How Mississippi State beat Ole Miss with pinch-hitter who hadn't batted in 2 weeks
· Yahoo Sports
OXFORD — The situation was playing out perfectly for the idea Mississippi State baseball coach Brian O'Connor had in the back of his mind.
The No. 4 Bulldogs had just tied the No. 18 Rebels at Swayze Field in the ninth inning after Jacob Parker's RBI groundout. With left-handed Walker Hooks pitching for Ole Miss, O'Connor, coaching in his first MSU-Ole Miss rivalry, knew it was time pinch-hit utilityman Chone James.
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"If you look at his splits against left-handed pitching versus right-handed pitching, it's really, really great," O'Connor said. "I had the fortune to coach him last year at Virginia and it was the same way. He dominated left-handed pitching."
With one out, a runner at third base and two strikes, James dropped a hit into right field to score Bryce Chance as the go-ahead run. Ole Miss right fielder Tristan Bissetta slipped, and the ball rolled all the way to the fence for a triple.
MSU (22-4, 5-2 SEC) defeated Ole Miss, 5-4, on March 27 after trailing by one run entering the ninth inning. Game 2 against the Rebels (19-7, 3-4) at Swayze Field is March 28 (1:30 p.m., SEC Network+).
It was James' first at-bat since March 14 against Arkansas.
CHONE JAMES THREE-BAGGER. DAWGS BACK IN FRONT. pic.twitter.com/QapztofVGk
— Mississippi State Baseball (@HailStateBB) March 28, 2026
"Just kind of keep going every day as it is," said James, a sophomore who transferred from Virginia. "You never know when your moment's going to get called. Just staying prepared mentally on the bench so whenever you get those moments, you're ready."
James' righty/lefty split was drastic last season at Virginia. It has carried over this season, but more evenly.
In 2025, James, a right-handed hitter, batted .485 against lefties and .265 against righties. This season, he's batting .444 against lefties and .357 against righties.
James pinch-hit against Ole Miss for catcher Kevin Milewski, who's batting just .090 against lefties and .240 against righties.
Charlie Foster pitched his best game for Mississippi State
With Ryan McPherson out with an injury, Mississippi State turned to Charlie Foster as the starting pitcher. Foster was a starter to begin the season but moved to the bullpen after he struggled. It was his first start since he allowed two runs in 2⅓ innings against Tulane on March 10.
The sophomore pitched one of his best games ever at MSU, allowing just one run in 4⅔ innings with two hits and no walks. It was the longest outing of his career. Ole Miss' only run off him came from a Judd Utermark solo home run in the fourth inning.
Foster's first nine pitches of the game were all strikes.
"Really just the mentality," Foster (0-0, 4.24 ERA) said of what he's worked on improving with pitching coach Justin Parker. "That was the biggest thing for me, just being confident in all my stuff and just trusting it."
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State beats Ole Miss with pinch-hitter Chone James