Mississippi State Baseball Falls 3-2 Against Auburn After Brutal Final Out

Mississippi State picked up a huge SEC series victory against Auburn over the weekend but ultimately dropped Saturday's Game 3 by a score of 3-2 to miss out on the sweep.

Starting pitcher Cade Smith gave up no runs and allowed just four hits while walking four and striking out five in six innings of work. Reliever Jackson Fristoe ultimately gave up all three of the Tigers' runs and earned the loss for his team. Kellum Clark went 2-for-4 at the plate with a home run, an RBI and a run scored. Hunter Hines also had a home run and went 1-for-3 batting with one run scored and one RBI. Brad Cumbest recorded two hits for the Diamond Dawgs. Pico Kohn struck out four batters as a closing pitcher and gave up just two hits and two walks.

The Diamond Dawgs took an early lead in the bottom of the second inning. Hines hit a solo home run to right field to put the first crooked number on the board. Minutes later, Clark had a solo shot of his own to give MSU the 2-0 lead.

Both defenses battled through tough situations for countless innings. When Mississippi State would find a way to put a runner on base, Auburn pitcher Joseph Gonzalez would find a way to escape. The same was true about the Tigers: Smith allowed runners to reach base in three of his final four innings of action but never gave up a run.

Auburn finally broke through in the top of the seventh inning. After recording an out, Fristoe hit a batter and gave up a double that cut Mississippi State's lead to 2-1. He gave up another hit to tie the game at two runs apiece before managing to pick up the final two outs of the frame. MSU had the chance to break the 2-2 score in the bottom of the inning but failed to score with two outs and runners in scoring position.

Fristoe returned to the mound in the eighth inning. Although he struggled, he certainly wasn't helped by the defense. A fielding error by second baseman RJ Yeager allowed the first runner to reach base. Pico Kohn was brought into the game and allowed only Fristoe's runner to score-- even with another error on the Bulldogs' defense. Still, Auburn claimed a 3-2 lead with only two innings left to play.

After a relatively quiet eighth inning for the MSU offense, Kohn allowed two runners to reach base with only one out against them. He rebounded well and managed to put up two more strikeouts to escape the frame and leave the game in the hands of the Diamond Dawgs' batters.

Hines was walked on the first at-bat of the bottom of the ninth inning to put the tying run on base. Pinch-runner Matt Corder entered the game in place of Hines. A perfectly-laid bunt by Aaron Downs pushed him to second base with only one out. Clark went down swinging, but Cumbest wasn't going to give up the final out without a fight. He sent a ball into shallow left field for a base hit, and Corder was given the go-ahead to try to make it home. As Corder slid into home plate, he was tagged out by the catcher thanks to a perfectly thrown ball from the outfield.

Auburn celebrated, but the umpires wanted another look at the play. The umps spent a few minutes watching the replay, and it was very close. In the end, Corder appeared to be a mere inch away from touching home when he was tagged out. The call on the field stood, much to the dismay of fans.

Mississippi State may not have swept Auburn, but the Diamond Dawgs picked up a crucial SEC series victory. The Bulldogs will face Jackson State in a midweek showdown on Tuesday evening before heading to Oxford to take on in-state rival Ole Miss next weekend.