Ryan McPherson delivers a pitch for Mississippi State on Thursday night.
MSU Athletics
It was getting late in Thursday night’s baseball series opener for Mississippi State against Lipscomb and Bulldog fans were getting restless.
Though Ryan McPherson had shut down the Lipscomb offense for six innings, MSU trailed 1-0 and couldn’t find offense. That changed in a big way in the latter innings.
The Bulldogs scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth and built a lead that would sustain as they got back on track with an 8-3 victory.
“We need to work on improving on being better in the first part of the game,” MSU head coach Brian O’Connor said. “The approach wasn’t what it needed to be, but fortunately we found a way and there were some guys that had some really big at bats for us.”
McPherson threw six frames of five-hit, one-run ball and struck out eight batters. He walked the top of the order to start the game and then settled in nicely the rest of the way. The Bisons eventually scratched across a run against him in the sixth with a two-out single and then an RBI double, but his effort gave the Bulldogs a chance to finally adjust and attack at the plate.
It was in that sixth inning where everything clicked for MSU. Drew Wyers led off the inning with a solo home run that sparked five-straight hitters getting on base. Ace Reese doubled behind him followed by Noah Sullivan’s single, and Gehrig Frei had a pinch hit two-run single. After a bunt from Chone James was thrown into the outfield to make it 4-1, Vytas Valincius delivered an RBI single with one out and it was 5-1.
“We trust each other and when we get down, we know that we’re not out of the fight,” Wyers said. “It’s how the game should be played. Ryan McPherson threw his (expletive) off and you want to do it for him as an offense. That was the response in the dugout.”
After Maddox Webb worked out of a bases loaded, no-out jam in the seventh, Wyers did it again with a solo shot to leadoff the bottom of the frame making it 6-1. Lipscomb made Webb pay for getting in trouble a second time around as he gave up a two-run double to cut the lead, but the Bulldogs went back to work at the plate.
Ryder Woodson delivered Mississippi State’s third-straight leadoff home run to left field and Bryce Chance got another run home on an RBI single to make it 8-3.
The Bulldogs had a 12-hit night offensively as they were led by Reese’s 3-for-4 night with his eighth double of the season. Wyers and Woodson delivered their first home runs at MSU and each had two hits. Wyers was 2-for-5 with two RBI on his home runs while Woodson finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Chance also finished with two hits in the game, including a double.
After McPherson on the mound, Webb struggled to nail things down as he gave up five hits and two runs in 1.1 innings while walking a batter and striking out three. Ben Davis got the save as he pitched the final 1.2 innings and gave up two hits without giving up a run or a walk as he struck out two.
The Bulldogs (12-2) had 13 strikeouts to just two walks as they’ve now notched double digit strikeouts in 11 of the 14 games this season. For McPherson, he improved to 3-0 with another strong outing on the mound.
“Ryan did a really great job of figuring out what he needed to do to give his team a chance to win tonight,” O’Connor said. “Tonight was a big step in the development of Ryan McPherson. You’re not going to go out every night and have your best stuff. What your team needs you to do is when you don’t have your best stuff is to grind your way to keep your team in the game and that’s what he did.”
Despite the series moving up to Thursday due to potential weather, the two games to complete the series were still set for Friday and Saturday. Saturday’s game will begin at 6 p.m., weather permitting.