Mississippi State Beats St. John's 5-2

Mississippi State walks off St John's to get into the winner's bracket. MSU used the long ball to get on the board after second baseman Amani Larry worked a four-pitch walk, and third baseman Logan Kohler followed that up with a two-run home run to give State a lead.

Khal Stephen drew the start for State and was cruising through three innings. However, the Red Storm got a single and a double to put a pair of runners in scoring position.

First baseman Marty Higgins dropped a single into shallow center field to tie the game at two. State has struggled on the offensive end for over a week and continued tonight.

They did not have a runner reach in the fifth or sixth inning and let the Red Storm starting pitcher, Xavier Kolhosser, settle into the game. However, Kohler dropped a one-out double down the right-field line but was left stranded.

Stephen pitched an excellent game. He worked eight innings, allowed two runs, and struck out 10. The game went into extra innings, but Larry was robbed of a walk-off home run in the ninth.

Tyler Davis took over on the mound after Stephen left and pitched a pair of scoreless innings. Designated hitter Aaron Downs reached on an infield single to lead off the tenth inning, and the slumping Dakota Jordan walked it off with a home run to right field.

The Bulldogs take on Virginia tomorrow at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN+.