Slamford: Slumping Mississippi State baseball gives up two grand slams in midweek loss – The Dispatch

HOOVER, Ala. — As clapping and cheering resounded from Samford’s third-base dugout, Mississippi State gamers and coaches quietly backed their baggage for the bus experience house.

After 5 straight Southeastern Convention losses, the Bulldogs got here to Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on Tuesday in dire want of what coach Chris Lemonis known as a “good feeling.”

As an alternative, they discovered one other feeling altogether.

“Pissed,” Lemonis stated. “I believe we’re pissed. I believe we’re heading house pissed, however we’ve been pissed for six weeks.”

Mississippi State’s 2022 season has been slipping off the tracks for even longer than that, and Tuesday’s 8-6 loss to Samford was one other step towards a complete derailment.

The defending nationwide champions gave up two grand slams. They left 12 runners on base. And so they misplaced to a Southern Convention staff that solely attained a .500 file by advantage of Tuesday’s win.

Then once more, that’s par for the course for the Bulldogs over the previous few weeks.

“It’s typical,” Lemonis stated. “That’s what we’ve been doing currently.”

It was the case in opposition to LSU a month in the past. Then at Missouri in late April. Then in a sweep by Florida at Dudy Noble Subject.

In opposition to the Gators, the Bulldogs couldn’t maintain issues down within the late innings; in opposition to Samford on Tuesday, MSU (25-24) fell behind from the leap.

Samford’s grand slams got here within the first and third innings because the visiting Bulldogs rapidly discovered themselves down 8-0.

“We’re digging out a gap,” Lemonis stated. “We’ve acquired to discover ways to begin video games and we’ve acquired to discover ways to end video games on the pitching employees.”

Mississippi State righted the ship with 5 subsequent innings of scoreless aid. Freshman left-hander Cole Cheatham was glorious over three scoreless frames, and Drew Talley pitched two innings to complete issues out.

However the injury was finished.

Starter Mikey Tepper allowed a first-inning bomb to Maurice Hampton after two walks and a single. Tepper was accountable for two of the runners on base — each walks — when Andrew Bennett went deep within the third off Jackson Fristoe.

Mississippi State crawled again, however its tempo was too gradual to overhaul Samford. The house staff acquired its revenge after being slotted into final 12 months’s Starkville Regional because the No. 4 seed and shedding to MSU within the first sport of the occasion.

Freshman starter Will Lynch, who got here into the sport with an 11.03 ERA, made it by way of 4 2/3 innings as MSU managed simply 4 runs regardless of six hits and 4 walks. The Bulldogs hit into two double performs within the sport — Hunter Hines within the third and Logan Tanner within the sixth.

However in contrast to a Luke Hancock scorcher for a twin killing in opposition to Florida that Lemonis used for instance, neither baseball was struck notably nicely.

“These aren’t hammered balls,” Lemonis stated. “These aren’t good at-bats. That is giving in to a pitcher who’s not competing, and it lets that man get off the hook.”

Mississippi State let Samford off that proverbial hook numerous instances Tuesday. Kellum Clark grounded out to go away the bases loaded within the first inning. Lane Forsythe hit right into a forceout with two aboard within the seventh. Within the eighth, Clark — representing the go-ahead run — grounded out into the shift with two on and two out.

Nonetheless, Mississippi State acquired remarkably shut given the early deficit it confronted. RJ Yeager’s two-run single acquired the Bulldogs on the board within the fourth, and MSU scored in three of the following 4 innings.

That was partially because of the efforts of Cheatham and Talley on the mound. Cheatham, who handled COVID-19 and arm soreness early within the 12 months, stated the shutdown frames seemingly helped his staff’s hitters.

“In the event that they preserve scoring, it simply demoralizes us,” Cheatham stated. “Once we go on the market and compete, it provides us hope.”

However Mississippi State couldn’t get it finished. Clark’s groundout within the eighth ended a giant risk, and the Bulldogs went down so as within the ninth.

MSU will head right into a weekend collection at No. 10 Texas A&M nonetheless trying to find a late-season spark.

“All people has a job to do, and all people has to do their job for us to play good baseball,” Lemonis stated. “We simply have too many holes. We’ll play good on this space, after which we’ll do one thing. It’s coming again to get us proper now.”

Theo DeRosa experiences on Mississippi State sports activities for The Dispatch. Comply with him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.