STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball appeared to have been turning a corner in the previous two weeks, but then it lost the weekend series to Florida at Dudy Noble Field.
The Gators won 13-3 via run-rule on April 18 and 11-8 on April 19. The Bulldogs (24-16, 6-12 SEC) came back to win 14-8 on April 20.
“It’s been a damn tough weekend,” MSU coach Chris Lemonis said after the Game 3 win. “You get out there and you play and you give up the lead in a couple of those games, and so coming in today, tip my hat to Karson Ligon, who gave us a great start.”
Here’s what we learned from MSU’s series.
Mississippi State baseball’s top relievers aren’t flawless
Stone Simmons and Nate Williams have been two of MSU’s best relief pitchers this season. They entered this series without allowing an earned run in the past 22⅔ combined innings. They were far from good against Florida (27-15, 6-12) and both were credited for losses.
Simmons was rocked for six earned runs without pitching an out as MSU blew a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning of Game 1. His ERA ballooned from 1.52 to 3.80.
Williams was also torched for six earned runs with no outs in the following game, flipping MSU’s 6-3 lead into a 9-6 deficit. His ERA elevated from 2.00 to 5.00.
“I am still trying to figure it out myself,” Lemonis said on April 19 after Game 2. “You give up a six spot and a seven spot, and you don’t get an out with our two best guys. It’s frustrating, especially when both games, you feel like you got them in control.”
However, Lemonis went right back to the two to help secure the Game 3 win. Williams gave up a solo home run on his first batter in the eighth inning that cut the lead to 9-8. He then got two strikeouts to end the inning with MSU still in the lead. Simmons closed the game with a shutout ninth inning.
Mississippi State is now 21-2 when leading after six innings.
“It really is a great bullpen,” Ligon said. “We just scuffled for two games. We believe in everybody back there.”
Mississippi State’s starting lineup appears solidified
Mississippi State rotated its lineup a lot to start the season, but its best starting lineup appears solidified. It’s as follows:
Joe Powell at catcher; Hunter Hines at first base; Gatlin Sanders at second; Sawyer Reeves at shortstop; Ace Reese at third base; Gehrig Frei at left field; Bryce Chance in center; Reed Stallman in right; and Noah Sullivan at designated hitter.
Nolan Stevens probably will rotate in the outfield and so will Ross Highfill at catcher, but those appear to be MSU’s best nine starters.
Reese had a spectacular series, batting 8-for-13 with four RBIs, five runs, a home run and a walk. Frei did, too, with three home runs and six hits. Stallman went 5-for-9 with two homers, four RBIs and three runs.
Reeves batted 1-for-14, but he made a handful of spectacular defensive plays that weren’t being made consistently enough with Dylan Cupp at shortstop.
Difficult for Mississippi State to recover losing this series to Florida
Mississippi State was already in recovery mode after starting 1-9 in SEC play for the first time in program history. It won six of the past seven games, entering with series wins against South Carolina and Alabama. It looked like progress was being made. But losing to Florida is a big blow.
MSU was projected as an NCAA Tournament bubble team before the series. Its RPI dropped from 38 to 43 after the series. It’s hard to see it in the field if the tournament started today.
Four SEC series remain, two of them against ranked teams in No. 11 Auburn and No. 9 Ole Miss. The Bulldogs will need to go 7-5 in the conference to reach the 13-win benchmark. They close the season at lowly Missouri (13-26, 0-18), so even a sweep there probably won’t bump the RPI much. A win against Ole Miss (28-12, 10-8) at Trustmark Park in Pearl on April 22 (6:30 p.m. CT) would.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State baseball takeaways from SEC series loss to Florida
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball appeared to have been turning a corner in the previous two weeks, but then it lost the weekend series to Florida at Dudy Noble Field.
The Gators won 13-3 via run-rule on April 18 and 11-8 on April 19. The Bulldogs (24-16, 6-12 SEC) came back to win 14-8 on April 20.
“It’s been a damn tough weekend,” MSU coach Chris Lemonis said after the Game 3 win. “You get out there and you play and you give up the lead in a couple of those games, and so coming in today, tip my hat to Karson Ligon, who gave us a great start.”
Here’s what we learned from MSU’s series.
Mississippi State baseball’s top relievers aren’t flawless
Stone Simmons and Nate Williams have been two of MSU’s best relief pitchers this season. They entered this series without allowing an earned run in the past 22⅔ combined innings. They were far from good against Florida (27-15, 6-12) and both were credited for losses.
Simmons was rocked for six earned runs without pitching an out as MSU blew a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning of Game 1. His ERA ballooned from 1.52 to 3.80.
Williams was also torched for six earned runs with no outs in the following game, flipping MSU’s 6-3 lead into a 9-6 deficit. His ERA elevated from 2.00 to 5.00.
“I am still trying to figure it out myself,” Lemonis said on April 19 after Game 2. “You give up a six spot and a seven spot, and you don’t get an out with our two best guys. It’s frustrating, especially when both games, you feel like you got them in control.”
However, Lemonis went right back to the two to help secure the Game 3 win. Williams gave up a solo home run on his first batter in the eighth inning that cut the lead to 9-8. He then got two strikeouts to end the inning with MSU still in the lead. Simmons closed the game with a shutout ninth inning.
Mississippi State is now 21-2 when leading after six innings.
“It really is a great bullpen,” Ligon said. “We just scuffled for two games. We believe in everybody back there.”
Mississippi State’s starting lineup appears solidified
Mississippi State rotated its lineup a lot to start the season, but its best starting lineup appears solidified. It’s as follows:
Joe Powell at catcher; Hunter Hines at first base; Gatlin Sanders at second; Sawyer Reeves at shortstop; Ace Reese at third base; Gehrig Frei at left field; Bryce Chance in center; Reed Stallman in right; and Noah Sullivan at designated hitter.
Nolan Stevens probably will rotate in the outfield and so will Ross Highfill at catcher, but those appear to be MSU’s best nine starters.
Reese had a spectacular series, batting 8-for-13 with four RBIs, five runs, a home run and a walk. Frei did, too, with three home runs and six hits. Stallman went 5-for-9 with two homers, four RBIs and three runs.
Reeves batted 1-for-14, but he made a handful of spectacular defensive plays that weren’t being made consistently enough with Dylan Cupp at shortstop.
Difficult for Mississippi State to recover losing this series to Florida
Mississippi State was already in recovery mode after starting 1-9 in SEC play for the first time in program history. It won six of the past seven games, entering with series wins against South Carolina and Alabama. It looked like progress was being made. But losing to Florida is a big blow.
MSU was projected as an NCAA Tournament bubble team before the series. Its RPI dropped from 38 to 43 after the series. It’s hard to see it in the field if the tournament started today.
Four SEC series remain, two of them against ranked teams in No. 11 Auburn and No. 9 Ole Miss. The Bulldogs will need to go 7-5 in the conference to reach the 13-win benchmark. They close the season at lowly Missouri (13-26, 0-18), so even a sweep there probably won’t bump the RPI much. A win against Ole Miss (28-12, 10-8) at Trustmark Park in Pearl on April 22 (6:30 p.m. CT) would.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State baseball takeaways from SEC series loss to Florida
