STARKVILLE — Michael O’Brien did all he could, racing back to the fence and timing his leap perfectly to get a glove on Jackson Lovich’s fly ball. But because Mississippi State’s new center fielder was shaded over toward right-center field, the freshman who had just entered the game had a long way to go, and he was not able to alter the flight of the ball enough to keep it in play.
Lovich’s two-run home run in the seventh inning gave Missouri its first lead of the series, and No. 16 Mississippi State could not push any runs across in the late innings, leaving 12 runners on base in a 4-3 loss to end the regular season.
The Bulldogs still won the series, but may still have work to do in the Southeastern Conference Tournament in order to host an NCAA regional.
“We’re pissed, obviously. You want to win the last game of the season,” head coach Chris Lemonis said. “Like I told the players, we have to flush it, move forward and get ready for postseason baseball.”
MSU (36-19, 17-13 SEC) opened the scoring in the second inning for the third straight day, plating a pair of runs after loading the bases with nobody out. Ethan Pulliam’s infield grounder brought in Amani Larry with the first run of the game before Bryce Chance doubled with two outs to drive in Logan Kohler.
Chance and Kohler each went through a rough patch earlier in conference play, but they delivered three hits apiece Saturday and are two of the Bulldogs’ hottest bats heading into the postseason.
“We’ve played in a lot of close games,” Kohler said. “It’s going to make us better in the postseason. Every game has felt like the postseason so far, and we’ll just keep going and it’ll make us better in the long run.”
Left-hander Pico Kohn dealt with a good deal of traffic on the basepaths in the early innings but held the Tigers (23-32, 9-21) scoreless through three with five strikeouts. But after walking the first batter and plunking the next in the fourth, Kohn’s day was done. And before reliever Luke Dotson could throw a pitch, he fired an errant pickoff throw to second base that sailed into center field, allowing the runners to advance to second and third.
Missouri got on the board when David Mershon misplayed a ground ball at shortstop, then tied the game on Drew Culbertson’s RBI single. Dotson left the game without recording an out and handed the ball off to Gavin Black, who pitched out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam by inducing a lineout to third and a double play ball.
“We had a tough fourth inning today,” Lemonis said. “It’s SEC baseball. They’re all close. All the games are close. They’re all tight. For the most part, that’s happening all across our league. It’s because the talent level is so high.”
MSU retook the lead in the sixth on a leadoff home run from catcher Joe Powell, his fifth long ball of the season — all of which have come in the last seven days. He hit his first of the year last Sunday at Arkansas, then went deep three times in Tuesday night’s win over North Alabama.
Powell finished the week 8-for-11 with four homers, two walks and nine runs batted in, making him a strong candidate for SEC Player of the Week.
“He’s a good ballplayer,” Kohler said. “He’s a competitor, number one. He likes to compete. It’s good for our club, and he puts up good at-bats. And he’s going to keep doing it in the postseason.”
Lovich, though, delivered the decisive blow off Tyson Hardin with two outs in the top of the seventh. Missouri entered the series last in the SEC in home runs, but the Tigers hit six balls over the fence in the three games in Starkville.
The Bulldogs put two runners in scoring position in the eighth but left them stranded when Brock Lucas struck out Dakota Jordan, who tied the single-season program record for strikeouts by a batter with his 71st. Lucas then struck out Hunter Hines, Larry and Kohler in the ninth to earn the save. Jordan and Hines each went 0-for-5 in what could end up being their final game at Dudy Noble Field.
Lemonis believes that will not be the case, and with a win or two in Hoover, Alabama, MSU can feel a lot better about its chances of earning a top-16 national seed. The Bulldogs will be the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament and will play arch-rival Ole Miss in the opening round Tuesday night.
“We finished fifth in the SEC, the hardest league in the country,” Lemonis said. “We have the nicest facility, the biggest attendance. And we have an extra SEC win from the Governor’s Cup, and we have work still to do, probably, in the SEC Tournament. Where we’re at right now… I think we have a great shot (to host). It would shock me if we didn’t.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
