PEARL — Denver McQuary credited confidence.
Andy Cannizaro cited McQuary’s changeup.
Whatever it was, McQuary wasn’t the same pitcher at the end of his start Tuesday night than he was when it began.
McQuary’s first two innings featured four walks, one hit allowed and, after the third inning, 72 pitches thrown with the Mississippi State baseball team feeling lucky not to have surrendered a run.
McQuary settled down and allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings to help lead No. 8 MSU to a 4-2 victory against Ole Miss for the Governor’s Cup before a Trustmark Park-record crowd of 8,536.
The victory helped MSU (29-14) sweep the four games against Ole Miss (25-16) for the first time since 1997. The annual game close to the state’s capital doesn’t count in the Southeastern Conference standings.
“(McQuary) wasn’t necessarily sharp tonight, but the thing he had going for him tonight was he had a great feel for the changeup,” Cannizaro said. “That’s normally by far the most distant third pitch for him, but he had that going for him and (MSU assistant) coach (Gary) Henderson did a good job of continuing to call what was working for him so he could get settled into the ballgame.”
The changeup helped McQuary strike out four, including three after the second. McQuary credited a new-found confidence for his strong finish. He allowed five hits, two earned runs, and five walks.
McQuary said he listened in between innings when coaches talked to him about having confidence in each pitch and trusting his pitches.
“It made me re-think everything. Early on I was doubting myself,” McQuary said, “but after that I had confidence in each pitch and I knew my team was going to play behind me.”
First baseman Brent Rooker provided McQuary with the run support. Rooker, who had four hits in seven games since April 14, launched a three-run home run to left-center field in the fifth for the game’s first runs. Rooker broke the scoreless tie after the Ole Miss coaches went to the mound to visit Greer Holston.
“I’m not going to get two or three hits every game. I’m going to go through some valleys where I don’t hit the way I want to,” said Rooker, who hits his for his 17th home run. Rooker’s 17 home runs are the most by a MSU player since 2009, when Connor Powers belted 19. “If I stick with my approach and stick with my swing I figured I would get out of it.”
Rooker worked out of his “slump” on a fastball. Prior to the most recent stretch, Rooker had 14 hits, including nine for extra bases, in seven games.
“The previous at-bat, I got two strikes and got punched out on a fastball, so I figured they were going to try to do the same thing,” he said. “I got the fastball, and it was in the same spot where I swung and missed.”
McQuary’s start ended in the next inning with his 112th pitch, a new season high for the freshman. He had thrown more than 60 pitches only once (a 74-pitch start against Columbia on March 12).
“His bullpen work has been really good the last couple of weeks and he was a tremendous high school pitcher, threw complete games all the time,” Cannizaro said. “We haven’t asked him to go that far in the ballgame this year, but that doesn’t mean he’s not capable of it.”
MSU added an insurance run in the eighth, when Rooker led off with a double and scored on a single by shortstop Ryan Gridley.
Hunter Stovall and Josh Lovelady also had two hits for MSU, which will play host to No. 5 Auburn at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Dudy Noble Field. The opener will air on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.
Peyton Plumlee worked the Bulldogs out of a tight spot in the sixth before being lifted in the seventh. Trysten Barlow helped the Bulldogs out of the seventh and was lifted in the eighth. Jacob Billingsley benefited from a nice play from Luke Alexander to get the Bulldogs out of the eighth. Freshman Riley Self pitched a hitless ninth to record his second save.
Former New Hope High School standout Will Golsan went 2-for-5 for his team-leading 15th multi-hit game of the season for Ole Miss, which stranded 13 runners. Freshman catcher Cooper Johnson had two hits and threw out two runners attempting to steal on his 19th birthday. The Rebels brought the tying run to the plate in each the final four innings, but MSU escaped each threat.
