STARKVILLE — Austin Sexton watched in awe as a defining play unveiled in front of him.
The Mississippi State right-hander found himself in trouble after giving up a leadoff double to Cal State Fullerton’s Scott Hurst in the sixth inning. Hurst pounded the ball off the right-field wall and then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jerrod Bravo, prompting MSU coach John Cohen to bring his infield in with a one-run lead.
It paid off.
Chris Hudgins bounced the ball to third baseman Gavin Collins. The converted third baseman ranged into foul territory to make the play and threw to catcher Jack Kruger, who laid the tag down as Hurst slid in for the second out.
“Luckily that guy hit that ball to Gavin,” Sexton said. “Gavin’s a great defender, and he made a heck of a play.”
Sexton pointed to Kruger as he showed the umpire the ball. The 10,656 fans stood on their feet to acknowledge what Collins, who had committed two errors earlier in the game, had done.
Sexton and reliever Blake Smith made that defense stand up in top-seeded MSU’s 4-1 victory against second-seeded Cal State Fullerton on Saturday in a winners’ bracket game in the Starkville Regional at Dudy Noble Field.
No. 6 national and No. 4 MSU (43-16-1) will play the winner of the Cal State Fullerton-Louisiana Tech game at 6:30 tonight (ESPN3). A win would move MSU into the super regional round of the NCAA tournament.
Cohen was proud of Collins for bouncing back.
“What Collins did was really symbolic of the kind of year he’s had and the kind of year we’ve had so far,” Cohen said. “He made two defensive mistakes early in the ballgame and he still wanted the baseball. He made about four big-league plays in a row. Most kids kind of shy away from the game when it’s not going your way, and he just kept attacking the baseball.”
Hudgins, who reached on the fielder’s choice in the sixth, moved to second on a wild pitch. Second baseman John Holland was keeping him close, but he rushed back to the four-hole as Sexton released a pitch. Ruben Cardenas hit one sharply to the four-hole and Holland slid in just in time to smother it and throw to first baseman Nathaniel Lowe for the third out.
Sexton had two runners on in the second and third, but he got a groundout in the second and struck out Hurst in the third to strand the runners. After throwing a 1-2-3 fourth, the junior found himself in trouble again in the fifth. He got leadoff batter Hank LoForte to foul out to Kruger, but Vargas lined a single to center field and Timmy Richards reached on an error by Collins.
Facing two on with one out, Sexton locked in. He struck out Tanner Pinkston for the first out and got Dalton Blaser to ground out to Holland to strand Vargas and Richards.
“We swung at some pitches we shouldn’t have swung at. I thought we chased in RBI situations,” Cal State Fullerton coach Rick Vanderhook said.
Sexton was looking to redeem himself after he gave up seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings to Florida in a 12-2 loss in seven innings that eliminated MSU from at the Southeastern Conference tournament in Hoover, Alabama.
MSU pitching coach Wes Johnson said Sexton’s changeup was flat in that outing and thhey worked on correcting it.
“Sometimes when I’m throwing my changeup, I’ll choke it. Sometimes I’ll get around the ball,” Sexton said. “(Saturday) when I did feel myself getting around the ball, I was able to make that adjustment and get on top.”
It seemed to work as Sexton (8-3) struck out four and walked one in 6 1/3 innings. He allowed one run, a solo home run by Vargas in the seventh, on five hits.
Junior right-hander Blake Smith came on after the home run. After hitting Richard with a pitch, Smith got Pinkston and Blaser to ground out.
Smith walked Hurst to begin the eighth, but he struck out the side to strand him at second after a stolen base. He got Bravo to swing and miss on a full count, struck out Hudgins on a 2-2 count and got Cardenas on a check swing on a 1-2 count. Smith worked around a two-out walk in the ninth to pick up his fifth save. He threw 2 2/3 innings and gave up no runs on no hits. He struck out three and walked two.
After the two great defensive plays in the sixth the Bulldog offense gave Sexton a 3-0 lead with two runs in the seventh. Brent Rooker led the inning off with a double to right field. He moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Reid Humphreys. Ryan Gridley hit one hard that glanced off the glove of shortstop Richards and dribbled into left field. Rooker scored easily. Mangum slapped one in to right field and Gridley, who moved to second on a wild pitch, slid in before the tag was applied for the third run.
“Whenever Gavin makes that play, the whole entire stadium got excited,” said Mangum, who had two hits. “It really switched momentum back to us.”
Jacob Robson brought home Lowe with a double in the eighth. MSU took a 1-0 lead when Holland scored on a groundout by Lowe in the third.
Collins, who went 0-for-4, was the only Bulldog not to record a hit.
Sexton gave all the credit to his defense.
“I was just proud of the guys,” Sexton said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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