The Bullpen Rose Up for Mississippi State Baseball in 4-3 Win Over Missouri

The Bulldog bullpen came up big when they needed it most.

Tyson Hardin / Mississippi State Athletics

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The bullpen came up big in game one of Mississippi State baseball's tense series against Missouri. This series is a trap for State, as they are playing for a host site while Missouri, which has been eliminated from the SEC tournament, has nothing to lose. 

Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis understands the stakes and went all in for this game rightfully. 

Khal Stephen drew the start for the Bulldogs, and he was solid. The Purdue transfer worked six innings, allowed three runs on a trio of solo home runs, and got eight strikeouts. 

The Bulldog offense was sluggish on this rare Thursday night game, but they got a few big hits. Senior second baseman Amani Larry started the scoring with a solo home run, and junior left fielder Bryce Chance had a solo home run of his own and smoked a one-out triple off the left field wall. 

Shortstop David Mershon drove home Chance with an RBI groundout. The red-hot catcher Joe Powell hit a shallow pop-up, but the Tigers could not make a play, and the ball fell, and Larry scored to give MSU the lead. 

State led 4-3 as their ace exited the mound, and this situation has not always been kind to State. Tyson Hardin took over in the seventh for the Bulldogs, but the righty was not sharp. 

"Tyson (Hardin) was good not great…. I give him credit for competing because he could not find it at first," Lemonis said. 

However, he powered through and tossed two scoreless innings for State. After his final strikeout the Florida native was full of emotions leaving the mound. 

"Adrenaline can be good or bad… gotta find a happy medium and use it as a good thing," Hardin said. 

Tyler Davis would take the ball in the ninth to close the game, and the lefty was dominant. The VCU transfer quickly struck out the first two batters before giving up a two-out single. It did not matter as Davis bore down to get a strikeout to end it.

"I thought TD (Tyler Davis) was great," Lemonis said. 

The coaching staff is proactive trying to avoid overusing arms, and Davis especially. Lemonis spoke on his availability the rest of the weekend. 

"Oh yeah, (he is available) maybe tomorrow," Lemonis said. 

The bullpen has been an issue all season for State, but tonight, it was the hero as their two best arms performed to their abilities. 

"I think our bullpen is elite, and we all know that down there," Hardin said. 

The Bulldogs will go for the series win tomorrow at 3 p.m. CT.