Cowbell Corner

Mississippi State ends Northeastern's 27-game win streak in NCAA Regional Game

The Bulldogs' starting pitcher decision worked out in their favor and have set up a potential showdown between their own ace pitcher and a top-5 MLB draft pick.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State pitcher Ben Davis helped lead the Bulldogs to a win in Friday's NCAA Regional game against Northeastern.
Mississippi State pitcher Ben Davis helped lead the Bulldogs to a win in Friday's NCAA Regional game against Northeastern. | Mississippi State Athletic

Mississippi State interim coach Justin Parker’s pitching decision may turn out to be a genius decision.

Ben Davis, who had started just three games this season, kept Northeastern at bay in the Bulldogs’ 11-2 win in the first game of the 2025 Tallahassee NCAA Regional on Friday.

Davis held the Huskies to just two runs on five hits, two walks and three strikeouts in five innings of work and the bullpen finished off the last three innings.

Parker’s decision to start Davis gives him several starting pitcher options for Saturday’s second round game against regional-host Florida State.

The Seminoles defeated Bethune-Cookman 6-2 in a weather-delayed game Friday, but didn’t use its best pitcher.

That likely sets up a showdown between Mississippi State’s Pico Kohn (5-3, 4.13 ERA) and Florida State’s Jamie Arnold (7-2, 3.04 ERA), who will hear his name called early in the first round the upcoming MLB Draft.

Northeastern struck first in Friday’s game with a run in the first inning, but Mississippi State took the lead for good in the next half inning.

Joe Powell hit an RBI double for the Bulldogs’ first run and then Gatlin Sanders drove in two more runs with a right field single.

The Huskies answered back in the bottom half of the inning with one, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace with the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs scored four runs in the third inning and added another in the eighth to account for the 8-2 final score.

Mississippi State will face No. 9-national seed Florida State in a second round regional game at 5 p.m. Saturday.

The winner of that game will need just one more win (at 5 p.m. Sunday) to win the regional.

The loser will have to win an 11 a.m. game Sunday against the winner of Bethune-Cookman-Northeastern earlier Saturday.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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