STARKVILLE – Austin Sexton believes that he and teammate Preston Brown are very similar in their approach to pitching.
So one day after watching Brown, Mississippi State’s Friday night starting pitcher, roll up seven strikeouts and allow just one run in a 4-2 win over PAC-12 power Arizona, Sexton believed he had the ability to do the same thing.
He was right.
Sexton, a sophomore from Huntsville, Alabama, enjoyed the best start of his young MSU career on Saturday morning, delivering a career-best 10 strikeouts in five-plus innings to help the Bulldogs complete a two-game sweep of the Wildcats with a 6-2 win.
“Preston has a great changeup and he keeps hitters off balance, so when I saw him do that, it gave me confidence,” said Sexton. “It’s definitely good for this team to get a couple of wins over a team like that. I think we have a special team and a special group of guys, and we keep winning.”
The two gems turned in by Sexton and Brown were a central part of the story to MSU’s first three games of a four-game weekend. In addition to the pair of victories over Arizona, MSU added an 8-2 victory over Samford in Saturday’s nightcap. That game also featured a strong start from an MSU pitcher, as Lucas Laster, a junior lefthander, struck out seven and allowed two runs in 6.1 innings.
“I think it all started with our starting pitching,” said MSU coach John Cohen. “Austin went out there today, and if it wasn’t for an 0-2 pitch where he gave up a home run, he would’ve had a shutout. We need him to pitch that way for us to be a good club, and he gave us that today.”
Sexton’s strong performance did not net a win, though. That distinction was earned by senior lefthander Ross Mitchell, who pitched the final 3.2 innings to earn his third win of the season and the 27th of his brilliant career.
In total, MSU’s pitching staff gave up just six runs in three games, all wins over Arizona and Samford. The three starters – Brown, Sexton and Laster – combined to give up just five runs while amassing 24 strikeouts in 18 innings.
“Yeah those guys were unbelievable,” said MSU catcher Cody Walker, who drew the start in the win over Samford. “Just throwing strikes, getting the ball over the plate and hitting their spots. We have some great pitchers and they just go out and get the job done.”
More important than their strikeout numbers, perhaps, was their control. Neither Laster nor Sexton issued a walk on Saturday, and Brown walked just three on Friday. In three games, MSU’s pitching staff issued just seven free passes.
The result of MSU’s dominant pitching was the offense’s ability to secure three more wins. The Bulldogs manufactured four runs on eight hits Friday night, with a 2-for-4, two-RBI performance from right fielder Jake Vickerson being the catalyst.
That production continued into Saturday when the Bulldogs scored 14 runs in two games, the highlight being a five-run top of the first against Samford to blow that game open almost immediately.
Walker, who splits time at catcher with junior Josh Lovelady in the absence of injured starter Gavin Collins, delivered the big blow, a two-run double to drive in MSU’s fourth and fifth runs of the game.
“I was seeing it well,” said Walker. “Josh is so hot right now that whenever I get my chance, I’m trying to help my team as much as possible. I feel like this team has three great catchers and whoever is in the game will do a good job.”
Offensively, senior first baseman Wes Rea doubled twice in the Saturday morning win over Arizona, earning his third and fourth extra-base hits of the season. He has five total hits.
Vickerson, perhaps the hottest player on MSU’s team, added three more hits – one against Arizona, two against Samford – and scored two more runs in the doubleheader.
But for MSU, now 12-0 for just the fourth time in program history, the theme of the weekend – so far, at least – was pitching.
“Preston gave us a great start last night and then Lucas and Austin today,” said Cohen. “That’s what we need to be a good team and guys are really locked in. You look at the fact that we had zero walks today, and that’s from a pair of guys who know to keep pounding the strike zone.”
After his good outing, Sexton was asked which was more important, the 10 stirikeouts or the zero in the walks column.
“Oh, the lack of walks, definitely,” said Sexton. “That’s such a big part of our game, we want to keep guys off of first base as much as possible.”
Walker, who caught Laster’s second win of the year, agreed.
“Control and not giving up walks is huge,” said Walker. “When you start giving up walks, you start giving up runs so for our pitchers to eliminate walks really kept us out of a lot of pressure situations.”
The tone set by MSU’s starters was carried on by its bullpen. In three games, MSU’s relievers pitched nine innings and allowed just one run, given up by Mitchell in his Friday night win.
Time change
During MSU’s Saturday opener against Arizona, the university announced that Sunday’s weekend finale would be changed. Originally scheduled for Arizona to face Samford at noon and MSU to play Samford at 4:30, those games have been moved up to 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
Humphreys out
One of just three Bulldogs who had started every game entering the weekend, left fielder Reid Humphreys had that streak snapped on Saturday, as he played in neither game. Humphreys, a sophomore, sat out due to an illness according to Cohen.
“Reid is fighting a stomach bug of some kind,” said Cohen. “He played last night after taking two IVs of fluid, but he battled through it. Today we held him out and hopefully we can get him back in the lineup for tomorrow.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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