Three Noteworthy Stats From Mississippi State's 8-6 Midweek Loss Against Samford

There were a few key reasons why the Diamond Dawgs dropped Tuesday night's game against Samford.

Mississippi State dropped Tuesday's midweek game against Samford by a score of 8-6 to push its losing streak to six games.

The Diamond Dawgs struggled tremendously on the mound early in the game, and starting pitcher Mikey Tepper ultimately picked up the loss for the team. At the plate, RJ Yeager and Kamren James each had two hits and two RBI. Six MSU batters scored a run in the game, but it ultimately was too little, too late.

Here are three statistics that made a huge difference in Tuesday night's game:

1. Four of Samford's eight runs came on walked batters.

Tepper was the only Bulldog pitcher to issue a walk tonight-- unfortunately, it came against four different batters. He gave up two walks and a hit before allowing a grand slam in the first inning. In the third inning, he walked two more batters before being pulled in favor of Jackson Fristoe. 

Fristoe gave up another grand slam after allowing a runner to reach base on a single, but two of the runs scored were walks that were counted against Tepper. When half of an opposing team's runs come off of free bases, it's hard to come back and win. 

2. Mississippi State batters grounded into a double play twice.

Grounding into double plays is not unusual in college baseball, but for Mississippi State, those mistakes came at the worst times. Hunter Hines and Logan Tanner-- who have been two of the team's better hitters this season-- each made that mistake tonight. 

Hines hit into a double play in the third inning with no outs and runners on first and second, and the team was never able to bring in the lone runner that remained on base. Tanner hit into the double play in the sixth inning, once Mississippi State had cut the deficit to 8-4. His misfire came with one out and a runner on first base and ultimately ended the inning quickly for the offense.

3. The Diamond Dawgs batted .176 with runners in scoring position.

Mississippi State could have done worse offensively, but tonight's performance with runners in scoring position was gruesome. Overall, the team went 3-of-17 at the plate with runners on either second or third. Just two or three more hits could have been the difference between a win and a loss, but the Diamond Dawgs struggled to pull through in those key moments.