STARKVILLE — After a month of shaky outings, Dakota Hudson — with some help from his friends — got his groove back.

Mississippi State’s ace allowed one run and struck out 11 batters in 8 1/3 innings to lead Mississippi State to an 8-2 win over Missouri in the series opener Thursday at Dudy Noble Field.

Nathaniel Lowe went 5-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs, and Jack Mangum had four hits for the Bulldogs (31-14-1, 13-9 Southeastern Conference), who won for the seventh time in nine games.

“We’ve got to keep doing this. We’ve got to keep playing really focused, because every game counts for a lot,” Mississippi State coach John Cohen said.

Having Hudson, when he’s on his game, counts for a lot too.

The junior right-hander allowed five earned runs in his first seven starts this season, but had struggled since throwing a complete game against Ole Miss on April 1.

In his last four starts, Hudson was 2-2 with a 6.26 ERA. He’d only made it through the seventh inning once after doing it four times in the first seven starts.

Thursday’s game was a return to form.

Hudson gave up four hits, but only one run, in the first three innings and then retired eight batters in a row. He also set down eight in a row from the sixth through ninth innings.

Hudson left after giving up a one-out single to Zach Lavy in the top of the ninth. Blake Smith relieved him and got the last two outs. Hudson wound up allowing seven hits, but no walks. One of the two runs he allowed was unearned.

Lavy went 3-for-4 with two runs scored for Missouri (24-23, 7-15), and shortstop Ryan Howard had two hits.

“I just think he had good sessions with (pitching coach Wes) Johnson. Wes has been telling me the last two weeks that he had good stuff in the bullpen and not as good in the game,” Cohen said. “But the depth on his cutter tonight was really good. It had a different kind of break.”

At the plate, the Bulldogs were powered by the top of their order. The top three hitters — Mangum, Jack Kruger and Lowe — had 11 hits, scored three runs and drove in four.

Lowe hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning and an RBI single in the sixth that gave Mississippi State a 6-1 lead.

“He was going to be around the strike zone,” Cohen said of Missouri starter Reggie McClain, who allowed 15 hits and seven runs in 6 2/3 innings. “We knew he wasn’t going to walk people, so we knew we were going to have to hit line drives and ground balls, and I think we did a pretty good job of it. The first three guys in our order were on base 11 times.”

Brent Rooker also had three hits, including a solo home run leading off the second inning, for Mississippi State. As a team, the Bulldogs totaled 19 hits.

“(Rooker) really got us going tonight with the home run,” Cohen said. “He crushed that ball into the teeth of the wind. Our lineup overall did a really nice job tonight at the plate.”

Mississippi State and Missouri will continue their three-game series Friday at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.