Diamond Dawgs push overall winning streak to nine games, win seventh straight game against Rebels dating back to 2018
STARKVILLE – A Mississippi kid almost single handedly delivered the No. 3 Mississippi State baseball program a seventh straight victory over No. 6 Ole Miss on Friday (April 16) night at Dudy Noble Field.
Second-year freshman Kamren James plated the first three Mississippi State (26-7, 9-4 SEC) runs with an RBI single in the first, solo home run in the fourth and sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. After Rowdey Jordan drove in the fourth run to start the eighth inning, James capped the scoring with his second sacrifice fly of the night. Ole Miss (25-9, 8-5 SEC) got single runs in the third and fourth innings, before State pitchers faced just one batter over the minimum the final five innings.
The win is the ninth straight overall for Mississippi State in 2021 and the seventh straight in SEC play. The seven game conference winning streak is the longest by any SEC team this season and the victory pushed State’s winning streak to seven games against the Rebels. The seven straight wins over Ole Miss is tied for the third long streak in the series history, behind only 14-game (1932-37) and 10-game (1947-50) streaks from MSU.
James was 2-for-2 with one run scored and four RBIs in his first career game against the Rebels. It is the eighth multi-RBI game of the season for the right-handed hitter and his third game of four-or-more RBIs. Junior Tanner Allen chipped in three hits – two for extra bases – and scored a pair of runs, while Rowdey Jordan and Scotty Dubrule chipped one hit and scored one run apiece.
Christian MacLeod worked through five innings and allowed two runs on four hits. The left-hander walked two and struck out five in the no decision. Preston Johnson (1-0) earned his first win in the maroon and white with four strikeouts in two scoreless frames and Landon Sims (4) nailed down the save with two innings of work and three strikeouts.
The three pitchers combined to strike out 12 batters and move the streak to 13 straight games with double-digit punchouts.
For Ole Miss, TJ McCants hit his second home run of the season and Hayden Dunhurst posted the lone multi-hit game for the Rebels. Gunnar Hoglund (3-2) allowed three runs on four hits and struck out nine in the loss. Hoglund didn’t walk a batter and threw 109 pitches.
Quotable
Head coach Chris Lemonis
On Kamren James
CL: I thought he was really good. You’re watching him evolve as a hitter. Not just from the power side but just everything. It’s just understanding what’s happening in the game, staying on pitches with a two-strike fight. He’s just doing a lot of everything. He’s been hot for a couple of weeks now. It’s nice to know when he walks up there you’re going to get a big swing out of him … It’s fun to watch these guys grow as players and develop as players.
On the atmosphere at the game
CL: Having the opportunity to play and coach here, with this fan base and how much they love baseball, [it awesome]. And [our fans are] not just out of control, they are knowledgeable. Our fans know what’s going on. They know everything. They’re in at the right moments. Those maroon and white chants for a freshman pitcher out there trying to get us out in the eighth [inning], it just makes it hard. It just makes it fun for us. Even in batting practice, when you’re sitting out there and the gates open, you see all the fans and students load into the berms. It’s just the excitement that our fan base has. It makes it better for our players. We’re very fortunate to have a fan base like ours.
Scoring Recap
Bottom First
Tanner Allen doubled to start off the inning and scored on a Kamren James single to left field.
Mississippi State 1, Ole Miss 0
Top Third
Cael Baker singled before advancing on a walk by Jacob Gonzalez. Peyton Chatagnier single and Baker was able to score on a fielding error on the play.
Mississippi State 1, Ole Miss 1
Top Fourth
TJ McCants hit a solo home run to right field.
Ole Miss 2, Mississippi State 1
Bottom Fourth
James tied the game with a solo home run – his eighth of the season – to left field.
Mississippi State 2, Ole Miss 2
Bottom Sixth
Allen tripled into the gap in left center field before scoring on James’ sacrifice fly.
Mississippi State 3, Ole Miss 2
Bottom Eighth
Scotty Dubrule doubled down the left field line and scored on a Rowdey Jordan single. Jordan advanced to third on Allen’s base hit and scored on James’ second sacrifice fly of the night.
Mississippi State 5, Ole Miss 2
Up Next
Mississippi State will return to Dudy Noble Field to take on Ole Miss at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 17 for the second game of the series during Super Bulldog Weekend.