STARKVILLE — Chris Lemonis isn’t sure what’s gotten into Joe Powell lately, but Mississippi State’s head coach sure hopes his senior catcher keeps doing whatever he’s been doing.

“Maybe he met a cute girl. She’s lucky,” Lemonis said. “I don’t know. I hope he keeps talking to her.”

Powell was out of baseball last season after three years at Cincinnati, and splitting opportunities with Johnny Long behind the plate, had not given the Bulldogs much in the power department. But after connecting on his first home run of the year Sunday at Arkansas, Powell hit three homers off three different pitchers Tuesday night, almost single-handedly saving MSU from a disastrous loss as the Bulldogs defeated North Alabama 8-4.

On a night where Nate Dohm, who opened the season as MSU’s Friday starting pitcher, returned to the mound for the first time in more than a month after battling an arm injury, his backstop stole the show with a solo shot in the third inning, a go-ahead three-run blast in the sixth and a two-run homer in the eighth. Powell also singled in the fourth for a perfect 4-for-4 night.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Powell said. “I made an adjustment in my swing and (I’ve) been seeing the ball well and swinging at good pitches.”

Dohm threw just two innings, as was the plan all along, retiring all six batters he faced with a pair of strikeouts on only 22 pitches. His fastball was sitting comfortably in the low-to-mid 90s, and Lemonis’ goal is to have him back at close to full strength for the postseason.

“It’s really good to have him back,” Powell said. “He’s looked really good. He’s had some ups and downs, but he’s a tough kid and it’s going to be big having him back down the stretch.”

The Bulldogs (34-18) took the lead in the first inning when Bryce Chance led off with an infield hit, moved up on a wild pitch and a passed ball and scored on David Mershon’s single. Powell’s first homer, a 436-foot blast to the back of the lounge in left-center, gave MSU a 2-0 lead, but the Lions (17-33-1) hung tough. They broke up the shutout in the fourth on Cal Cook’s solo home run off Colby Holcombe, then tied the game on Andrew Knight’s double in the sixth.

With runners at the corners and one out in the Bulldogs’ half of the sixth, Michael O’Brien’s grounder to the right side hit Ethan Pulliam on the foot as he was running toward second base for the second out, forcing Amani Larry back to third. That could have snuffed out the rally, but Powell turned on the first pitch he saw from Carson Howard and launched it to the second level of the lounge in left for a three-run shot, giving MSU the lead for good.

“I told him a couple weeks ago, I feel like he had finally gotten comfortable,” Lemonis said. “You come here, it’s a lot different from where he came from. He came from a good school, but this is the pinnacle. So (he’s) getting comfortable, relaxed, knowing his role. He’s a hard-working kid. He just shows up every day to hit, work, and you’re seeing that he’s playing pretty free right now.”

North Alabama drew closer in the eighth with two runs against Cam Schuelke, but Powell capped his career night with a 421-foot shot off the batters’ eye in straightaway center field in the bottom of the inning. The Bulldogs’ pitchers allowed eight hits but issued just one walk and recorded 11 strikeouts.

MSU concludes the regular season with a three-game series at home against Missouri starting Thursday evening. The Bulldogs will likely drop a spot or two in the RPI rankings just by playing the Lions, who entered the day at No. 280 out of 305 Division I teams, but Lemonis said he was not worried about whether the game would affect their chances of being selected as a top-16 seed and NCAA regional host.

“They’re going to reward us if we’re one of the best 16 teams to host,” Lemonis said. “We have to prove it on the field. I just felt like it was more important to play than to cancel our game. I know our group’s done enough. We have to play good baseball this weekend, but us playing tonight is not the reason we will host or not host.”

Mississippi State Baseball MSU

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (WLOX) – The Bonnet Carre Spillway opened 13 times in 2019. Low salinity caused marine life in the sound to die, leaving fishermen with no catch.

Cary Trapani said fishing in Bay St. Louis hasn’t been the same since all the freshwater flowed into the Mississippi Sound, killing shrimp, crabs, and oysters.

“Our way of life was devastated,” Trapani said. “The salinity level was so low. It couldn’t sustain life or the main fish or the oysters or what have you.”

Trapani learned that officials in Louisiana want to rebuild marshlands as part of a Mid-Breton Sound sediment diversion project.

That’s why he met with the Mississippi Sound Coalition and the University of Southern Mississippi on Tuesday, to find ways to prevent this from happening.

“Freshwater will take over the sound which would change everything,” he said.

The proposed Breton Sound Project aims to rebuild Louisiana marshlands and divert more fresh water. Mississippi Sound Coalition Manager Gerald Blessey believes this will do more harm to marine life in the Sound.

“If you want to restore Louisiana, don’t do it with diversion water, dredge the Mississippi River,” Blessey said. “Everything that must have some saltwater and cannot live with too much pollution will be gone.”

The Coalition is also concerned about studies from the University of Southern Mississippi that show if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would open the spillway more over the next 15 years, causing algae blooms again, beaches to close, and impact tourism, as well as the seafood industry.

153 bottlenose dolphins died after the 2019 spillway openings. The Mississippi Sound Coalition said that was the highest one-year loss ever, even when compared to the BP oil spill.

Blessey said he and the Mississippi Sound Coalition will be following these Breton Sound projects in Louisiana as well as working to prevent harmful impacts to the Mississippi Sound.

“Protect Louisiana from flooding and protect the Mississippi Sound from being destroyed and by the way, protect the Louisiana fisheries from being destroyed like they are in Plaquemines Parish and St. Bernard Parish,” he said.

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Red Lobster has closed its Jackson location as part of closures announced of 48 restaurants across 27 states, although the restaurant never reopened following being closed for renovations in July 2023.The Red Lobster at 6357 Interstate 55 North Frontage Road is officially no longer taking orders from patrons. The other closest location is in Meridian at 201 South Frontage Road.

Along with the closures, the equipment from more than 50 locations will go on auction this week. No equipment from the Jackson location will be auctioned. Winners of the auction will receive all the equipment from the individual locations.

More: Is Red Lobster filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy? How it could affect Mississippi restaurants

Here is what we know about the closures.

Why is Red Lobster closing so many stores?

According to a report from Bloomberg, the seafood restaurant considered filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

The company had been getting advice from law firm King & Spalding as it looked to shed some long-term contracts and renegotiate leases, Bloomberg reported, noting that Red Lobster’s cash flows had been weighed down by leases and labor costs, among other issues.

Red Lobster ultimately suffered its biggest losses with its “Ultimate Endless Shrimp” promotion. What started as a $20 promotional item became a $25 permanent menu item. The promotion ended up becoming an $11 million loss for the restaurant in the third quarter of 2023.

When was Red Lobster started?

Red Lobster started in 1968 in Lakeland, Florida, by Bill Darden and Charley Woodsby. After going through several changes in ownership, it is now owned by Thai Union Group. In November, the parent company said the chain was headed toward a $20 million loss for 2023.

How many Red Lobster locations are in Mississippi?

Locations in D’Ilberville and Hattiesburg are listed as “temporarily closed.” That leaves the only open locations in the state in Meridian, Southaven and Tupelo.