Greer Holston (2-3) allowed three runs on a home run by Rooker. The freshman threw six innings and gave up six hits. Four of the hits didn’t get out of the infield.
n NOTES: Cannizaro said closer Spencer Price would only be available in “an emergency type of thing.” Price rolled his right ankle while fielding a ball Friday against Alabama and continued to pitch. Price was seen in a walking boot after the game.
n Southern Mississippi 13, South Alabama 7: At Mobile, Alabama, Mason Irby drove in four runs and Southern Miss had 16 hits in defeating South Alabama 13-7 Tuesday night at Eddie Stanky Field.
The Golden Eagles (31-12) snapped a two-game losing streak as they won the season series with the Jaguars, after a 4-2 win in Hattiesburg last month.
Cole Donaldson led the Golden Eagles with three hits as Dylan Burdeaux, Irby, Matt Wallner and LeeMarcus Boyd added two hits apiece.
Southern Miss scored in the first four innings and in six different frames to give them their 11th road victory of the year.
After Hunter Slater drove in Burdeaux for the game’s first run in the opening frame, the Jaguars answered for two runs in the bottom of the inning.
The Golden Eagles, though, answered with three runs in the second and never looked back. Boyd tied the score by driving home Donaldson, who doubled. Irby then followed with a two-run triple.
USA (25-17) cut the score in the bottom of the second to 4-3 with a tally, but the Golden Eagles answered again in the third with four more runs. After scoring a run on both a fielder’s choice and a hit batter with the bases loaded, Irby registered his second hit, a two-run single, to make the score 8-3.
Again South Alabama tallied a lone run in the bottom of the inning, but the Eagles again extended the lead with two more runs in the fourth on a two-run homer by Daniel Keating, his eighth of the year.
Southern Miss scored another run in the seventh on a RBI single by Burdeaux and then added two final runs in the eighth on RBI singles from Donaldson and Boyd.
Stevie Powers, the second of six Golden Eagle pitchers, gave up two runs on three hits with a walk and four strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings of relief to capture the win. Powers came in for Calder Mikell, who allowed three runs on three hits and two walks with one strikeout over the first 1 2/3.
USA starter Sean Trimble gave up six runs on six hits with two walks over two-plus innings to suffer the loss and fall to 2-1 on the year.
Southern Miss will take on Middle Tennessee this weekend in a three-game Conference USA series in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Game 1 will be at 6 p.m. Friday.
n Jacksonville State 11, Alabama 8: At Tuscaloosa, Alabama, A four run-seventh by the Gamecocks proved the difference in Tuesday’s game, as Alabama baseball fell, 11-8, to Jacksonville State at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Following the midweek contest, the Crimson Tide is now 15-26 on the season.
“Our guys competed all night,” Alabama coach Greg Goff said. “Offensively, we never gave in, coming back twice. I don’t respect walks and errors, and you can do that against a good team like Jacksonville State or you’re going to let them back in the game like we did tonight.”
A four-run seventh was the deciding factor, as the two teams traded runs throughout the evening. Both clubs plated a pair in the first. Jacksonville State then scored single tallies in the third and fourth, before Alabama matched them with a two-run bottom of the fourth. The very next inning saw each squad post a three-spot, before Alabama jumped out front with one run in the bottom of the sixth. In the top of the seventh JSU used five singles to score four runs for the win.
Alabama had 13 hits. Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit. Cody Henry went 3-for-4 with a home run, a team-high four RBIs, and two runs scored. Chandler Taylor also homered and had two RBIs, and a walk. Taylor’s home run extended his hitting streak to 11 games. Kyle Kaufman was 2-for-2 with two walks, a hit-by-pitch, an RBI, and two runs scored.
Jacksonville State began the night’s scoring, using a leadoff double followed by a one-out home run to left to make it a 2-0 game after a half inning of play. Alabama came right back to even things up in the bottom half of the first. A pair of singles to start the game from Chandler Avant and Kaufman put two aboard. Both runners moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt before Henry sent a single to center to make it a 2-1 game. One out later, Henry took off for second, but an errant throw from the catcher allowed the man from third to cross before Henry was tagged out on a 2-4-3 rundown to end the first with things even at 2-2.
