No. 2 LSU Drops Game 2 to Mississippi State, 9-4

Mississippi State used a six-run eighth inning on the strength of two homers and an RBI single to propel the Bulldogs to a 9-4 victory over the second-ranked Tigers Saturday night inside Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

The Bulldogs improved to 25-24 on the season and 7-19 in conference play, while LSU dropped to 39-11 on the year and 17-8 in SEC action.

The series finale of the LSU-Mississipi State three-game set is scheduled for a 1 p.m. CT first Sunday at “The Box.” The contest can be streamed on SEC Network+, and it can be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates.

Bulldog reliever KC Hunt (2-2) earned the win after tossing 2.0 scoreless innings and allowing two hits on two punchouts. Tiger right-hander Thatcher Hurd (3-2) was charged with the loss after statistically throwing no innings and allowing five runs on three hits.

To open the scoring on the night, LSU shortstop Jordan Thompson drew a bases-loaded walk to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. LSU got into this position following a double from third baseman Tommy White and two straight walks from designated hitter Cade Beloso and right fielder Brayden Jobert.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, LSU catcher Hayden Travinkski launched his fifth homer of the season – a solo shot – to make the score 2-0.

The Bulldogs scratched their first run across in the top of the fifth with an RBI double off the left-field wall from shortstop David Mershon. Mississippi State knotted the ballgame at two in the seventh after catcher Luke Hancock hit a homer to right field.

White, who had a stellar performance at the plate, went 4-for-5 and drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh inning. With the bases loaded after three straight free passes, White delivered the big hit of the frame to make the score 3-2. Beloso grounded into a double play with no outs but was able to score Morgan from third to increase the LSU lead to 4-2.

Mississippi State added to its lead down the stretch with seven runs in the eighth and ninth innings to make the score 9-4.