Mississippi State Baseball Drops Series Against LSU in Game 2
The Diamond Dawgs would see some outstanding production from Brandon Smith. Smith pitched a career-high six innings and only allowed 1 on 4 hits for the Bulldogs. At the plate for MSU, RJ Yeager had an excellent performance going 3-4 with a home run. Kamren James would go 2-5, with the only other MSU RBI in the contest. Brayland Skinner would go 1-2 with a single and a stolen base in the contest. In the end, the production at the plate was not enough for the Diamond Dawgs in this battle against the Tigers.
Game 2 for the Mississippi State started rough, as Parker Stinnett would allow a three-run home run to LSU third baseman Jacob Berry in the top of the first inning. After allowing two more Tigers to get on base, Lemonis would bring in Brandon Smith. Smith got the Bulldogs out of the jam to end the LSU half of the first inning. Mississippi State would strike back in the bottom of the first inning as RJ Yeager would go yard on the very first pitch, and Kamren James would eventually cross home plate on a fielding error to make the score 3-2 headed into the second inning.
In the top of the second inning, Smith would pitch around a 2 out double to bring us to the Bulldog half of the second. RJ Yeager would continue his success at the plate with a two-out double, but that would be all for MSU in the bottom of the second.
Behind the plate for the Bulldogs, Logan Tanner would remind everyone why he is one of the top catchers in the nation by throwing out the runner stealing from his knees. Brandon Smith would continue his success on the mound and pitch the Bulldogs out of the top of the third and fourth inning for the Diamond Dawgs.
Kamren James would lead off the inning with a solo home run to tie the ball game 3-3. Mississippi State would have the chance to score more runs in the bottom of the fifth with bases loaded but would leave everyone stranded to end the inning. The Bulldogs would end the game leaving 12 runners stranded and going 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position.
In the top of the sixth inning, Brandon Smith gave up his first run of the game on a solo home run from Jordan Thompson. The Tigers pulled ahead 4-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth. The Diamond Dawgs had opportunities to score runs again in the sixth inning, but MSU would continue to leave runners stranded as we head into the top of the seventh.
The top of the seventh inning would feature a new pitcher for the Bulldogs as Pico Kohn would take the mound for Mississippi State. Through the next two innings, the Bulldogs would struggle at the plate as five MSU hitters would strike out and leave more runners on base. Pico Kohn finished out the ball game allowing no runs on 1 hit and would also end with 7 strikeouts.
This series against LSU was one that the Diamond Dawgs needed to win desperately. The season is far from over, but Mississippi State has some things they have to figure out if they want to be successful from here on out.
Mississippi State will face the LSU Tigers tomorrow in game 3, as the Bulldogs will try to bounce back and avoid the sweep. The first pitch for game 3 is set for 1 p.m. CT.