The Gamecocks added one in the third and fourth innings to make it a two-run advantage. In the third, a single and a one-out walk put two on before a single to center scored the go-ahead run. In the next inning, JSU doubled with one down before registering a two-out RBI single to make it 4-2.
Alabama answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth to even the score once again. A leadoff single from Henry followed by a two-run home run from Taylor knotted it up at 4. The home run was Taylor’s team-leading 11th of the season.
Both teams matched one another with a three-run fifth. Jacksonville State used a pair of walks to put two on before an errant throw on a grounder to the pitcher went into center field, scoring the inning’s first run and putting Gamecocks at the corners. A wild pitch in the next at-bat moved everyone up 90 feet, scoring the man from third. The sequence ended with a single to center, bringing the man home from second to make it a three-run JSU lead.
The Crimson Tide answered with a three-spot in the home half of the fifth. Walker McCleney began things for the Tide, singling through the right side. One out later, Kaufman was hit by a pitch to put two on before a fielder’s choice from Cobie Vance cut down McCleney but left two still on base. With a pair in the waiting, Henry sent one over the fence in left-center to cross three and make things square at 7-7 heading to the sixth.
Alabama took its first lead of the night with a single run in the sixth. The Tide reached a pair of baserunners with a one-out single from Alex Webb and then a hit-by-pitch for McCleney with two down. One more walk, this one to Avant, loaded the bases before a free pass for Kaufman gave Alabama an 8-7 lead.
In the top of the seventh, JSU added four runs to re-gain the lead. The Gamecocks used five singles to score four runs, with all four runs coming with two down in the inning.
Alabama will play host to No. 15 LSU at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (ESPN2) in Game 1 of a three-game SEC series. Thursday through Saturday.
n EMCC’s Stockstill named MACJC Pitcher of the Week for no-hitter: At Scooba, For his complete-game no-hitter against Pearl River Community College on Sunday, East Mississippi C.C. sophomore Bubba Stockstill has earned MACJC Pitcher of the Week honors.
During the Lions’ 10-0 run-rule victory, Stockstill struck out 10 and walked one while facing one batter over the minimum during his six-inning shutout. The 6-foot-7 left-hander threw 74 pitches (49 strikes) and allowed two runners. After working through a leadoff walk to Lucas Scott in the second, Stockstill hit Graham Hackbarth with a pitch to open the fifth but the runner was picked off first base by sophomore catcher Mike Farnell.
Stockstill (3-4, 3.38 earned run average, two saves) has allowed 14 hits with 29 strikeouts and 15 walks in 26 2/3 innings. Batters are hitting .156 against him.
Stockstill, along with MACJC Player of the Week Bailey Walker of Northeast Mississippi, will be nominated for the NJCAA’s weekly national baseball awards.
n EMCC (22-14, 12-10 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges) split a doubleheader with Northeast Mississippi C.C. on Tuesday night. EMCC won Game 1 18-14 and lost Game 2 2-1.
Former New Hope High standout Josh Stillman was 3-for-6 with a run scored and an RBI in Game 1. Former Starkville Academy standout Colt Chrestman was 0-for-3. In Game 2, Stillman was 0-for-2 with a sacrifice. Former Starkville High standout Rashon Tate was 0-for-01 with a walk.
EMCC will play Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. in a doubleheader at 2 p.m. Saturday
n Mississippi Delta, ICC split doubleheader: At Fulton, the Mississippi Delta C.C. and Itawamba C.C. baseball teams split a doubleheader on Tuesday night.
ICC (27-11, 14-8) won Game 1 12-8. Mississippi Delta (25-15, 12-10) won Game 2 10-9 in eight innings.
Former New Hope High standouts Payton Lane and Will Godfrey and former West Lowndes High standout Wendell Rieves played key roles in both games of the doubleheader. Stats weren’t available at press time.
Former Starkville Academy baseball coach Jarrod Parks also is an assistant coach at Mississippi Delta. Former New Hope High standout Tyler Jones and former Hebron Christian standout Channing Tapley also are members of the Mississippi Delta C.C. squad.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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