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Cowbell Corner

Mississippi State Wastes Dream Start In Series-Ending Loss To Texas

Texas erased Mississippi State’s 5-0 lead with a nine-run third inning, sending the Bulldogs home from Austin with a missed opportunity.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State pitcher Charlie Foster lasted just two innings and gave up four runs in a series finale loss to Texas.
Mississippi State pitcher Charlie Foster lasted just two innings and gave up four runs in a series finale loss to Texas. | Mississippi State Athletics

Sunday’s series finale in Austin got off to the best possible start No. 10 Mississippi State could ask for.

Five runs scored in the top of the first inning, followed by a three up, three down bottom half? That’s about as close to perfect you could ask for.

The whole thing flipped in one inning, a third‑inning collapse that turned a 5-0 Mississippi State lead into an 11-6 loss and left the Bulldogs walking off wondering how a game that started so clean went sideways so fast.

Sunday had all the makings of a comfortable afternoon and fun ride home.

Bryce Chance’s grand slam capped a five‑run first, and Texas starter Luke Harrison looked rattled enough that Mississippi State seemed poised to keep adding on.

But once the bottom of the third arrived, nothing about the game resembled the first two innings.

Mississippi State starter Charlie Foster walked the first three hitters, hit another and watched Texas roll a single into right field that scored two runs.

That forced Bulldgos’ coach Brian O’Connor into a pitching change and things didn’t get any better.

Thirteen Longhorns came to the plate. Nine scored. Only one extra‑base hit landed in the entire inning. It was a pileup of free passes, long counts, and slow bleeders that erased every bit of early momentum.

“The inning got out of hand and just couldn't stop it,” O’Connor said after the game. “Sometimes when that happens and there's no outs, you can't try to pitch out of it, you just focus on the guy in front of you and limit the damage. We didn't too that. There were too many free passes today throughout the whole day from a pitching standpoint. That said, they pitched us into some opportunities late in the game. We just couldn't get the big hit.”

Mississippi State never regained that momentum.

Texas tacked on runs in the fourth and seventh inning, while the Bulldogs managed just one more run the rest of the game, an RBI groundout by Vytas Valincius.

A promising start ended in disappointment and offered a reminder that what happens in the first inning doesn’t decide an entire game.

Pitching Decisions

  • WP: Luke Harrison (5-2), 5 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 9 K, 102 TP
  • LP: Jack Gleason (3-1), 4 Batters Faced, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 15 TP

Mississippi State Batting Leaders

  • Jacob Parker: 2-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 3B
  • Bryce Chance: 2-2, 1 R, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 BB
  • Vytas Valincius: 0-2, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB

Next Up

Mississippi State will return to Starkville thinking about the huge victory it missed out on and stay there for the week. The Bulldogs will host Nicholls in the Tuesday midweek game before hosting No. 8 Auburn in a three-game series starting Thursday.

First-pitch Tuesday against Nicholls is set for 6 p.m. on SECN+.

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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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