Khal Stephen delivers another gem as Diamond Dawgs take series opener 8-1 over Auburn
While Mississippi State has had its ups and downs on the baseball diamond this year, Khal Stephen has been one constant.
Since giving up five runs in just 2.0 innings against LSU to start SEC play, Stephen has arguably been one of the SEC’s best starters. He proved it again to kickoff Super Bulldog Weekend.
Stephen put together another gem with one unearned run in 7.0 innings and he struck out 11 Auburn batters on the way to another Friday night win, 8-1.
A fifth-straight start with six or more innings pitched and two runs or less surrendered ended emphatically for Stephen. With a 5-1 lead in the seventh inning and the bases loaded, Stephen faced two of the best hitters on the team in Cooper Weiss and Ike Irish and struck them both out.
“I think confidence just kind of rolls week to week. It’s just being able to keep putting weeks together and rolling from there. I definitely feel confident in my game,” Stephen said. “It was a rollercoaster (in the seventh) but the fastball was getting to the top of the zone and being really effective. It was a really cool moment for sure.”
That moment would seal the deal on a Friday night win for the Diamond Dawgs, a fifth in game one of an SEC series in six tries. The lone loss came against Florida when Stephen left the ball game with a healthy 6-2 lead.
Tyler Davis continued the strong pitching performance as he came in with a big lead in the eighth and gave up just two hits, no runs, no walks and struck out four batters.
The Bulldog hitters had some big moments as well. State had 10 hits in the game with Connor Hujsak, Bryce Chance, Logan Kohler and Ethan Pulliam all getting two hits in the win. Chance delivered a home run in the fourth inning that would break a tie and get the Diamond Dawgs a lead they wouldn’t lose.
The freshman Pulliam got his second start in a row at second base and came through with two hits in the game just as he did in his first start. Hujsak drove in two runs and David Mershon, Dakota Jordan and Hunter Hines all had two walks each.
Mershon also stole two bases in the game. Both came in an important fifth inning as State led 2-1. After stealing second, Mershon took off for third and the Auburn catcher threw the ball into left field. That error scored Mershon and Jordan and made it a 4-1 lead for State.
“He’s a special player. He just does it all,” Lemonis said of Mershon. “You can say that’s an error (on the catcher), but it puts the pressure on you. To me, it may have been the play of the game. 2-1 to 4-1, it just gave us a cushion and we seemed to play a lot more relaxed after that.”
Up Next
State (24-14, 8-8 SEC) now tries to seal the series on Saturday with a 5 p.m. first pitch scheduled on SEC Network. That game time is tentative, as is the third game of the series. Rain in the forecast for the next two days means game time is fluid but the Bulldogs will try to have a productive Saturday that includes a spring football game at Davis Wade Stadium at 1 p.m.
The good news for State is the Diamond Dawgs have the upper hand so far. Stephen’s performance has them in the driver’s seat yet again.
“Such a high-level competitor and I keep challenging the rest of the guys to watch and learn. He has really good stuff, but it’s the makeup, it’s the competitiveness. The bigger the moment, the better he gets. Really, really good.”
