Alabama baseball dropped another conference series on the road, this time at No. 21 Mississippi State. Alabama lost 13-3 by mercy rule on Friday, then 8-1 on Saturday to lose the series. The Tide won Sunday’s series finale 10-5.

The No. 17 Crimson Tide (29-18, 10-14 SEC) continues to struggle on the road, with a 6-10 road record and a 3-9 SEC road record. Alabama won its first conference road series last week by taking two games at Ole Miss but has otherwise been swept (at Georgia and Kentucky) or lost two of three (at Mississippi State).

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The Alabama offense struggled mightily in the two losses, as Mississippi State pitchers consistently brought the right stuff at the right times. Mississippi State (32-16, 14-10 SEC) has now won 10 of its past 12 games and looks like one of the hottest teams in the SEC, while Alabama still feels like a middle-of-the-pack team in the conference.

Here are three takeaways from the series between Alabama and Mississippi State:

Alabama baseball mercy-ruled on Friday

Alabama has won by run rule seven times this season, including once in SEC play when it beat OIe Miss 12-0 in seven innings last weekend. This weekend, Alabama finally found itself on the losing end of the mercy rule, falling to Mississippi State 13-3 on Friday.

Mississippi State got off to a fast 3-0 lead thanks to a three-run home run by Hunter Hines in the first inning. The Bulldogs never looked back, adding three more runs by the end of the third inning to make it 6-0. After Alabama failed to respond again in the fourth inning, Mississippi State doubled its lead with a six-spot in the bottom of the fourth to make it 12-0.

The Tide finally got its offense going in the fifth inning by posting three runs, but that would be its only scoring frame. Another run by the Bulldogs in the sixth inning got them back into run-rule territory, and a scoreless seventh by Alabama led to the 13-3 mercy rule final.

Shorthanded Alabama lineup falls on Saturday

Robbie Faulk of On3 and Starkville Daily News reported before the game that the Crimson Tide had an illness spread among the team, leaving them shorthanded for Saturday’s game. Sure enough, Will Hodo, TJ McCants and Evan Sleight were all out of action on Saturday. Max Grant and William Hamiter filled in for Hodo and Sleight, respectively, while Justin Lebron took McCants’ spot in center field. Will Portera took over for Lebron at shortstop.

The absences were felt across the Alabama lineup all day. The Crimson Tide managed just one run on eight hits, with the only run coming on a solo home run in the third inning by Grant. Alabama left nine runners on base in the game.

On Sunday, McCants and Hodo both returned to the lineup, but Sleight remained out along with Gage Miller. The lineup is expected to be back at full strength by the next SEC series against LSU.

Ben Hess impressive in Sunday’s win

After starting the season strong as the Tide’s top starter, Ben Hess has struggled since the beginning of SEC play. Heading into the Mississippi State series, Hess had a 0-4 record and a 10.21 ERA, while Alabama was 1-6 in SEC games started by Hess.

Greg Farone replaced Hess as the series-opening starter with the Texas A&M series, and Zane Adams took over as the Saturday starter for this series. With Hess making his first Sunday start of the season, he put together one of his best performances yet in Alabama’s lone victory over the Bulldogs.

Hess went four innings and allowed just one run on four hits, logging his first SEC win this season. He struck out four batters and was very efficient, getting through those four innings with just 62 pitches. Hess’ performance included a healthy mixture of his signature powerful fastball and a clean breaking ball that really seemed to give the Bulldogs trouble.

The Crimson Tide will look for more of the same out of Hess with postseason play around the corner.

What’s next for Alabama baseball?

Alabama will head to Troy for its final midweek nonconference game of the season on Tuesday. The Tide’s next SEC series will be a home series with LSU that is set to start on Friday.

Pastor Nathaniel Stamper found his way to the ministry almost by accident, and his way to the South directly from Pennsylvania.

July will mark one year since Stamper and his young family answered a call from Westminster Presbyterian Church to fill a vacancy in their pulpit. Originally from Hartford County, Pa., Stamper found his way into the ministry, he said, “sort of by accident.” As a newlywed, he found himself seeking ways to be a better husband and Christian, and enrolled in classes at Lancaster Bible College. He discovered an aptitude for ministry and obtained a degree in Biblical studies.

