STARKVILLE — Jackson Fristoe patrolled the mound with ease.
Batter after batter, inning after inning, Fristoe’s path around the bump followed a familiar tune. Stepping off the front, turning to his left, he circled his perch at the center of the Dudy Noble Field infield before receiving a soft toss from third baseman Kamren James.
Eight times Fristoe took the familiar route. Eight times he struck out a Kent State batter en route to a perfect six-inning start — the longest outing for any MSU starter this year.
Partnering with the bullpen trio of Landon Sims, Mikey Tepper and Cameron Tullar, it was Fristoe who shouldered the bulk of the second combined no-hitter in program history and the Bulldogs’ first since 1999 as No. 3 Mississippi State rolled to a 13-0 win and series-clinching victory over Kent State.
“I feel really good about my game right now,” Fristoe said through a postgame grin, “I think each start I kind of learn something new about what I’m doing out there.”
On a weekend in which ace Christian MacLeod and No. 2 starter Eric Cerantola combined to allow seven runs on nine hits, while walking seven in 4.2 innings pitched, Fristoe was surgically efficient in his third start of the year.
Fristoe’s fastball consistently sat in the mid-90s, coupling it with a devilishly tricky slider that clocked in the low 80s. In practice, his dastardly arsenal helped him ring up six of the first nine batters he faced.
Strolling through a seamless first three innings, Kent State nearly got to Fristoe in the fourth if not for a display in outfield gymnastics. Left fielder Drew McGowan sprawled to his left toward a dipping liner off Michael Turner’s bat, leapt headfirst to snatch the tailing ball and kept Fristoe’s gem alive.
One inning later, Mack Timbrook unloaded on a grounder that rode along the infield grass and slammed into the heel of Scotty Dubrule’s mit. The Jacksonville grad transfer then promptly flipped the hard-hit ball to first base to maintain Fristoe’s perfect start.
Firing his 87th pitch of the day past Michael McNamara on a 1-2 count for the final out of the sixth inning, Fristoe skied off the mound and swaggily hopped toward the top step of the dugout where he was greeted by slews of high-fives as the crowd applauded his effort.
“Fristoe shoved from the get-go,” James, who recorded five RBIs in Sunday’s win, said. “From inning one to inning six he was lights out.”
Rated the No. 87 player in the 2020 class according to Perfect Game, Fristoe was a near-lock to be selected in the MLB draft under normal circumstances. But after the draft dropped from its usual 40 rounds to five and, in part, due to a reportedly high asking price, he ended up in Starkville.
In wins over Texas Tech and Tulane, Fristoe was nervy, but offered glimpses that outings like Sunday could follow. After a brief bout with erraticism in his first career start against the Red Raiders, the Kentucky native was dialed in against the Green Wave, notching 47 of his 69 pitches for strikes.
Sunday, Fristoe nary missed. Fifty-six of his 87 pitches found the zone, while not a single Golden Flashes batter reached base under his watch.
“The fun part for me is I feel like every week we see him, he’s getting better,” MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said. “He’s improving. He’s really one of those guys that takes a lot of pride in his daily work and you can see it coming out in his game work all the time.”
With Fristoe carrying the Bulldogs through the early innings, it was a three-pronged relief effort from Sims, Tepper and Tullar and a pair of flashy defensive efforts that kept the no-hitter in play.
Sims, who’d mowed down 20 batters in 7.2 innings pitched this year, managed two more strikeouts to run through the seventh inning. Tepper followed by setting down Kent State in order in the eighth and recorded the first two outs of the ninth.
Sandwiched between Tepper’s entrance and Tullar’s introduction, third-year sophomore Brandon Pimentel offered a brief clinic in first base glovework on Tepper’s second batter of the contest. Snatching a hot-shot chopper down the line, Pimentel nabbed the bouncing ball and stepped on first for the out.
Calling on Tullar for the close, the junior college import walked the first batter he faced. As the Dudy Noble Field crowd rose to its feet, Aidan Longwell flared a ball over shortstop. Sprinting with his back to the ball, freshman Lane Forsythe stepped just under the pop-up to make a Willie Mays-esque basket catch to secure history.
“I thought yesterday was our worst game of the year,” Lemonis conceded, donning a wry smile, “and I thought today was our best.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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