Mississippi State Baseball sweeps Auburn

Mississippi State baseball went into Super Bulldog Weekend in dire need of a series win and, truthfully, a sweep. After last week's debacle in Oxford, the Diamond Dawgs had to get back on track against a struggling Auburn squad. And that's exactly what they did.

The Bulldogs took all three from the Tigers. They won in dominant fashion in Friday night's series opener. Rain forced a double-header to be played on Saturday, and the Bulldogs prevailed in a pair of low-scoring affairs, walking off Auburn in extras to get the sweep.

It was the first SEC sweep for MSU baseball since their 2021 national championship season. The Diamond Dawgs are now 26-14 overall and 10-8 in the SEC.

Khal Stephen brilliant yet again

There have been some frustrating aspects of this State team, but Khal Stephen is not one of them. The transfer has become a certified ace pitcher in the SEC. In 7.0 innings of work Friday night, he stuck out 11 and allowed just one unearned run. Meanwhile State's bats were able to take advantage against a struggling Auburn pitching staff, as the Bulldogs took Game 1 8-1.

Jurrangelo Cijntje gives State what it needed while lineup struggled

In the first game of Sunday's double-header, the Bulldog offense found itself reverting back to its old ways, failing to come through with runners on base. Despite 11 hits, State left 11 runners on base and scored just three runs.

Luckily for the lineup, Jurrangelo Cijntje did just enough to hold the Tigers at bay. Cijntje nearly went the distance in the shortened seven-inning game, limiting Auburn to one run in 6.2 innings of work. Their only run came on a solo-home run, and when he did allow baserunners, he got out of it quickly. Things got a bit tricky in the seventh, but Tyson Hardin closed it out to secure a 3-1 victory and series win.

Kholer and Hardin save the day for Bulldogs

The series finale was another grind. Brooks Auger pitched three scoreless for State before allowing the Tigers to score three runs in the fourth to go ahead 3-1. State's lineup struggled to do much of anything. After scoring the bottom of the second, they went four-straight innings with no runs and just three base-runners.

But in the bottom of the seventh with the game on the line, Logan Kohler stepped up to the plate with two runners on base. He doubled to score both and tie the game and sent it to extras. Kohler was also responsible for State's second inning run. He went 2-3 with three RBI.

Tyson Hardin was masterful as a closer for MSU. In the seventh and eighth, he struck-out five of the six batters he faced and didn't allow a baserunner. He set things up for MSU to walk-off the game in the eighth, which they did. The Bulldogs won 4-3 and got the sweep.