What Stood Out for Mississippi State Baseball versus Vanderbilt

The Mississippi State Bulldogs won a huge series on the road in Nashville. This team continues to be resilient and seems to be playing its best baseball. 

After this weekend, the Bulldogs vaulted back into the polls and have a path to host. This weekend revealed a lot about this team as players stepped up, and they bucked a trend that has been following them all season. 

What stood out this weekend in Nashville? 

Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis changed the rotation this past weekend by moving Jurrangelo Cijntje to Sunday and the infamous TBD on Saturday. Brooks Auger drew the start in game two and faced an uphill battle as the Bulldogs were dominated in game one. 

Auger steadied the ship in his second career start as he pitched five innings and allowed only one run while striking out six. The rotation for MSU has been in flux since Nate Dohm got injured, but Auger has pitched in his two chances. 

Khal Stephen and Cijntje already give the Bulldogs quality starts every weekend, and if the Louisiana native could lock down a weekend spot, it would help their efforts to be a host. 

The biggest flaw this team has had all season is their inability to perform late in the game. Whether on the mound or at the plate, the Bulldogs struggled to come up with clutch hits or close out one-run games. 

Their shortcomings in the clutch have cost them series at Ole Miss and Florida. However, they flipped the script in games two and three this weekend. 

They held a narrow 5-4 lead in game two going into the top of the ninth, but a Connor Hujsak single started the rally. Freshman second baseman Ethan Pulliam drove home Hujsak with a double to right field, and catcher Joe Powell followed that up with an RBI single. 

The offense took a lot of pressure off the backend of the bullpen, and Tyler Davis closed the game out. Again, in game three, the MSU offense put up two runs in the top of the ninth, this time to take an 8-7 lead. 

A possible new closer for the Bulldogs got three groundouts to end the game and clinch the series; more on that later. After the past two seasons, these players needed to learn how to win close games because they were not accustomed to success. 

The learning process cost them early in the season, but they are slowly learning how to win close games. 

The junior first baseman has appeared on this in previous weeks, but it was to state that he needed to play better. Hines was excellent in his first two seasons, and doing that raised the expectations for him, and at times this season, he was underperforming relative to those expectations. 

The Madison, Mississippi native was not playing badly but was not maximizing his potential. However, in Nashville, he was dominant and the MVP of the weekend. 

Hines finished the weekend with three home runs and seven RBIs. Games two and three were the best this lineup has looked in SEC play, and it was because their most clutch hitter performed. 

Last year, Tyson Hardin struggled mightily, posting a 12.81 ERA. The Florida native seemed like a candidate to enter the portal after last season, but he opted to remain in Starkville with first-year Bulldog pitching coach Justin Parker. 

It was a smart decision as Hardin has done a complete 180 from a season ago, and has become a reliable arm in the Bulldog bullpen. Parker has done an outstanding job with this pitching staff as he plays to each guy's strengths, and Hardin's strength is his ability to get ground balls. 

He pitches to that strength as he got three groundouts to close the series finale. This team has been looking for a closer, and his struggles last year only made the junior pitcher tougher. 

MSU's bullpen depth has been an issue, but adding Hardin only helps and relieves the pressure on Davis and Cam Schuelke.