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Cowbell Corner

Mississippi State Finds Life Again Behind Ace, Power Surge

Mississippi State ended its SEC skid with a 5-3 win at South Carolina behind Tomas Valincius’ 11 strikeouts and a four-homer night at the plate.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State Pitcher Tomas Valincius (#4) during the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Dudy Noble Field at Polk-Dement Stadium in Starkville, MS.
Mississippi State Pitcher Tomas Valincius (#4) during the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Dudy Noble Field at Polk-Dement Stadium in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

If Mississippi State needed a reset button, Friday night in Columbia wasn’t a bad place to find it.

A six‑game SEC losing streak is finally in the rearview, and the Bulldogs didn’t overthink how to get there.

They hit the ball out of the park, they let Tomas Valincius be Tomas Valincius, and they walked out with a 5-3 win that felt more stabilizing than dramatic.

The bigger takeaway is that nothing about Mississippi State’s formula is complicated.

 When Valincius pitches like one of the best arms in the country, and he keeps giving you every reason to call him that, the Bulldogs usually look like a team without a ceiling.

Eleven strikeouts, one bad swing allowed, and a whole lot of poise after South Carolina’s three‑run fifth. It’s become routine, which is probably the strongest compliment you can give a college starter in April.

The offense finding some explosiveness doesn’t hurt either.

Four home runs and 12 hits is more than enough when your ace is in control.

More importantly, it looked like a lineup that wasn’t pressing. They built a lead, answered when South Carolina made it interesting, and didn’t let the game drift into the kind of late‑inning mess that’s burned them during this skid.

So what does it mean? Maybe not everything, but certainly something.

Mississippi State needed to stop the bleeding, and it did.

The Bulldogs needed Valincius to keep looking like a national‑level arm, and he did. They needed the bats to show signs of life on the road, and they did.

Now the question becomes whether this is a one‑night correction or the start of a return to the form that saw the Bulldogs ranked as high as No. 4 overall.

Saturday gives them a chance to prove it wasn’t just a well‑timed exhale. Duke Stone gets the ball, the offense has a little confidence back, and Mississippi State finally has a foothold again in the SEC race.

Pitching Decision

  • WP: Tomas Valincius (7-1), 6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO, 102 TP
  • LP: Brandon Stone (4-2), 5.2 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 SO, 2 HBP, 73 TP
  • S: Ben Davis (5), 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 33 TP

Mississippi State Batting Leaders

  • Ace Reese: 1-5, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 HR
  • Noah Sullivan: 2-5, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 3 K
  • Reed Stallman: 1-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 K
  • Gehrig Frei: 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR
  • Jacob Parker: 3-5, 1 K
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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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