TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Justin Foscue’s first trip back to his home state as a Mississippi State Bulldog fell somewhere between dream and disappointment.
A string of games as MSU’s daily starting third baseman as the calendar turned from March to April disappeared as the Huntsville native watched Jordan Westburg start all three games of the Auburn series in the hot corner; Foscue started at designated hitter once and got a hit, but it was not the thrill of the five consecutive starts before it.
His next trip back was actually a better opportunity: Huntsville to Tuscaloosa is a 150-mile trip compared to over 200 from Huntsville to Auburn. Those that made the easier drive saw the native son put on a show.
Foscue started at third base in all three games of this weekend’s series against Alabama (24-25, 6-18 Southeastern Conference) and he rewarded MSU with 4-for-14 (.285) hitting, driving in five runs and playing an errorless third base as MSU won the series. The Bulldogs (26-22, 11-13 SEC) clinched the series with Sunday’s 6-4 win, where Foscue’s two-run double gave MSU its first lead of the game in the sixth inning.
“I’m just seeing it well lately and I took it into this weekend,” Foscue said.
His Sunday double was a crucial hit, but paled in comparison to his two-run, 10th-inning home run from Friday that gave MSU the 14-12 win. He accomplished both feats in different ways, taking an elevated fastball over the left field fence on Friday before sending a two-strike, elevated breaking ball to the gap for his Sunday double.
Rhythm like that isn’t easy to find in a timeshare system of playing time, but Foscue has grown to thrive in it. Having started in 29 of MSU’s 48 games, he is hitting .274 with 11 of his 32 hits going for extra bases.
“It’s having the mind-set of always staying ready, knowing you’re going to get in and get another at-bat,” he said.
MacNamee strikes gold
Elijah MacNamee finally got what he was looking for on a fastball inside, and well inside. Too far inside for some.
It was that less-than-advantageous pitch that gave MacNamee his first home run of the year on Sunday and it came with impeccable timing: it put MSU on the board in the fourth inning and cut a 3-0 deficit down to a manageable number that was erased in the next inning.
“About time, that felt great,” MacNamee said. “I’ve been working on it: I’ve always needed to tell myself to have light hands at the plate and stay in my legs.
“We needed to do something, and after (Hunter Stovall’s) single, I just said, ‘Get my pitch.’ He’s been around the zone and he just threw it in my wheelhouse.”
Rotation change
For the first time in conference play, MSU did not start Jacob Billingsley on the mound on Sunday.
The decision to go another direction was one Henderson labored over until just hours before first pitch and ultimately chose Denver McQuary, who had started four times before this season but never against a SEC team. MSU ended up using both of them to little avail: McQuary started with two runs and five hits allowed over 1 2/3 innings before Billingsley came from the bullpen to walk four batters and allow a run over 2 1/3 innings.
“Just looking to have something a little better than last Sunday,” Henderson said. Billingsley lasted three innings in his last Sunday start, allowing Texas A&M to tally six hits and four runs. “I just wanted to give Denver an opportunity. He pitched well on Tuesday and I thought (Billingsley) labored last week. I’m not down on either kid, at all, great kids, great workers.
“We need to pitch better on Sundays, that’s pretty clear.”
Standings update
The series win may have kept MSU in its spot in the SEC Tournament, but the happenings around the league did not help MSU build up room for error.
MSU’s 11-13 conference mark is good enough for a three-way tie for ninth with Kentucky and Vanderbilt; MSU’s sweep at the hands of Vanderbilt leaves it under the Commodores in that tiebreaker and MSU meets Kentucky for three games next weekend to settle that tiebreaker.
If the season ended today, it would be 9-15 Missouri as the last team out of the SEC Tournament, a mere two games behind MSU. The Bulldogs’ late schedule does it no favors, as its road series against the Wildcats is followed by hosting the No. 1 Florida Gators, currently at 18-6 in league play.
Holcombe hurts MSU
Even when MSU kept Alabama left fielder Keith Holcombe quiet for the game, he still found a way to make it pay.
Holcombe hurt MSU every step of the way this weekend, tallying two hits and three RBIs on Friday, hitting the walkoff single on Saturday and tacking on four more hits on Sunday, driving in half of Alabama’s four runs. Holcombe is also a linebacker on Alabama’s football team and, out of Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was committed to MSU for a day before Alabama offered and he switched to the Tide.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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