STARKVILLE — Jacob Robson always gives it his all.
That’s why it was no surprise when the Mississippi State junior outfielder scored from first base on a failed pickoff attempt by Ole Miss pitcher Will Stokes on April 1. The ball skipped past first baseman Will Golsan and allowed Robson to hustle around the diamond and to slide in safely at home.
But Robson didn’t know the play would cost him 13 games.
On the slide, Robson’s left hand hit the plate and Ole Miss catcher Henri Lartigue’s foot hard.
“As soon as I hit it I was like, ‘Oh, that doesn’t feel good.’ I knew something was kind of wrong, but I didn’t think it was broken,” Robson said.
Robson played the next game against Ole Miss, but he was taken out of the series finale. The next day, Robson had an X-ray that showed he had broken the metacarpal bone where his pinkie meets his hand. Although he wanted to play, it was a priority to make sure he wasn’t going to re-injure his hand.
As Robson has recovered, he has supported his teammates every day. He finally got a chance to play Saturday in a doubleheader against Alabama. He feels like he is close to being 100 percent healthy and doesn’t expect to miss No. 3 MSU’s series against Missouri, which will begin at 6 tonight (SEC Network) at Dudy Noble Field.
Game 2 will be at 7 p.m. Friday (ESPNU). Game 3 will be at 4 p.m. Saturday (SEC Network+).
Robson was used as a pinch runner against Louisiana-Monroe on April 20, but that was his only action in a stretch that saw MSU go 8-5 in his absence.
“He’s such a mature young man,” MSU coach John Cohen said. “He’s charting things and he’s communicating with people. He’s really been so beneficial even when he hasn’t been on the field. He’s been very, very valuable to our club.”
The Windsor, Ontario, Canada, native, who is second on the team with a .356 batting average, went 0-for-5 against Alabama with a walk. He knew swinging the bat and playing center field for the first time after a long layoff was going to be difficult, but he was happy with the playing time.
The games against Alabama were all about knocking the rust off.
“You can stand in on bullpens, you can take batting practice, you can bunt balls in practice, but nothing will ever mimic a real pitch,” Robson said. “It was good to get back out there, regardless of the result.”
After the doubleheader split helped MSU clinch its sixth SEC series victory in seven tries, Cohen said he knew it was going to be slow going for Robson, but he wanted him in the game. He knows Robson will get back into his routine and be a real contributor.
“I think he’s really close,” Cohen said. “It might be a one step forward and one step back with him.”
MSU (30-14-1, 12-9 Southeastern Conference) will start junior right-handed pitcher Dakota Hudson (6-3, 3.00 ERA) today and junior right-hander Austin Sexton (4-2, 3.69) Friday. A starter for the series finale hasn’t been announced, but Cohen feels like freshman left-hander Konnor Pilkington (2-1, 2.37) will get the nod because the Tigers have a lineup filled with left-handed hitters.
Missouri (24-22, 7-14), which swept Tennessee last weekend at home, will go with senior right-hander Reggie McClain (4-2, 3.72) today and sophomore right-hander Tanner Houck (4-4, 3.12) Friday. The Tigers haven’t announced a starter for Saturday’s game.
Freshman Jake Mangum took advantage of Robson’s absence and is leading the team with a .416 batting average (.422 in SEC games). With Robson getting healthy, the top of the Bulldogs’ lineup could be lethal. Although Robson batted sixth against Alabama, Cohen is excited about the prospects of Mangum and Robson at the top of the order.
The players also are excited to see the combination.
“It’s going to be a big threat when you have two guys on, nobody out and you bring up somebody like Jack Kruger or Nate Lowe or Reid Humphreys,” MSU sophomore shortstop Ryan Gridley said. “I feel like as soon as he gets back in and he’s feeling really comfortable, seeing more pitches, it’s going to be very interesting to see how we do.”
MSU is third in the SEC with a .303 batting average. That could change with Mangum and Robson in the lineup at the same time.
Robson was excited to see Mangum make the most of his opportunity and can’t wait to hit ahead of Mangum, if that’s what Cohen decides to do.
“If we were both at the top of the lineup it would be a big deal because he’s a contact guy,” Robson said. “If I would get on ahead of him and somehow get to second, the chances of me scoring are pretty high.”
Mangum has worn a protective glove when he runs the bases to try and limit the damage on head first slides. He wants to avoid the head first slides, but he knows his baseball mind will take over.
“If there’s a situation, I’m not going to be thinking about my hand,” Robson said. “I’m just going to let my body take over. Hopefully I can avoid hitting my hand on those slides.”
n In other news, Cohen feels freshman second baseman Hunter Stovall (knee) won’t be out as long as initially thought.
“We feel like it might be half of what we thought it was going to be,” Cohen said. “We thought it was 4-6 (weeks). It might just be a couple of weeks.”
Stovall injured his left knee Thursday when he collided with Alabama first baseman Cody Henry.
With Stovall on the shelf and freshman infielder Luke Alexander battling a broken hand, outfielder Cody Brown and first baseman Cole Gordon have practiced in the infield to build depth.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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