Mississippi State Baseball Falls to LSU 9-8
STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State Bulldogs drop game two of their series against LSU 9-8. It was a valiant effort by MSU as they fell behind 9-1 in the third inning.
Khal Stephen drew the start and it did not go well as the Purdue transfer allowed five runs in only two innings of work. Karson Ligon had another good performance as he threw 3.1 innings of scoreless of baseball.
Bryce Chance had a big day, racking up a couple of hits and driving in four runs. It was a valiant comeback, but it came up a little short.
The rubber match is tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
Here is how it happened
Bottom of the 9th
LSU will bring in Nate Ackenhausen.
Kohler grounds out to the first baseman, one down.
Chance flies out to right field, two down.
Long grounds out to first base to end it.
LSU wins 9-8.
Top of the 9th
Hardin issues a leadoff walk.
Milazzo lays down a bunt. Runner on second with one out.
MSU will bring in Cam Schuelke.
Schuelke makes an excellent play to foil the bunt attempt, two down.
White will be sent to first base. Runners on the corners with two outs.
MSU will bring in Luke Dotson.
Dotson gets a strikeout looking, and the crowd erupts.
Bottom of the 8th
Jordan works a leadoff walk. Hines is up, and he does well in these spots.
Hines flies out to right field, one down.
Hujsak singles into left field. Runners at first and second with one out.
LSU will bring in Christian Little.
Downs grounds it to White, who makes a good play to turn the double play.
LSU leads 9-8.
Top of the 8th
Johnny Long will take over behind the plate.
Mershon makes a nice play to record the first out.
Mershon makes a nice stop but cannot make the throw. Runner on first with one out.
Hardin gets a strikeout, but the runner will reach via a wild pitch. Runners on the corners with one out.
MSU gets a 6-4-3 double play to end the Tiger threat. This crowd is electric.
Bottom of the 7th
Downs strikes out looking, one down.
Kohler grounds out to second base on the first pitch, two down.
Chance lines a two-out single up the middle.
LSU will bring in Fidel Ulloa.
Nolan Stevens will pinch-hit for Powell.
Stevens singles up the middle. The kid can do it all. Runners on the corners with two outs.
Kade Anderson will be the new arm for LSU.
Larry singles to drive in a run. Runners on the corners with two outs.
Mershon doubles down the first base line and drives in a run, but Larry is thrown out at home to end the inning.
LSU leads 9-8.
Top of the 7th
MSU will bring in Tyson Hardin.
Leadoff single for LSU.
Hardin gets a strikeout, one down.
Hines makes the grab in foul territory for the second out.
Hardin issues a two-out walk, and now he has to face White.
MSU will walk White to load the bases.
Hardin gets a strikeout looking for the third out.
Bottom of the 6th
Jordan strikes out, one down.
Hines grounds it softly right to the first baseman, two down.
Hujsak strikes out to end the inning.
LSU leads 9-6.
Top of the 6th
Jones lines a leadoff single to left field.
Ligon gets a strikeout, one down.
Hines catches a line drive and steps on the bag to double up the runner.
Bottom of the 5th
Hines reaches on an error by the first baseman.
Hujsak flies out to deep center field, one down.
Downs draws a walk. Runners on first and second with one out.
LSU will bring in Griffin Herring.
Kohler drops an RBI double into center field. Runners on second and third with one out.
Chance flies out to center field, and Downs will score.
Powell works a walk. Larry is up for MSU, and he represents the tying run.
Larry walks to load the bases.
Mershon flies out to right field to end the inning. A big missed opportunity for MSU.
Top of the 5th
Ligon issues a leadoff walk.
Ligon gets a strikeout, one down.
Another strikeout, two down.
Downs makes the grab in left field for the third out.
Bottom of the 4th
Hujsak is hit by the pitch to lead off the inning.
White makes a nice play at third base to get the force out.
