AUBURN, Ala. — Mississippi State University baseball coach John Cohen wants his Bulldogs a little more “locked in.”
Lack of focus and attention to detail proved costly Sunday afternoon as MSU lost to No. 24 Auburn 8-2 in the final game of a three-game Southeastern Conference weekend series before a crowd of 3,458 at Plainsman Park.
“We were not locked in today,” Cohen said. “We got to have the focus. We got to have the commitment. Playing hard? Yes, we are doing that. Playing smart? We didn’t do that today. We have young guys, and they need to grow up in a hurry.”
Auburn (17-11, 6-3 SEC) won its fourth straight series from MSU (18-11, 3-6) in this ballpark. The Bulldogs have been competitive in the SEC, but haven’t delivered the knockout punch in a league series. Still, the expectations are greater for a team that made an NCAA tournament Super Regional last season.
MSU saw its chances to win a weekend series slip away Sunday for the second straight weekend. A year ago, MSU swept Auburn in the second weekend of the season. Despite winning 14 league games, those Bulldogs didn’t win another league series until May.
“We have to get better,” MSU sophomore shortstop Adam Frazier said. “After we win the first game in a series, we have a letdown for whatever reason. We have shown glimpses of what we can do. We got to get this fixed right away, though, and start winning some series.”
After playing errorless ball in its first five conference games, MSU made six in the series on the Plains, including three Sunday. An even bigger defensive miscue may have occurred on a play that didn’t result in an error.
With one out and two runners on in the third, a groundball was hit to Frazier. After the ball initially bounced off Frazier’s glove, he recovered in time to get the force out at second base but couldn’t complete a potential inning-ending double play. The Tigers responded with the game’s first four runs before that frame ended. The trend continued throughout the afternoon, as Auburn had seven two-out runs and three unearned runs.
“It is the little things,” Cohen said. “We are just making silly mistakes. I think sometimes we are trying too hard. We have young players. What they have seen in the last three weekends of league play is enough to really blow your mind.
“That is not an excuse, though. We have talented players. We have to play sharper. We have to be more focused. We have to be diligent at what we are doing.”
MSU also hurt itself on the bases. Mitch Slauter and C.T. Bradford had hits to open the second. Instead of grabbing the lead, two pickoffs and a popup turned the Bulldogs away.
An even worse baserunning gaffe took place in the fifth. Trailing 5-0, the Bulldogs scored twice and were in position get more. With the bases loaded, one out, and one run in, Frazier hit a blooper to center field. The ball fell just short of the center fielder. Running at second base, Wes Rea hustled down to third base. The throw beat Rea but bounced off the third baseman’s glove. Rea then attempted to take home but was thrown out easily.
Starting pitcher Kendall Graveman (2-1) was lifted during Auburn’s two-run fifth. He allowed eight hits and seven runs (four earned). Caleb Reed entered in relief and held the Tigers at bay.
MSU managed two runners on two hits in their final four at-bats.
The Bulldogs did have one positive late. Pitching for the first time since March 2, Ben Bracewell got back-to-back outs in the eighth before being touched for back-to-back hits and the game’s final run.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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