Mississippi State gets defensive, secures sweep over Mount St. Mary's
For the first time since winning the national championship in 2021, Mississippi State has shut out an opponent.
Jurrangelo’s Big Day
In the 6-0 win over Mount St. Mary’s in the latter half of Saturday’s double header, Mississippi State secured its first series sweep of the young 2024 season. The win came off the back of starting pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, who finished with a final stat line of 6.2 IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 4BB and 10 strikeouts.
Cijntje only got better as the game went on, as he threw his 100th pitch 97 mph down the pipe for a called strike three. Once Cijntje stepped off the bag, however, things got stressful.
Cam Schuelke was brought in to get one out, and struggled to do so as he quickly put two runners on base. He managed to escape the inning without any damage, though, and hold on to what was then only a two run lead. Nolan Stevens and Tyson Hardin finished out the matchup in efficient fashion.
Of Cijntje and Khal Stephen’s starts this weekend, head coach Chris Lemonis said that it’s good to finally see the work they and pitching coach Justin Parker put in pay off.
“(It was) great. Especially since two of them were on short rest with Jurrangelo and Nate (Dohm),” said Lemonis. “Not to take anything away from Khal, but being on short rest and coming back (is a lot.) They took the ball for a while. But Jurrangelo, his pitch count is a little different because we get some left handers in there, so we’re trying to keep that right handed up under 100, but the thing about Jurrangelo is that it’s better in the sixth than it is in the first…You’re seeing him really grow right now.”
Mississippi State Offense Coming Alive
Of note offensively, freshman short stop Dylan Cupp may be finding his rhythm on the offensive end. His defense has never been in question, but after a pair of big 2RBI singles this weekend, one in each game, Cupp says he feels like he’s beginning to settle in.
“I just take it one day at a time,” said Cupp of his slump to start the season. “I feel like I started out looking too much at the big picture, you know? So I’ve just gone back to my simple mindset of just going 1-for-1 at the plate every at bat, and that one can be getting a big hit or just doing a job. (I’ve just been) getting in that mindset of going one game at a time and seeing where that goes.”
Wise words from the freshman, and it seems to have spread to the entire team. When asked about what the locker room difference is between winning a series 2-1 vs. sweeping it 3-0, center fielder Connor Hujsak gave some insight on what the vibe of the locker room is right now.
“A sweep is a sweep. It feels great,” said Hujsak. “I mean, the goal of every weekend is to win a series, but when you can sweep, you’ve got to take advantage of it. It’s contagious, and I think it’s going to keep us going, keep us rolling. It’s a good feeling all around.”
Mississippi State will travel to Pearl to play against Southern Miss on Tuesday at 6 p.m. That game will not be streamed as of this moment.
