STARKVILLE – Jacob Robson wasn’t surprised at all.
Asked on Saturday night to explain Mississippi State’s hot offensive start to the 2015 baseball season, Robson simply shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s not really surprising,” said the redshirt sophomore centerfielder. “We’ve been working hard and we know that we have guys on this team that can hit the baseball. We expect to score a lot of runs all season.”
It certainly looked that way.
MSU, a year after hitting just 16 home runs all season, erupted for three home runs in Game 1 of a Saturday doubleheader and averaged nearly 11 runs over its first three games of the season, all wins.
The Bulldogs opened the season with a 6-2 win over Cincinnati on Friday night, followed up with a 7-1 win over Miami (Ohio) on Saturday afternoon and closed the day with a convincing 19-5 win over Cincinnati.
Each game featured an impressive performance from MSU’s offense, and it all started with senior shortstop Seth Heck. MSU’s new leadoff hitter, Heck opened the season on the right foot Friday night, turning in a 4-for-5 performance that included three singles and a double. The double came on MSU’s first at-bat of the season.
“We felt good, barreled up a lot of balls,” said Heck after MSU scored six runs over the first three innings to blitz Cincinnati. “I was seeing the ball well and once we got going, it started going through our lineup. Felt good to get out there and get a win.”
Ultimately, MSU got three victories thanks to a resurgent offense that continually put pressure on the pitching staffs of both the Redhawks and Bearcats. In the opener, four of MSU’s eight hits were extra-base hits – doubles by Heck, senior Wes Rea and newcomer Michael Smith – and that trend continued on Saturday.
Rea, a 6-foot-5 senior first baseman from Harrison Central High, was a key figure in all of it. In the win over Miami, Rea delivered the big blow, a first-inning grand slam that gave MSU a 4-0 lead and set the tone for a dominating offensive day. Again, MSU pounded out four extra base hits, as left fielder Jake Vickerson and designated hitter Reid Humphreys each added home runs, and right fielder Cody Brown added a double. Brown also tripled Friday night.
“Yeah the guys were really hitting the ball well,” said Preston Brown, MSU’s Friday night starter who earned his first win of the season. “That makes it easier when your lineup gives you an early lead.”
For MSU, there were a number of offensive weapons that stood out above the rest. In addition to Rea, who reached base in 10 of his first 11 plate appearances of the weekend, there was Robson, who reached base in his first 13 plate appearances. Robson was on base in front of Ray continually, scoring six runs with two stolen bases over the season’s first three games.
Follow Dispatch Sports Writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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