Mississippi State Baseball defeats Southern Miss 5-4

Mississippi State baseball gets their sixth straight win.

STARKVILLE, Miss – The Mississippi State Bulldogs get their sixth straight win with a 5-4 win over in-state foe Southern Miss. It was not a good start for MSU as they fell behind 4-0 early to the Golden Eagles, but the Bulldog bullpen pitched a shutout for the rest of the game. 

Dakota Jordan hit an impressive opposite-field home run in the top of the seventh, which proved to be the difference. This was a nice win for MSU and came against their stiffest competition yet. 

Mississippi State has quietly built some momentum after a slow start to the season. The Bulldogs will be back in action Friday at 6 p.m. CT against Evansville on SEC Network+.

Here is how it happened

Bottom of the 9th

Brooks Auger will come in for MSU.

Chance makes the play in shallow left field for the first out.

Auger lands a breaking ball in the zone for a strikeout looking, two down.

Cupp fields it cleanly, and Hines makes a good play at first to end the game.

MSU wins 5-4.

Top of the 9th

Cupp grounds out to his fellow shortstop for the first out.

Larry grounds out to the third baseman on the first pitch, two down.

Mershon flies out to medium centerfield to end the inning.

Bottom of the 8th

Chance makes another nice grab in left field, one down.

Davis gets a strikeout looking on a well-spotted fastball.

Hujsak makes the grab in deep centerfield to end the inning.

MSU leads 5-4.

Top of the 8th

Chance grounds a leadoff double down the first baseline.

Kohler strikes out swinging for the first out, and his bat goes flying.

Chance will steal third base.

Hujsak strikes out swinging. Bad at-bat there.

Jackson McKenzie will pinch-hit for MSU.

McKenzie strikes out swinging to end the inning.

Bottom of the 7th

MSU brings in the lefty Tyler Davis.

Mershon fields a soft grounder cleanly and makes the throw for the first out.

Davis gets a strikeout for the second out on a filthy breaking ball.

Hujsak makes the play in centerfield to end the inning.

Top of the 7th

Larry strikes out swinging on a nice breaking ball for the first out.

Mershon flies out to right field for the second out.

Jordan smashes an opposite field solo homerun to give MSU their first lead.

Hines strikes out, looking to end the inning.

Bottom of the 6th

Hardin issues a four-pitch walk to the leadoff batter.

USM lays down a bunt. Runner on second with one out.

Hardin gets a strikeout, looking for the second out.

A nice grab by Chance in the left centerfield gap to end the inning.

The score is tied at 4.

Top of the 6th

Kohler smokes a leadoff double down the right-field line.

Hujsak lays down a bunt. Runner on third with one out.

Powell grounds it to the third baseman, who gets the out at home.

Powell will advance to second after a wild pitch.

Cupp hits it hard, but the right fielder makes the play on the run to end the inning.

Bottom of the 5th

MSU will bring in Tyson Hardin.

USM gets a leadoff single to start the inning.

USM now has a runner-in-scoring position after a stolen base.

Mershon makes the grab on a soft line drive for the first out.

Hujsak makes the grab in center, and the runner stays at second with two outs.

Cupp makes the play for the third out. Hardin did a nice job getting out of a jam.

The score is tied at 4.

Top of the 5th

Cupp strikes out, looking for the first out.

Larry is hit by the pitch.

Mershonis was hit by the pitch as well. Runners on first and second with one out, and the meat of the MSU lineup due to the plate.

Jordan rips a run-scoring single into left field. Runners on the corners with one out.

Hines grounds out to the first baseman, but the tying run scores.

Chance flies out to right field to end the inning.

Bottom of the 4th

Evan Siary will take over on the mound for MSU.

Siary gets a strikeout on a high fastball for the first out.

Another strikeout for Siary for the second out.

Chance makes the grab in left to end the inning.

USM leads 4-2.

Top of the 4th

Chance slashes a lead-off single into right field.

Chance swipes second.

Kohler works a walk. Runners on first and second with no outs.

Hujsak grounds into a 6-4-3 double play. Killer.

Powell strikes out, looking to end the inning.

Bottom of the 3rd

Chance makes a sliding grab for the first out.

USM gets a one-out single past the diving Mershon.

Stevens gives up another single. Runners on first and second with one out.

Stevens gets a big-looking strikeout for the second out.

Mershon fields it cleanly and makes the throw to end the inning.

USM leads 4-2.

Top of the 3rd

Powell ropes a leadoff single into left field.

Cupp works a walk. Runners on first and second with no outs. MSU has to take advantage of this opportunity.

Larry pops out to the second baseman for the first out. No runners advance.

Mershon lines a double down the third base line. Runners on second and third with one out, and a run scores.

Jordan grounds out to the third baseman and another run scores.

Mershon advances to third on a wild pitch.

Hines strikes out, looking to end the inning.

Bottom of the 2nd

MSU will bring in Nolan Stevens to pitch.

Stevens gets a strikeout looking for the first out.

Hines fields the chopper and steps on the bag for the second out.

Cupp makes a nice play at short to get the third out. Much better inning on the mound for MSU.

USM leads 4-0.

Top of the 2nd

Chance strikes out to start the inning.

Kohler strikes out looking, two down. A disaster start for MSU.

Hujsak ends the inning with a strikeout. MSU looks overmatched right now.

Bottom of the 1st

Ligon gets a strikeout swinging for the first out.

The Golden Eagles get a one-out single pass the diving Cupp.

Mershon makes the play to get the second out. Runner on third with two outs.

A wild pitch will allow the Golden Eagles to score the game's first run.

Ligon allows a two-out homerun to dead center.

Ligon issues a two-out walk.

Another walk from Ligon. Runners on first and second with two outs.

A wild pitch from Ligon advances both runners.

USM is breaking this open early with a two-run single.

Powell throws out a runner to end the inning.

USM leads 4-0.

Top of the 1st

The first pitch to Larry is outside for ball one.

Larry grounds into the shift for the first out.

Mershon works a one-out walk. An early opportunity for MSU here.

Mershon will swipe second.

Jordan strikes out swinging. The sophomore continues to struggle with the breaking ball.

Hines flies out to center field to end the inning. 

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Mississippi State Starters	Southern Miss Starters
DH Amani Larry	CF Dalton Mcintyre
2B David Mershon	3B Nick Monistere
RF Dakota Jordan	DH Slade Wilks
1B Hunter Hines	LF Billy Butler
LF Bryce Chance	RF Carson Paetow
3B Logan Kohler	SS Ozzie Pratt
CF Connor Hujsak	2B Seth Smith
C Joe Powell	C Lawson Odom
SS Dylan Cupp	1B Matthew Russo

What: Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-4) versus Southern Miss Golden Eagles (8-4)

When: Tuesday 6 p.m. CT

Where: Trustmark Park, Pearl, Mississippi

TV: ESPN+

Series: The Bulldogs hold an 85-44 advantage in this series. The first matchup was on April 9th, 1947.

Last Meeting: The Bulldogs won the previous matchup against the Golden Eagles 10-9 last year. A four-run eighth inning led the way for MSU, and Colton Ledbetter had three RBIs.

Last time out, Golden Eagles: After winning the series against Indiana State, USM dropped the series finale 12-5.

Last time out, Bulldogs: MSU won their previous match against Mount St. Mary. The Bulldogs also pitched their first shutout since game three of the national championship series. Jurrangelo Cijntje pitched 6.2 innings and struck out ten.

Mississippi State Starter

Karson Ligon

Southern Miss Starter

Cole Boswell

The Bullpen Dominates for Mississippi State Baseball in a 5-4 Win over Southern Miss