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Sam Frost's numbers will not blow you away. During his two-plus seasons as a Mississippi State baseball player, the junior infielder is hitting .243 with 10 doubles, one triple, no home runs and 21 RBIs. He's played in 102 games with 48 starts, most of those starts coming as a freshman.
So hitting has never been his thing at State. Ever. But against No. 3 Arkansas this past weekend, Frost was red hot, going 5 of 7 with a double and two RBIs. He was 3 of 3 off the bench in Sunday's 8-5, 11-inning loss.
Adam Frazier and Frost both had two-out singles in the ninth inning of that game, and MSU wound up tying it with a rally. On the inning's critical play, Frost beat the late-arriving Arkansas second baseman to the bag on what should have been a routine game-ending force out. Frazier scored on the play.
Frost had a two-run double in the seventh inning of MSU's 11-2 win on Friday. He started Saturday's game at second base and had one of the Bulldogs' three hits in an 8-0 loss.
"He's such an overachiever guy," coach John Cohen said. "How about him beating the force at second when they didn't have a guy covering second base. It's that type of hustle that's keeping us around."
And Frost seems to be seeing the ball better all of a sudden. His big weekend bumped his season average from .158 to .308.
"I've been working real hard, trying to see ball, hit ball, not do too much," he said. "Coach Cohen's given me a couple of opportunities. I'm thankful for it, trying to make the best of it."
Said Cohen, "Yeah, he's swinging it better. He's a little more aggressive in the count. … He's doing what he can do, and another guy who's fighting, fighting, fighting for us, and just appreciate what he brings to the table."
With injuries riddling the lineup, Frost is one of the most experienced hands MSU has available. He's served mostly in a reserve role but can be used at second and third base, and third is a position that's lacked stability ever since Daryl Norris was injured. State has had three different players start there since Norris went down, and Frost played the position off the bench twice this past weekend.
On Saturday, Frost was the only MSU positional starter with more than a year's experience in the program. He understands the need MSU has, with so many freshmen in the lineup, and he's trying to fill the void.
"I know what they're going through," Frost said. "It seems just like yesterday I was a freshman playing and felt like the whole world was weighing on me. I just try to help them out, do what I can, try to give them confidence, because I know what they're going through, and it's not easy."