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Mississippi State Survives Against UIC to Keep Their Season Alive

By Andrew Miller

Feb 14, 2017; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; a general view of a baseball bat and glove on the field during New York Mets spring training workouts at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 14, 2017; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; a general view of a baseball bat and glove on the field during New York Mets spring training workouts at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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Despite a late surge by UIC, the Mississippi State Bulldogs kept their hopes of advancing deeper into the postseason alive with a 5-4 victory in the Hattiesburg Regional.

The Mississippi State baseball team defeated the University of Illinois-Chicago 5-4 in an elimination game this afternoon in Hattiesburg.  Mississippi State lead 5-1 heading into the bottom of the 8th, but a late surge by the Flames made things interesting.

MSU ace Konnor Pilkington pitched well for most of the game, allowing just 1 run through 7 innings with 9 Ks, but a shaky 8th inning (3 runs allowed) ended his day.  Closer Spencer Price came in early in the 8th to try and finish things off, but Head Coach Andy Cannizaro ultimately turned to reliever Riley Self to secure the Bulldogs’ victory.  Self got out of a jam in the 8th to keep MSU in the lead, and while he did load the bases in the 9th, he managed to keep UIC from reaching home.

On offense, the Bulldogs finally got back into stride, recording 14 hits.  Brent Rooker continued his record-breaking season.  While he “only” went 2-5, a 4th inning double gave him his 30th on the season.  With that hit, Rooker became the first player in SEC history with at least 20 HRs, 30 2Bs, and 75 RBI.

Elijah MacNamee put together a strong performance going 2-4 with 2 RBI.  His last hit, a 5th inning double, gave MSU their 5th and final run of the game, which proved to be the game-winner.

It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but with the season on the line, Cannizaro’s Bulldog’s got the job done.

State will await the results of this afternoon’s game between Southern Miss and South Alabama to see who they’ll face in tonight’s elimination game (set for 6:00 pm CT).

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