Starkville teen Jennifer Jeffries talks about 'American Idol' interview, songwriting
MISSISSIPPI STATE

FAU spoils MSU's opening day in front of record crowd

Michael Bonner
The Clarion-Ledger
Mississippi State pitcher Dakota Hudson recorded a career-high eight strikes on Friday night.

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State began the season with an opening-day record 9,413 fans at Dudy Noble Field. By the bottom of the ninth inning a fraction remained. The Bulldogs didn’t provide much of a reason to stay in a 10-6 loss to Florida Atlantic on Friday.

“It sucks to lose but there’s a lot of things we can take from it,” senior Jacob Robson said. “We’ve been waiting for this day for a really long time.”

Mississippi State totaled 17 hits, more than in any game last year. Dakota Hudson struck out a career-high eight in his first start since 2014. The Bulldogs also played nine true freshmen in the season opener, including Luke Alexander who homered in the eighth inning.

“When you’re a freshman, you go through this experience where it’s so surreal to you, you don’t even know what you’re doing,” MSU coach John Cohen said. “We had to get this out of our system. It hurt us tonight.”

The game got away from the Bulldogs in the seventh when Florida Atlantic (2-0) plated eight runs. MSU used four pitchers including three freshmen during the frame. The three first-year arms — Kale Breaux, Ethan Small and Noah Hughes — allowed two runs during their time on the mound.

Jacob Billingsley, who didn’t pitch in 2015 because of shoulder surgery, also allowed a run without retiring a batter in the seventh.

“These kids have been doing it in intrasquad games but this is totally different. You’ve gotta see if they can do it in a game,” Cohen said. “And it unraveled for them quickly, primarily because we just didn’t throw it in the strike zone.”

Freshmen Jared Padgett and Ryan Cyr closed the game with two scoreless innings.

Mississippi State (0-1) scored four times in the final three innings to chip away at the deficit that grew to as many as eight runs. The tying run stood in the on-deck circle in the bottom of the ninth.

“I think we’ve got a lot of heart,” said Robson, who was one of four Bulldogs with three hits. “We’ve got a lot of determination. We’re not content losing.”

Mississippi State, ranked No. 17, lost the season-opener in 2014 and finished the season one game away from a second-consecutive trip to the Super Regionals. The Bulldogs started last year 13-0 and limped to the finish line losing 18 of 21.

MSU returns to the diamond for a double-header on Saturday. Juniors Austin Sexton and Daniel Brown will get the starts. Cohen wouldn’t say which arm would throw against FAU and North Dakota State.

It’s an opportunity for MSU to emerge from for the second day of the season with a winning record.

“Anybody who watched this game saw that we’re very skilled and a talented team,” Robson said. “It’s just a matter of time before we put it together. In our mind it’s going to be (Saturday).”

Contact Michael Bonner at mbonner@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @MikeBBonner on Twitter.