STARKVILLE — Jack Kruger doesn’t call the last month a resurgence.
After getting off to a hot start, the Mississippi State junior fell into a lull offensively that forced him out of the lineup. In the last four weeks, though, Kruger has worked his way back into the rotation and is riding a wave he feels is just a part playing the game.
“I’d just call it hitting,” Kruger said when asked about his success in the last month. “Hitting’s just one of those things you go up and down, and it’s just how it goes. If you can limit the time you’re in the low, then you’ll have a pretty good chance to have a good season.”
Kruger will look to continue his hot hitting at 6:30 tonight when the No. 3 MSU baseball team plays host to Arkansas in Game 1 of a three-game Southeastern Conference weekend series at Dudy Noble Field. Game 2 will be at 6:30 p.m. Friday (SEC Network+). Game 3 will be at 5 p.m. Saturday (SEC Network).
MSU (37-14-1, 18-9 SEC) enters the final SEC regular-season series in a position to win the Western Division and/or earn the top seed for the SEC tournament, which starts Tuesday in Hoover, Alabama.
MSU is tied for first in the SEC West with Texas A&M, which will play host to Ole Miss this weekend. Ole Miss and LSU (17-10) are one game back of MSU. LSU will play host to Florida, which leads the SEC with an 18-8 record.
South Carolina, which is 17-9, will play this weekend at Alabama.
Kruger, who played as a freshman at Oregon and transferred to MSU from Orange Coast (California) College, was .511 (23-for-45) with three home runs, nine doubles, and 18 RBIs in his first three weekends as a Bulldog. He had five three-hit games in the first 12 games.
But Kruger hit .212 (14-for-66) with one home run, two doubles and nine RBIs from March 8-April 20. He played in 19 of 26 games, and had one three-hit game.
Since then, Kruger is hitting .393 (22-for-56) with three home runs, four doubles, and eight RBIs in his last 14 games.
“I think his arm getting healthier has really helped him offensively,” MSU coach John Cohen said. “I know that sounds crazy, but when your arm’s bothering you it owns you and it owns everything you do, even hitting and running. I think the fact he’s feeling healthier with his arm makes a huge difference with the way he’s swinging the bat, and I think his arm gets healthier every day.”
A catcher by trade, Kruger had surgery on his throwing arm in the fall and it wasn’t 100 percent when the Bulldogs started play in the February, but it didn’t bother him enough to keep him out of the lineup, as he played designated hitter.
Kruger agrees that having a healthy throwing arm has boosted his offense.
“I think it helps emotionally and mentally,” Kruger said. “It’s not something I’m worried about. It’s not something that’s on my mind. I don’t have to worry about that. I can focus on hitting and I can focus on catching. It’s definitely an ease on my mind. When your mind is at ease, you hit better.”
Kruger is third on the team with a .353 batting average. He has seven home runs, 14 doubles, and 35 RBIs.
Kruger has been the designated hitter 32 times and has caught 11 games, including four of the last five. The Calabasas, California, native is happy to be back behind the plate, and said being a part of every play is easier than being the designated hitter.
“It’s so hard because you’re sitting for half an hour or 45 minutes and then you come in and you face 94 (mph). Then you sit for half an hour, 45 minutes and you face 94,” Kruger said. “I found it incredibly difficult and had to do a lot of preparation mid innings to stay focused in order to be productive.
“Catching’s a little bit easier. I’m doing something the whole time and then it’s my at bat.”
MSU, which has won eight in a row, will start junior right-hander Dakota Hudson (8-3, 2.52 ERA) today and junior right-hander Austin Sexton (6-2, 3.69) on Friday. Cohen hasn’t announced a starter for Saturday, but he said freshman left-hander Konnor Pilkington (3-1, 1.79) probably will start.
Arkansas (26-26, 7-20), which has lost 10 in a row, will start junior right-hander Dominic Taccolini (5-4, 5.81) today. It hasn’t announced its starters for Friday and Saturday.
With an SEC championship on the line, Kruger and his teammates are trying to focus on what they can control, but know they will want to know what happens in College Station, Texas, and in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“The excitement we have and how much we want it, it can’t be overestimated,” Kruger said. “We just want to play our game. We can’t control what happens with A&M. We can’t control what happens with Florida. All we can control is sweeping this weekend and winning one game at a time.”
n In related news, Cohen said he wouldn’t be surprised if freshman infielder Hunter Stovall (knee) plays this weekend.
“His knee has really come a long way. He’s worked really hard,” Cohen said. “(Assistant athletic trainer) Jason Wire and our training staff have done a great job with him. I would be surprised if he can’t do something for us this weekend. Does he start? Don’t know. We’ll wait and see.”
Stovall injured his knee but didn’t suffer any ligament damage when he ran into Alabama first baseman Cody Henry on April 28. He was expected to be out four to six weeks.
Cohen said Stovall really pushed himself Wednesday in practice, but he wants to see how the knee reacts today.
Also, junior first baseman Nathaniel Lowe was named to the SEC Baseball Community Service Team.
Lowe took part in the United We Feed food drive in November. He also helped gather food for those in need in the Starkville area.
The Marietta, Georgia, native spent part of his Christmas break building houses for those in need as part of the Eleuthera Mission Trip. He also taught baseball to youth in the area.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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