One Swing Away: Mississippi State Nearly Stuns No. 1 UCLA

Mississippi State had the bases loaded in the ninth against No. 1 UCLA but fell in extra innings after a dramatic battle at Globe Life Field.

UCLA Bruins against Mississippi State Bulldogs during the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Sometimes games present themselves with potentially iconic moments. Like the 2023 World Baseball Classic Championship that saw two of the best players on the planet – Japan’s Shohei Ohtani and USA’s Mike Trout – squaring off on the final out of the championship game.

No. 4 Mississippi State baseball had its moment like that Sunday against No. 1 UCLA.

With the game tied 5-5, the Bulldogs had the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, two outs recorded and the Bulldogs’ best player, Ace Reese, came to the plate with a chance to rock the college baseball world.

A win against the consensus No. 1 team in the nation? Every single hope, goal or expectation of this new-look Mississippi State team would’ve been validated, if not raised.

But sometimes, even the best players come up empty-handed and that’s what happened to Reese. The Bulldogs’ third baseman worked the count to 2-2 before grounding out to second base, ending the inning.

That sent the game into extra innings where UCLA scored one run on Chris Billingsley’s wild pitch and then two-run, bases-clearing triple added two more runs. Those runs became important after Noah Sullivan led off the bottom half of the inning with a double and Reed Stallman hit a home run two pitches later, cutting the deficit to one run.

Mississippi State couldn’t fabricate another run and the Bruins were the ones celebrating a hard fought win at Globe Life Field.

The Bulldogs had the exact situation they could ask for to win the game. But even the best get beat sometimes.

It’s a much different feeling for UCLA, whose superstar, Roch Cholowsky, hit a two-run home run to tie the game in the ninth inning. That had to leave the Bruins’ fans smiling about the potentially future No. 1 overall draft pick.

However, this result shouldn’t dampen any of those previously mentioned hopes, goals or expectations. Frankly, it should raise them.

Mississippi State, with a new coach and plethora of new transfers, just took the No. 1 team in the nation to extra innings and nearly beat them. The Bulldogs showed they can hang with the best of the best because they deserve to be apart of that club.

And, who knows. Maybe Reese will get another opportunity against the Bruins to give the Bulldogs a walk-off win. On a stage much larger than the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series.

Winning/Losing Pitchers

• WP: Easton Hawk (1-1) 2.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HP, 58 TP, 35 ST
• LP: Ben Davis (0-1) 3.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 54 TP, 36 ST

Mississippi State Batting Leaders

• Reed Stallman: 3-3, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2 HR, 1 BB, 1 HBP
• Noah Sullivan: 2-5, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 K
• Andrew Ramond: 2-4, 1 K
• Ryder Woodson: 4-5, 1 RBI, 1 R, 3 2B, 1 K

Next Up

Mississippi State will return to Starkville for a day before traveling to Hattiesburg to face No. 12 Southern Miss on Tuesday. First-pitch is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.