By Doug Kyle
No disrespect for the Manhattan Jaspers, because after all, one of their founding fathers is said to have a hand in creating the seventh-inning stretch. But, when a cold-climate MAAC team visits an SEC team with the reputation and history of Mississippi State for opening weekend, a sweep is not surprising, maybe expected.
That's what happened, as MSU got the best of ManBase, winning 17-3 and 13-1 on Friday in a weather-anticipated doubleheader, shortened to seven innings in both games by run rule. It also sent folks to the record books to ascertain the last time the Bulldogs played two on Opening Day. It was March 8, 1976, Coach Ron Polk's first season in Starkville, a doubleheader split with Louisiana Tech.
The third game of the series was played Sunday afternoon, following an overnight storm that moved through the state and brought a game-time temperature of 40 degrees and winds gusts up to 20 mph blowing out to right field. The cold subdued the State offense that had put up 30 runs on Friday, and the 9,791 faithful fans who looked more like Eskimos wrapped in blankets were grateful the dip to a 5-1 advantage was still enough to avert the worrisome behind-biting upsets that can ruin a non-conference series like this.
Pitching looked crisp for the most part, including all three starting pitchers coming back from rehab of varying degrees. Game 1 starter lefthander Pico Kohn had missed significant time in past seasons due to injury and surgery, but he had looked strong in limited time the latter part of the 2024 season. He picked up right where he left off, going five innings for the win, throwing 69 pitches with 54 strikes, walking none, allowing one hit, and recording eleven strikeouts. Kohn is sometimes a bit reserved in media situations, but his pitching speaks pretty loudly from the mound for him.
Freshman Charlie Foster (no hits, one walk, and two strikeouts) and Indiana State transfer Jacob Pruitt each threw an inning to finish out the game. The Jaspers got to Pruitt for their three runs in the final frame, taking advantage of two hits, two walks, and a hit batter to break up the shutout.
Game two starter Karson Ligon, a transfer from Miami, has overcome arm issues that inhibited him last year and was definitely feeling his oats when his first pitch lit up the scoreboard at 97 mph. After a bit of trouble early which saw Manhattan actually take a short-lived 1-0 lead, Ligon settled down and began to exhibit the form that made him such an attractive acquisition in the portal. He went four innings, gave up four hits and the one run, but struck out eight and walked none. Ligon was followed by a couple more newcomers, Ben Davis (one hit, no walks, and four strikeouts in two innings) and Chase Hungate (one hit, no walks, and one strikeout in one inning).
Game three starter Stone Simmons, making his first career start and first official appearance of any kind in nearly three years, calmly fought through a barrage of emotions, some his own, some generated by cheers and an ovation that greeted him when he stepped out of the bullpen to make the walk to the MSU dugout. In the chilly weather, he put together a creditable three innings of 50 pitches (30 strikes) with just one hit allowed, two walks, and five strikeouts. He also picked a runner off first base to end the first inning, the first pickoff of his career he jokingly noted postgame "only took (him) six years (to attain)."
All told, several "second chance" pitchers took the mound and conveyed major redemption of the opportunity. One many had waited to see perform was redshirt freshman Mikhai Grant, injured his freshman season, who made his first appearance in a real game, period. His first pitch came in at 96 mph, and he showed some formidable skills despite not striking out anyone in his one inning of work. Several others mentioned by head coach Chris Lemonis with similar comebacks included Nate Williams, one of the highest rated junior college hurlers in the country when he arrived at MSU a couple years back, only to encounter a diagnosis of arm problems which appeared to have been lingering even prior to his arrival. He struck out the side and walked one in his only inning.
Ryan McPherson, while allowing the only Manhattan score on a home run in the fifth inning, struck out three and walked none in two innings. Dane Burns worked an inning and struck out two. Team ERA so far is 1.96, opponents 15.05, both a bit skewed by small sample size.
The hitting stars were many. Houston transfer third baseman Ace Reese hit the first home run of the year, followed closely by first baseman Hunter Hines, who hit one and nearly another off the RF wall, moving him to within a dozen of the State career record. Right fielder Aaron Downs got his first career dinger, and hitting in place of Hines, Reed Stallman ended the second game Friday by run rule with his walk-off homer that moved the score from 10-1 to 13-1.
On Sunday, Nolan Stevens hit the only home run, a two-run shot to right center that also scored Hines in front of him and widened the lead from 3-1 to the slightly more comfortable margin that became the final score. Dylan Cupp also collected his first two hits of the season, on base three times with a walk. Bryce Chance and Hines are the team leaders in total hits so far with five, followed closely by Downs with four. Downs also has the early highest qualifying batting average at .571 and tops the team's 7-7 on steals with 2.
Team batting average so far is .359, opponents .152.
The stiffest test so far comes up Tuesday, when the Bulldogs go on the road to play Southern Miss at 6:00 pm. The Golden Eagles are picked to win the Sun Belt Conference and come in 4-0 after opening at home with four games against Lafayette. The expected starting pitcher for State has not yet been announced. Possibilities include Foster and Pruitt, both of whom pitched only an inning in the weekend series. And, many top arms were either not used or like these two, appeared minimally.
All in all, it was a weekend that with the shortened games, mass substitutions, and frigid conditions, served more as a tune-up session than any thorough evaluation opportunity. The team has recognized talent, indisputable depth, and also has a hidden factor with many members like Simmons, Kohn, Ligon, Grant, Williams, and Ross Highfill, just to name a few, that fell below the mainstream radar the last year or two but are still quite familiar names with, as the saying goes, knowers of ball.
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