It took seven innings for the Mississippi State bats to heat up on a cold Wednesday at Dudy Noble Field, but when they did, the Bulldogs had exploded for an 8 run 7th inning, all part of a 14-1 win over Arkansas Pine-Bluff. That’s now eight straight wins for the Diamond Dawgs, who pushed their record to 12-1 overall. True freshman Eric Cerantola drew the start and threw three scoreless innings to get his second win of the young campaign, part of a Bulldog pitching plan that saw six different hurlers on the mound combining to limit the Golden Lions to the one run on five hits.
NO ONE FIGHTS ALONE
ICYMI, MSU is wearing teal uniforms today to honor the late Alex Wilcox and to give awareness to ovarian cancer research. #NoOneFightsAlone https://t.co/ZTxckJLpCP
— SportsTalk Mississippi (@SportsTalkMiss) March 6, 2019
I don’t have a graphic of every uniform Mississippi State baseball has ever worn, but I will go out on a limb and say Wednesday’s contest was the first time that teal was the primary color in the home dugout. The Bulldogs wore those uniforms in remembrance of softball player Alex Wilcox, who passed away last June after a battle with ovarian cancer, and to help raise awareness of the treatment available for the disease. Her motto, No One Fights Alone, has become a rallying cry for her former teammates, and today it was MSU’s baseball team that honored Wilcox and her memory.
FOSCUE IS ON CUE
Drilled that double.#HailState🐶 | @the_fosc pic.twitter.com/DgMnpgrgnS
— Mississippi State Baseball ⚾️ (@HailStateBB) March 6, 2019
Mississippi State’s hottest hitter on the young campaign has been third baseman Justin Foscue, and he continued to wield the bat on Wednesday. Foscue was 4-5 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored, he also drove in a run that was called unearned due to an error in the outfield. Foscue is hitting a robust .397, and leads the Bulldogs with four home runs on the season. He’s also playing a really solid third base so far. Most of the preseason headlines revolved around Jake Mangum and Elijah MacNamee, and while both of those guys are hitting well, it’s been Foscue who’s been the most consistent.
O CERANTOLA
Mid 3 | Cerantola up to four strikeouts through three.#HailState🐶 | State 2, UAPB 0 pic.twitter.com/5e7nr1xcwj
— Mississippi State Baseball ⚾️ (@HailStateBB) March 6, 2019
The cold weather was no problem for Bulldog true freshman Eric Cerantola, who hails from the Great White North of Ontario, Canada. Cerantola certainly has shown the tools that lead one to believe he will be a big part of the Bulldog rotation as he continues to develop. For today, a line of 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 K & 1 BB was more than enough to get his second win of the year. MSU’s pitching had what might be considered by their lofty standards a bit of an off day, as four walks were issued to only eight strikeouts. The Bulldogs have been putting up an average of nearly 6 K/BB per game, but Arkansas-Pine Bluff certainly never threatened in this one.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Final in Lynchburg.
The series finale gets called early due to rain. The Black Bears will head to Mississippi State next for a three-game series against the Bulldogs starting on Friday.#BlackBearNation | #AEBASE pic.twitter.com/JLdonWW2CH
— Maine Baseball (@MaineBaseball) March 3, 2019
Mississippi State will welcome Maine to Dudy Noble Field for a three game set starting Friday at 6:30 PM. This will not be the first meeting on the diamond between the Bulldogs and Black Bears, State notably traveled to Orono for the 1991 Regional. Of course, there is the famous 2004 football game between these two, leading some, including me, to dub this the “Croom’s Revenge Series”. Regardless, State will look to continue their winning ways after a day off.
If you are interested in finding out more about Alex Wilcox and how you can give to ovarian cancer research, check the website https://www.geauxteal.com/.
Photo courtesy of Mississippi State athletics
