STARKVILLE — On opening night of its regular-season finale series, the Mississippi State University baseball team followed the script perfectly.
MSU received great pitching, timely hitting, a strong bullpen effort, and displayed the small-ball fundamentals in a 3-1 victory against the No. 6 University of Kentucky on Thursday at Dudy Noble Field.
“This is the game we have to win and this is the manner in which we have to win it — the one-run and two-run games — with the pitching and defense,” MSU coach John Cohen said.
Freshman first baseman Wes Rea, who entered the game in a 1-for-41 slump, went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for his first multi-hit game since April 20. The 290-pound first baseman from Gulfport had a two-run single that put MSU on the scoreboard early.
“My swing is back, and hopefully I can carry this over to the rest of the season,” Rea said. “I think when my swing is where it needs to be, that’s what it’ll look like.”
Rea has been fighting a right shoulder injury for at least two months that has affected his hitting. He finally went to see a shoulder specialist this week and received an injection to relieve the discomfort that he referred to as “a knot” near the rotator cuff that caused nerve pain. Rea already has had surgery on a high school pitching injury.
“His shoulder has been killing him and he’s just been playing through it,” Cohen said. “He has a very high baseball IQ, so he’s going to figure it out. There’s no doubt if we can get Wes healthy he can be a very good player for us.”
MSU (32-21, 14-14 Southeastern Conference), which has a team ERA of 1.39 in the past 16 games, rode the starting pitching of junior right-hander Chris Stratton. The Tupelo native held one of the SEC’s most productive lineups at bay in another quality start. Stratton (10-1) allowed just one run in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out eight in 82 pitches.
“I thought Strat was very, very good, but they did a nice job of covering pitches tonight and shoving them into the outfield,” Cohen said. “Kentucky is a good club, and this isn’t an accident what they’re doing.”
Kentucky (41-13, 18-10) avoided the shutout in the sixth inning after cleanup hitter Luke Maile smacked an RBI double off the right-field wall to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Less than 48 hours after getting shut out the University of Central Arkansas, MSU generated a more balanced offensive effort with eight hits. Catcher Mitch Slauter also had his ninth multi-hit game this season. Leadoff hitter Adam Frazier also had a hit, which helped him reach base in 43 of 53 games.
“For the most part, I thought we took better swings and made them make some plays defensively,” Cohen said.
MSU answered UK’s run with an insurance score in the classic small-ball fashion that Cohen’s teams have come to be known for since he took the job in Starkville.
After Kentucky coach Gary Henderson brought in left-hander Sam Mahar to set up a lefty-lefty matchup against junior infielder Sam Frost, many assumed Cohen would go to his bench for a right-handed hitter. However, the coaches trusted the walk-on from Hoover, Ala., to execute a safety squeeze bunt that scored a sprinting Slauter from third base. Frost beat the throw to first base because the ball was nearly thrown down the right-field line.
“That call was made by (first base coach Nick) Mingione who said, ‘Let’s let him bunt because he’s much more comfortable doing that,’ ” Cohen said. “Mitch isn’t the fastest guy in America, so it’s got to be well placed. It’s a little softer at home plate, so you got to bang (the ball) a little bit more. We got to pressure the defense.”
After Stratton exited to a standing ovation, southpaw Ross Mitchell allowed a hit and recorded seven outs to help MSU pick up its seventh SEC series-opening victory.
Mitchell has kept his ERA under 2.00 all season and hasn’t allowed a run in his past 10 1/3 innings. The redshirt freshman from Smyrna, Tenn., gave way to freshman Jonathan Holder for the game’s final out.
Holder increased his season-long scoreless streak to 21 2/3 innings with a four-pitch punch out.
“(Ross Mitchell) has power sink, meaning it’s not just sink from low velocity or spin, and I think a big part of it was a delivery change by (MSU pitching coach) Butch Thompson,” Cohen said. “It’s a brilliant move from one of the best pitching coaches in the country. That’s why we’re able to hold a club hitting over .300 to just seven hits and one run.”
With the victory, MSU moved into a four-way tie for sixth in the SEC with Vanderbilt University, the University of Arkansas, and the University of Mississippi.
The series will resume at 7:06 tonight (SportSouth). It will conclude at 2 p.m. Saturday. MSU seniors Caleb Reed and Brent Brownlee will be honored before today’s game.
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