With the encouragement of his college professors and the support of his wife, Kelsey, Stamper decided to enroll in seminary. Unlike many people raised in a particular denomination, Stamper became a Christian at the age of 16, and didn’t have a particular faith connection. Unsure of which one was best for him, he studied the Bible and came to the conclusion that the Presbyterian ideology most closely matched his beliefs.

Ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America, Stamper spent the next years as a minister, and was teaching at a Classical Christian School when he was contacted by Dr. Gordon Sluis, an elder at Westminster.

Westminster was looking for a pastor, and Sluis wanted to discuss with Stamper the possibility of serving the church in Vicksburg. On paper, the church and Stamper seemed like a good match. After several virtual interviews, the Stamper family came to visit Vicksburg and the church. Making the decision to move to Mississippi was difficult, as it would require them to leave behind family, including the grandparents the children saw almost every day. Ultimately, the family accepted the position at the church and moved to Mississippi in July.

“Everyone we’ve met has just been so lovely,” Stamper said. 

Since settling in Mississippi, Stamper said they’ve been embraced by their church and community and feel like they’ve added to their extended family.

Stamper said he sees a role for everyone in the church. 

“I try to communicate in a way everyone can understand. One of my goals is to focus on families. I think the family is the core of the church.” 

He said he would also like to include older people in connecting with young families.

While teaching, Stamper found he had a passion for it that extends beyond the pulpit. He is launching the “Critical Thinkers Club” this summer. For ages twelve and up, the club will meet and begin with Level 1, to “learn informal and formal branches of logic to help inspire critical thinking.” The goal of the club is for children to learn “tools of logic and apologetics, not only to thoughtfully and winsomely defend their faith against unchristian ideas, but also see how their faith intersects with all of life.” Eventually the club will expand to include four levels of learning and reading classical literature.

“We look at different world views and religions and how Christians can defend their beliefs,” Stamper said of the club. “How can I inspire critical thinking?” 

Stamper said he wants children to be equipped to understand and defend their beliefs so that when they are confronted with world views, they can see the beauty in the Christian faith.

Additionally, Stamper hosts a Bible study for teenage boys every Friday at 2 p.m. at Parish Waterfowl & Espresso Bar on Washington Street in downtown Vicksburg. A class for teenage girls is currently in the planning stages.

Stamper’s wife, Kelsey, is a CPA who works remotely for an accounting firm in Pennsylvania. 

“She’s brilliant with numbers,” Stamper says. “I’m amazed by what she does.” 

She also home schools their four children, Moses, Eden Victoria, Elijah and Iris Elizabeth, although the boys attend a school in Ridgeland two days a week. Stamper said the children have adjusted to the move well and love playing with new friends in the park at Glenwood Circle. He added, with a smile, that he is looking forward to at least a couple of the children developing a Southern accent.

Stamper welcomes all to join the worship at Westminster. Dates and times for services can be found at wpcvicksburg.com. Anyone interested in enrolling their child in the Critical Thinkers Club may contact Stamper at wpcstamper@gmail.com.

On Saturday, Mississippi State baseball earned yet another ranked win on the season, taking down No. 23 Alabama, 8-1. Men’s Tennis also picked up a victory, defeating Middle Tennessee State 4-0 and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen for the fifth time in the last six seasons.

Bulldogs softball fell to Georgia on Saturday, giving State its 17th loss on the season, and twelfth conference loss.

Today’s Schedule

Softball: No. 14 Georgia at Mississippi State, 11 a.m. CT on SEC Network

Baseball: No. 23 Alabama at Mississippi State, 12 p.m. on SEC Network+

Mississippi State Results

Did You Notice?

• Mississippi State men’s tennis advanced to the Sweet sixteen for the fifth time in six years, and will now face off against first seeded Ohio State.

• Mississippi State transfer defensive lineman Caleb Bryant committed to Southern Mississippi. Bryant is a former 3-star who redshirted last season with the Bulldogs.

Countdown to Mississippi State’s 2024 Opener

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On upsets in college football: “Everybody’s all surprised every time this stuff happens. It surprises me everybody gets surprised, because it happens every year like this that there are surprises. The most surprising thing would be if there weren’t any surprises. So therefore, in the final analysis, none of it’s really that surprising.”

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