Charlottesville, VA — A heartbreaking 5-4 loss on Saturday night to regional host Virginia has Mississippi State against the ropes and on the brink of elimination from the postseason. The loss follows the Bulldogs’ dramatic victory in their opening game of the NCAA Charlottesville Regional
The Bulldogs left a pair of baserunners stranded in each of the last three innings and a misplayed ground ball by Amani Larry at second base in the bottom of the ninth allowed Cavaliers sophomore Harrison Didawick to score the winning run.
“I think I said the same thing last night, great college baseball game,” Mississippi State skipper Chris Lemonis said. “Unfortunately, we come up on the other side of it. Two really good teams playing in a great environment with everything on the line. Tip your hat to those guys, they got a big hit late when they needed it.”
The tumultuous final innings featured Mississippi State squandering a two-run advantage after the Bulldogs scored four consecutive runs over the span of the third and fourth innings.
Virginia got on the scoreboard first in the bottom half of the second inning when freshman Eric Becker hit a triple off the right-center field wall. The hit nearly cleared the fence and scored Jacob Ference and Henry Godbout, both of whom reached base on singles earlier in the frame.
The Bulldogs responded immediately and snatched the lead after a big at-bat from junior Hunter Hines. After David Mershon and Dakota Johnson both reached base to begin the top of the third inning, the first baseman smashed a three-run home run into center field. The bases-clearing bomb tied Hines for fourth all-time in career home runs by a Bulldog.
Mississippi State added to their lead in the top of the fourth when Bryce Chance scored from second base following an errant pickoff toss by Cavaliers starting pitcher Evan Blanco.
While the offense responded quickly, Bulldogs starter Jurrangelo Cijntje worked his way meticulously through the Cavaliers lineup recording five scoreless innings before allowing Virginia’s offense to tie the contest in the seventh.
“I thought Jurrangelo (Cijntje) was great like he always is,” Lemonis said. “It was a classic matchup of good pitching against good hitting. I think they got him a little bit and he got them a little bit.”
After Cijntje allowed back-to-back singles to open the seventh, a sacrifice bunt moved the tying runs into scoring position with Becker coming to the plate. The Cavaliers’ third baseman delivered once again, this time with a single to center field that scored both runs. Cijntje struck out the next batter and forced a ground out to end the seventh before his night on the mound ended.
With the game tied, Mississippi State found themselves with opportunities to retake control of the scoreboard but Cavaliers relievers Matt Augustin and Angelo Tonas stymied the Bulldogs in each of the final three innings.
Mississippi State returns to the diamond Sunday at 11 a.m. to take on a St. John’s team they defeated on Friday with a walk-off homerun by Dakota Jordan. The Red Storm defeated Penn on Saturday to stay alive in the regional series following their second extra-inning performance in as many outings.
“You got to win,” Hunter Hines said when asked about the teams’ mentality heading into Sunday. “It’s pretty simple, win or go home so we want to win…We have the same mentality every time we go out there which is to win. It just puts a little bit more on the line this time.”
Should the Bulldogs claim another victory against the Red Storm, they will have to defeat Virginia on Sunday and Monday to punch their ticket to the Super Regionals for the first time since 2021.
“I feel like our backs have been against the wall since week one,” Lemonis said. “I don’t worry about that as much. I’ve done this long enough and I’ve had the opportunity to win a regional in a lot of different ways. I’ve been on the side where you’ve got to win three in a row.”
“That’s my job, I’ve got to convince these guys to come out and be really good in the first tomorrow. You can’t think about what the whole day is or anything like that. You got to win the first game and be in the moment. Go out there and play great against St. John’s and then give yourself a chance to play in the championship tomorrow night.”
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