Diamond Dawg offense shutdown by No. 11 Vanderbilt in 4-0 Friday loss
Khal Stephen gave up two solo home runs in the first inning but recovered on Friday night to toss another strong game in SEC play.
Unfortunately for Mississippi State, the Diamond Dawg offense was dreadful in what would be a 4-0 Friday loss to No. 11 Vanderbilt. The Commodores and pitcher Bryce Cunningham dominated State’s offense for 9.0 innings.
Cunningham threw 122 pitches against State as he went the distance with just two hits and two walks surrendered to the Bulldog lineup and he struck out four.
Coach Chris Lemonis changed the lineup slightly as he moved struggling leadoff hitter Amani Larry to seventh in the order and Bryce Chance moved up to the top of the order. Both combined to go 0-for-7, but they weren’t the only ones to struggle.
Dakota Jordan and Connor Hujsak provided the only hits with Hujsak getting a double. Hunter Hines walked twice and those would be the only three to reach base.
It was frustrating due to the fact that Stephen gave the Bulldogs a chance in the middle innings. After surrendering two runs in the first inning and another in the second, Stephen would throw five-straight scoreless innings. He finished the game with 7.1 frames, five hits, four runs, one walk and six strikeouts.
It was the sixth-straight game of 6.0 or more innings for Stephen but his four runs surrendered were more than he’s allowed in the last five games combined (3).
State (27-15, 10-9 SEC) now faces two important games the rest of the weekend. The Bulldogs and Commodores meet again on Saturday at 2 p.m. on SEC Network+ with a starting pitcher yet to be announced.
