

The Madison, Mississippi, native is hitting .296, and .358 since his stoop. His 15 house runs and 50 RBIs lead SEC freshmen.

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He stated he got here into Dudy Noble Area in opposition to Lengthy Seashore State for opening day in February and felt the strain of taking part in in that setting. However Hines shortly tailored to change into one in every of State’s finest hitters in crunch time – highlighted by a ninth-inning, two-run house run in opposition to Alabama to tie the sport in his first SEC house collection.

“When you get within the sport, you sluggish it down a little bit bit,” Hines stated. “You get the primary ball and it type of slows down. You’re not as nervous as you had been. I took that all through the season. The gang is superior. I simply use it for me.”

His late-game success continued on the highway. He hit a pair of house runs and picked up 5 RBIs in a collection at Ole Miss. He has blasted house runs at Missouri and Texas A&M in weekends the place it felt nothing went Mississippi State’s means amid a horrid season.

“It’s cool as a result of they’ll be yelling and you may’t hear that,” Hines stated. “You then hit one thing they usually’re all quiet. All you’ll be able to hear is your teammates.”

Hines remembers rising up and considering how cool it could be to play at Dudy Noble, however within the second it turned exhausting for him to understand. Rounding the bases after dramatic house runs turned a blur, however as he displays on Yr 1, he realizes his desires have change into actuality.

With success comes raised expectations. Mississippi State (26-27, 9-18 SEC) enters its last regular-season collection in opposition to No. 1 Tennessee (46-7, 22-5), beginning Thursday, on the surface of the SEC Event.

The Bulldogs need assistance from convention foes to crack the sector, however after a nationwide championship run, even squeaking into the convention match is a letdown.

Strain shall be on Mississippi State to make a drastic turnaround subsequent season, and it’ll probably include a number of the crew’s greatest names departing for MLB. That’s when Hines shall be anticipated to take a leap not solely on the sector however within the clubhouse.

He’ll be a sophomore, however he may very well be among the many most skilled gamers on the roster pending switch portal additions.

“We don’t know what’s going to occur, if persons are going to go away or not; but when they do go away, I’ll should step it up and be a pacesetter,” he stated. “I like that. I prefer to be a pacesetter. I had individuals lead me this yr, they usually did an ideal job. Perhaps I can do it subsequent yr.”

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat author for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or observe him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.