STARKVILLE — “Big Hit Mac” is back.
Starting the first professional game of his career, former Mississippi State outfielder Elijah MacNamee delivered the go-ahead run in the 10th inning on a sacrifice fly to right field as the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League defeated the Florence Freedom 5-4 Sunday night.
MacNamee finished the game 1-for-4, with one RBI and a single to cap off an eventful week for current and former MSU players across the country.
Fresh off taking home American League Player of the Week honors, Nate Lowe of the Tampa Bay Rays notched a three-for-three, one RBI, two double night Thursday against the New York Yankees.
He now has multi-hit games in four of his past eight contests.
Boston Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland has been on the injured list since June 8 but is on the mend. Moreland participated in rehab stints this weekend at Triple-A Pawtucket.
He’s batting .225 with 13 home runs, nine doubles and 34 RBIs in 47 games this season.
San Diego Padres outfielder Hunter Renfroe continues his historic season at the plate. Though he’s hitting just .246, Renfroe notched his 28th homer of the season Saturday against the Chicago Cubs — moving him to No. 6 on MLB’s leaderboard.
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff was solid in his lone start of the week. Woodruff tossed 6 2/3 innings Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves, allowing just one run on five hits. He is now 11-3 on the year.
In the minor leagues, Ben Bracewell tossed three innings of scoreless ball, striking out four across two outings for the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators. Bracewell has allowed just four runs in his past 10 appearances.
At the double-A level, Jack Kruger closed his week on a tear, totaling seven hits and five RBIs in 13 plate appearances for the Mobile BayBears. Kruger is now hitting .371 with 13 hits and seven RBIs over his past 10 games.
Gavin Collins continued his recent string of success at the plate, as he boasts a four-game hit streak for the Single-A Lynchburg Hillcats — bringing his season average up to .267 with a .742 OPS.
Also at Single-A, JP France of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers tossed seven innings of three-run ball against the Potomac Nationals Saturday. France allowed eight hits and struck out eight in the game.
Jacob Lindgren rebounded from a rough three outing stretch, recording one shutout inning of work this week for the Single-A Kannapolis Intimidators.
At short season Single-A 2019 Bulldog Colby White threw 1 ⅔ scoreless innings for the Hudson Valley Renegades. White Has not allowed a run in his past three appearances.
Of those players still suiting up for MSU, junior Jordan Westburg has found his stride in the Cape Cod League. Westburg is riding a six-game hit streak in which he’s recorded three multi-hit games and notched three RBIs. He’s now hitting .356 with a .973 OPS.
Elsewhere, redshirt freshman Hunter Blalock has seen a recent uptick at the plate as well while playing for the Strasburg Express of the Valley Baseball League. Blalock totaled five hits in 12 plate appearances this week, including a 3-for-4, two-RBI night against the Waynesboro Generals Tuesday.
Overseas, juniors Tanner Allen and Justin Foscue concluded their work with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Sunday as the team fell 6-1 in game five of the USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series in Tokyo.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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