TROY, Ala. — The No. 3 Mississippi State baseball team had 12 hits and used a four-run first inning to earn a 7-3 victory against Troy on Wednesday night at Riddle-Pace Field.
MSU improved to 34-14-1 and finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 19-5-1 mark. Troy fell to 27-23.
In the first inning, Jack Kruger started things with a one-out walk. Nathaniel Lowe followed with a hit. Gavin Collins had an RBI double, while Brent Rooker had an RBI single. A wild pitch scored another run and an RBI single by Reid Humphreys pushed the Bulldogs to a 4-0 lead.
The Bulldogs scored twice more in the second inning with Ryan Gridley getting things going with a leadoff single. After a lineout, Jake Mangum walked. Kruger followed with an RBI double, while Lowe laced a sacrifice fly.
An RBI double by Mangum pushed MSU to a 7-1 lead in the fourth.
Zac Houston drew the start and worked the first inning. Ryan Cyr, Keegan James, Ryan Rigby, Kale Breaux, and Blake Smith followed in relief. Smith got back-to-back strikeouts in the eighth to work out of a tight spot.
Houston (4-0) picked up the win, while Smith earned his third save.
Kruger, Rooker, Gridley, and Collins had two hits.
T.J. Bender and Joey Denison had multiple hits to lead Troy.
MSU will face Auburn this weekend in a three-game Southeastern Conference series. The teams will meet at 6 p.m. Friday (SEC Network +), at 3:30 p.m. Saturday (SEC Network), and at 1 p.m. Sunday (SEC Network +).
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