LATEST NEWS: Dohm leads Bulldogs past Georgia Southern in the first game of the series.

In a 5-1 victory over Georgia Southern, Nate Dohm gave Mississippi State the best start of his Bulldog career.

Mississippi State needed to get off to a strong start going into their series opener against Georgia Southern on Friday evening. It was expected that the Bulldog bullpen would be a little thin after playing five games in six days. In an effort to give State a chance to win and give the relief staff a break, starter Nate Dohm gave it his all.

Only one base runner was allowed by Dohm to the Eagles in his first three innings of work. That lone safety came on an infield single with two outs. Put simply, Georgia Southern had no response for Dohm the first time around.

After two outs, the Eagles produced back-to-back singles in the top of the fourth inning, causing the former Ball State transfer to face his first challenge of the game. In response, Dohm grounded out to third base to record the third out of the inning. On his way to the dugout, the State pitcher pumped his fist as the Dudy Noble crowd rose in appreciation of Dohm’s efforts.
With Dohm in relief for the remainder of the game, that mini-rally in the middle of the inning was the last opportunity for Georgia Southern to mount a serious scoring threat. Throughout the remainder of the game, the hard-throwing right-hander gave up just two more base runners: a walk in the fifth inning and a single in the seventh. On Dohm’s final pitch, a 6-4-3 double play erased the last Georgia Southern hitter to reach base against him.

The home crowd cheered Dohm as he left the mound and made his way to his teammates, who streamed out of the dugout to welcome him, while the pitching change was made. In a stadium full of memorable moments, it was an electrifying one.

“I think tonight came from the work I put in this week with Coach (Justin) Parker,” Dohm said. “The emphasis of having a little bit better direction toward the plate, some results were shown tonight. I think just building off of that, keep learning and getting better everyday, it just going to keep coming.”

In the seventh inning, with two down, Dohm left the game. Dohm gave up no runs on four hits during his outing, walked one, and struck out ten. Dohm still wanted the baseball, even though it seemed like he was starting to fade a little after tossing 93 pitches.

“Right now, it’s really difficult,” Dohm said. You then notice that my pitch count was higher. It occurs sooner in the year. I handed it off to the next man and allowed him to finish it. We have total faith in every player that enters the game, in my opinion. Though you know the guys coming in will do an equally good job, you still want to stay.”

After his debut against Air Force last week, Dohm believed he only had complete control over his fastball. Dohm looked to be using a four-pitch mix against Georgia Southern on Friday. Dohm was able to keep hitters off balance in the early going by spot-up his change-up and landing the breaking ball for a strike.

“The ability to use the fastball doesn’t just come from having a good fastball,” Dohm said. “The ability to use the off speed to kind of deflect their approach and deflect what they believe is coming is what makes it possible. In a way, that opens up the fastball. I believe I had some problems there last week, simply not being able to get the off speed where I

The material was undoubtedly present. After Dohm left the game, Georgia Southern scored on a solo shot, but State scored a few runs in the last seconds to win 5-1.

Today, Mississippi State will try to win the series. To try to win another weekend series, the Bulldogs will send RHP Khal Stephen to the mound. The first pitch is at 2:00 PM. Both the ESPN App and the regular Bulldog Baseball radio affiliates will be airing the game.