present arms

Presented with an opportunity to strut his considerable stuff on a grand stage, Mississippi State’s Dakota Hudson answered the call on Friday night. Facing nationally ranked UCLA in the Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic, the junior right-hander yielded five hits and two runs with six strikeouts over seven innings. He took the loss, however, as State fell to the Bruins 2-1 when a ninth-inning rally came up short. Hudson entered the game at 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 11 innings over two starts. Coming off a standout summer in the Cape Cod League, the 6-foot-5 Tennessee native is generally considered the top draft prospect in Mississippi this year. There are bigger games ahead for Hudson this season, but this one may stay near the top. The State team (7-3) should come away from this weekend in California – its first games away from Starkville — knowing a little more about its strengths and weaknesses. The Bulldogs, ranked as high as 17th in the polls, play Southern Cal today and Oklahoma on Sunday. … Also taking their show on the road this weekend are Southern Miss and Ole Miss, and pitchers took center stage for them on Friday, too. In the Cox Diamond Invitational at Pensacola, Fla., USM’s Cord Cockrell blanked Michigan State over seven innings in a 2-0 win. Cockrell (2-0) yielded four hits, no walks and fanned eight. In the Chanticleer Classic in Conway, S.C., UM ace Brady Bramlett moved to 3-0 by beating Ball State 7-3. In six innings of work, Bramlett allowed four hits, one walk and two runs with five K’s.