Small pitches gem as No. 6 Bulldogs hold No. 14 Aggies to single hit, win 4-0

Game #48: No. 6 Mississippi State 4, No. 14 Texas A&M 0
Records: Mississippi State (37-9, 14-8 SEC), Texas A&M (31-16-1, 11-10-1 SEC)
WP: Ethan Small (6-1)
LP: John Doxakis (5-3)
Box Score

The No. 14 A&M baseball team was held to just a single hit on Friday night as the No. 6 Mississippi State Bulldogs handed them a 4-0 loss. After Thursday night’s game got canceled, Ethan Small got the rest that he needed and was able to go toe-to-toe with A&M ace John Doxakis.

Small was as good as advertised and gave the Aggies trouble with his fastball. The SEC’s leading strikeout leader fanned eight and walked just one in seven hitless innings.

“He has a really good fastball that has some life to it – especially when he throws it a little higher – you think it’s in one place when it’s in another,” Shewmake said. “He doesn’t throw his off-speed too much but when he does, they are great pitches.”

Small retired the first 19 batters that he saw before losing command of a pitch and plunking Bryce Blaum. The Aggies had their first man on base in the bottom of the seventh. The defense behind Small was impressive as well as they were able to get Shewmake, the Aggies’ leading hitter, out on a couple of tough plays. Most notably, Jake Mangum made a great grab in left-center field to get Shewmake out on the warning track before crashing into the wall.

“Mangum made an amazing play and that’s what you have to do when you win a game on Friday,” Childress said. “They certainly made all the plays that they needed to make.”

Small was originally slated to face A&M southpaw Asa Lacy, however, the rainout on Thursday night set up a duel between staff aces. Aggie southpaw John Doxakis had an impressive outing, allowing just four hits, three earned runs and striking out four against a potent Bulldog offense that entered the game with six batters hitting over .300 on the season.

“Those are two guys who are going to pitch for an awfully long time – for a lot of years, I certainly appreciate watching those two go at it,” Childress said. “Small has a very good fastball and a lot of poise and competitive spirit.”

After three scoreless innings, the Bulldogs were able to break the game open in the top of the fourth as Justin Foscue hit a sacrifice fly to center field scoring Elijah McNamee, who reached base after he was hit by a pitch. Dustin Skelton then scorched one down the third base line, plating Foscue. The Bulldogs got the bats going again in the eighth and Doxakis was pulled in favor of Bryce Miller.

Conversely, the A&M offense showed little signs of life – striking out eight times and getting just a single hit – a stark contrast from the team that put up 15 runs and 14 hits on Tuesday night. Childress said his message to the team after the game was to bring back the offensive firepower from Tuesday’s game.

“That lineup that we played on Tuesday had 15 runs on 14 hits and that same lineup went out today against a really good arm,” Childress said. “I would like to see that lineup to be the one that shows up tomorrow and we certainly have an opportunity to do that.”

The Aggies will return to action on Saturday afternoon in the first of a doubleheader at Olsen Field. Asa Lacy will take the ball with the first pitch of the first game is slated for 2:00 p.m. It will be televised on SEC Network+.