Maroon and White Nation
Fansided

Mississippi State Baseball picks-up third-straight series win

After taking two from Alabama, Mississippi State baseball is keeping up the momentum towards the postseason.

By Andrew Miller

Mississippi State breaks in the new Dudy Noble Field with a three-game series against Youngstown
Mississippi State breaks in the new Dudy Noble Field with a three-game series against Youngstown / Keith Warren
facebooktwitterreddit

Mississippi State baseball won its third-straight SEC series this weekend, taking two out of three from the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Diamond Dawgs won their Friday and Saturday matchups in commanding fashion before dropping the series finale on Sunday. State is now 32-16 on the season with a 14-10 record in conference play.

State run-rules Tide on Friday night

Mississippi State put together one of their best performances on the season in their series-opener with Alabama. The Diamond Dawgs run-ruled the Tide 13-3 in seven innings. Hunter Hines stayed hot with a 3-run shot in the 1st to open things up. He'd add another bomb two innings later.

State continued to pile things on. An Amani Larry grand slam in the 4th put them up 12-0. The Tide would respond with three runs in the 5th, but MSU added the final run needed to earn the run rule victory in the 6th-inning.

Jurrangelo Cijntje was brilliant on Saturday

Jurrangelo Cijntje continued his strong season on Saturday. The ambidextrous pitcher stuck out eight batters in seven-innings of work, allowing just one run and no walks. And he had plenty of run support from his teammates, as well.

Logan Kholer had a big day for the lineup, going 3-4 with a home run and two RBI. David Mershon hit a two-run homer, and Bryce Chance also added two RBI. State's bats were effective throughout the game, and the Diamond Dawgs walked away with an 8-1 win to clinch the series.

State can't get the sweep on Sunday

MSU did what it had to by picking-up a series win over the weekend, but despite entering Sunday with a prime opportunity at a sweep, they faltered. Alabama won the series finale easily, 10-5. A hit by pitch and walk came back to bite starting pitcher Brooks Auger, as a fielder's choice and three-run home run would plate four for the Tide in the 2nd. Bama would eventually build out an 8-1 lead after six innings.

Despite good performances on Friday and Saturday, State's bats, beyond Logan Kholer and Connor Hujsak, went cold yet again. They managed to add runs in the 7th and 8th, but it was not enough with Bama's own lineup having their way.

MSU still has a clear path to hosting

Despite a frustrating Sunday performance, Mississippi State baseball stayed on the path to earning a host spot by winning the series over Alabama. The Diamond Dawgs are now hovering around the top-20 of the RPI after this weekend.

If they can manage to win just one game in Fayetteville against Arkansas next weekend and then pull-off a home sweep over a struggling Missouri squad, they likely will have done enough to host a regional in Starkville.

Home/Mississippi State Baseball