Kohler splits the gap in left field for a double. Runners on second and third with one out.
Chance lines a three-run home run to left field.
Powell lines a single up the middle.
Larry is hit by the pitch. Bulldogs trying to rally.
Mershon strikes out looking, two down.
LSU will bring in Will Helmers.
Helmers throw a pickoff attempt into center field, and both runners advance.
Jordan grounds out to third base to end the inning.
LSU leads 9-4.
Top of the 4th
Downs has it in left field for the first out.
Ligon issues a one-out walk.
Larry gets the force out at second, two down.
Ligon issues a two-out walk. Runners on first and second with two outs.
Milam will reach on an infield single, but Hines makes the throw to get the runner at home.
Bottom of the 3rd
Larry works a leadoff walk.
Mershon grounds out the shortstop for the first out. Runner on second with one out.
Jordan grounds out to third base, two down.
Larry advances to third on a passed ball.
Hines strikes out to end the inning.
LSU leads 9-1.
Top of the 3rd
MSU will bring in Gavin Black.
Black issues a leadoff walk. Tight zone today.
Travinski nails a two-run home run.
Jordan makes the grab in right field, one down.
Mershon makes a nice leaping grab for the second out.
Black issues a two-out walk.
Another walk for Black. Runners on first and second with two outs.
Black bounces a 3-2 pitch to the plate to load the bases.
White lines it into right field to drive in two more runs.
MSU will bring in Karson Ligon.
Ligon gets a groundout to Larry to end the inning.
Bottom of the 2nd
Hujsak works a leadoff walk.
Downs grounds a single up the middle. Runners on the corners with no outs.
Kohler flies out to center field. Neither runner advances.
Hujsak scores on a wild pitch.
Chance lines out to right field, two down.
Powell strikes out to end the inning.
LSU leads 5-1.
Top of the 2nd
Larry catches a line drive for the first out.
Milazzo lines a single into right field.
Tigers get their third home run and add a pair of runs.
White lines out to deep center field, two down.
Downs makes the catch in left field for the third out.
Bottom of the 1st
Larry grounds out to the second baseman for the first out.
Mershon flies out to centerfield on the first pitch, two down.
Jordan works a two-out walk.
Hines flies out to shallow right field to end the inning.
LSU leads 3-0.
Top of the 1st
The first pitch from Stephenlow for ball one. There is a great crowd today at Dudy Noble.
Hines catches a chopper and steps on the bag for the first out.
The second home run of the weekend for White gives LSU the lead.
Stephen issues a one-out walk.
Another home run for the Tigers this time, it scores two. Rough start for Stephen.
Kohler makes the long throw across, two down.
Pearson lines a two-out single up the middle.
Stephen gets a strikeout to end the inning.
Starting Lineups
What: Mississippi State Bulldogs (14-5) (1-0) LSU Tigers (16-3) (0-1)
When: Friday (6 p.m. CT), Saturday (4 p.m.), and Sunday (1 p.m.)
Where: Dudy Noble Field, Starkville, Mississippi
TV: SEC Network+ (Friday and Sunday) SEC Network (Saturday)
Series: Mississippi State holds a 217-193-1 advantage over the Tigers. The first matchup came on April 11th, 1907.
Last Meeting: MSU shocked the Tigers a season ago by taking two out of three. The Bulldogs clinched the series in a wild 14-13 win. MSU scored ten unanswered runs.
Last time out, Tigers: LSU won their previous matchup 7-0 over North Dakota State. The Tigers threw six different arms and ended the game with 13 strikeouts.
Last time out, Bulldogs: Mississippi State won their previous matchup 2-1 over New Orleans. The Bulldog offense struggled in this game, but a walk-off hit in the 11th by Aaron Downs was enough to win.
Mississippi State Rotation:
Evan Siary
Khal Stephen
Jurrangelo Cijntje
LSU Rotation:
Luke Holman
Gage Jump
Thatcher Hurd
