STARKVILLE – Mississippi State took Game Two and the series against Hofstra in the first half of its Saturday doubleheader. The Diamond Dawgs took the game 6-1, losing their shutout bid in the ninth inning but playing cleaner than they had on Friday in a 6-5 Game One win.
The Bulldogs got on the board early on, posting three in the first inning. Center fielder Aidan Teel took a full count walk with the bases loaded to bring Ace Reese home, followed by a sacrifice fly from Ryder Woodson and an RBI single from Bryce Chance.
They would add two more runs in the fifth inning with RBI doubles from Reese and Reed Stallman, extending the advantage with five straight zero innings on the board defensively.
Starting pitcher Tomas Valincius tossed 5.1 innings before Brendan Sweeney came out of the bullpen in relief. The sophomore registered six punchouts with just four hits allowed in his Dudy Noble debut, getting his most important work done under pressure in the fifth inning. Back-to-back hits put two runners aboard for the visitors, but Valincius dealt with the pressure to close the inning with a strikeout, groundout and flyout. He left one runner on in the sixth, but Sweeney did a good job to clean up and keep the shutout going.
Sweeney would go on to finish the job on the mound, but allowed one run from C.J. Griggs, a solo shot in the ninth inning, to break the shutout. The right-handed reliever finished with five strikeouts, facing just 12 batters in 3.2 innings of action to seal the deal.
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