Kevin Milewski Provides the Moment, Bullpen Provides the Win

Friday night at Dudy Noble Field had a little bit of everything.

A walk off homer in the 11th inning, nearly five hours of baseball, rain drifting in and out, and more than thirteen thousand people hanging on every pitch.

Kevin Milewski gave Mississippi State the moment everyone will remember with that two run shot to left. It was loud, it was dramatic, and it was absolutely perfect for Super Bulldog Weekend.

But if we’re being honest, that’s not why Mississippi State won the game.

This one belonged to the bullpen.

On a day when your ace doesn’t look like an ace, you either fold or you find out what the rest of your staff is made of. Mississippi State found out it has a bullpen that can win an SEC game almost by itself. Maddox Miller, Chris Billingsley, Ben Davis, Maddox Webb, and Dane Burns didn’t just keep the Bulldogs in it. They took over the game.

KEVIN!!!!!!! https://t.co/f0EOti97vq pic.twitter.com/2bNzUrSgfw
— Mississippi State Baseball (@HailStateBB) April 25, 2026

“The story for me was what our bullpen did,” Mississippi State coach Brian O’Connor said. “We mixed and matched and used a number of different guys. What they did was outstanding. If any one of those guys, doesn't have it, and lets the game get out of hand, we don't win that ballgame.”

Seven and a third innings. Five hits. One run. That’s it. Against LSU. In a game where every pitch felt like it could swing the whole afternoon.

Valincius didn’t have his best stuff and LSU made him pay early. Three runs in the first, three more in the fourth, and suddenly the Tigers were sitting on a 7-3 lead. On most days, that’s enough to bury you. But the bullpen walked in, shut the door, and refused to let LSU breathe.

Miller steadied things. Billingsley and Davis kept the Tigers from stacking anything together. Webb handled his inning. And Burns, who has quietly become one of the most reliable arms on the roster, tossed a clean 11th and walked off with the win.

That group gave the offense time to chip away. Blake Bevis hit a two run homer in the first. Ace Reese and Noah Sullivan added solo shots. The Bulldogs scratched out three runs in the sixth without a hit. Ryder Woodson tied it in the ninth with a two out single. All of that mattered because the bullpen kept giving them chances.

And then, finally, Chance singled to start the 11th, and Milewski ended the whole thing with one swing.

It’s easy to get swept up in the walk off. It’s the clip that will get replayed all weekend. But the bigger takeaway is that Mississippi State won a game where it had to lean on its depth, its patience, and its bullpen. That’s the kind of win that matters in late April.

Game 2 is tonight at 6:30. If the Bulldogs get anything close to the bullpen performance they got Friday, they’ll take their chances.

Add us as a preferred source on Google