STARKVILLE – Mississippi State finished off a sweep of Hofstra to open the 2026 baseball season at Dudy Noble Field on Saturday. Game Three was initially scheduled for Sunday afternoon, but the threat of bad weather pushed it into a doubleheader, and the Diamond Dawgs finished off the day with a 7-5 win.
It was a difficult opening inning for MSU defensively. Starter Charlie Foster gave up a leadoff hit and walked another batter to set up C.J. Griggs for his second home run of the day. He ended Game Two with a consolation home run in the ninth inning to spoil MSU’s shutout bid, and began Game Three with a three-run missile to deep center.
Foster was able to recover and post two zeros in his three innings of work before Chris Billingsley Jr. came on in relief, but had to get a pair of strikeouts under pressure with a runner on third in the second inning.
The Bulldog offense didn’t struggle under pressure. They got one back in the bottom of the first with Aidan Teel’s first hit as a Bulldog, and Ace Reese put the team on top with a three-run blast for the first MSU home run of the season.
Both scores came with two outs, with the second inning resulting in an early pitching change for Hofstra. Chone James got a two-out walk, and leadoff hitter James Nunnallee got the pair into scoring position with a double. The Pride went to the bullpen, and Reese launched his home run on just the third pitch from reliever Grady Lacourciere.
The Bulldogs got into trouble again at the top of the fifth inning when Chris Billingsley Jr. loaded up the bases and walked in the tying run. Reliever Dane Burns got one out but walked in another to put the Pride in front. Jack Gleason became the third MSU pitcher of the inning, and it nearly got worse with a low drive to shortstop, but Ryder Woodson was able to field it cleanly for the third out.
The MSU offense went right back to work and wound up with a three-run home half to retake the lead. Bryce Chance got one home when he reached first on a fielding error and catcher Chone James drove in two more with drive into left field. It might have been more if Ryder Woodson not overcommitted for third. He got stuck in a pickle and was tagged out diving for third to end the inning, but MSU led 7-5.
Gleason and William Kirk got two more zeros on the board going into the ninth before Maddox Webb arrived out of the bullpen to close out. He struck out the first batter but saw one runner go aboard on a controversial hit-by-pitch ruling. The replay showed that the ball passed under the batter’s arm and deflected off the catcher’s glove, but the officials stuck with the call on the field.
JJ Devito followed up with a single to put runners at the corners with one out, but Webb came back to win the game with a pair of strikeouts.
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