Mississippi State came about as close to retaking the lead in the ninth inning of Friday’s series opener at No. 10 Texas A&M as a baseball team can come.
But the Bulldogs ultimately fell 8-7 to the Aggies in College Station in a contest that made their long postseason odds even longer with the season winding down abruptly.
MSU (25-25, 9-16 Southeastern Conference) fell back to .500 on the season after losing a 7-4 lead to A&M (31-16, 15-10 SEC) in the bottom of the seventh inning at Blue Bell Park.
The Bulldogs loaded the bases with two away in the top of the ninth inning, but Hunter Hines grounded to first base for the game’s final out.
Hines’ infield bouncer ended a two-out rally that gained momentum but never produced a run. RJ Yeager singled into center field, Luke Hancock was hit by a pitch, and Logan Tanner walked before Hines’ at-bat ended the game.
MSU was done in by a go-ahead, three-run double by Texas A&M’s Troy Claunch with two out and a 2-2 count against KC Hunt in the seventh. Claunch’s winning hit followed four walks in the inning — two by Hunt and one by starter Brandon Smith. Hunt walked Austin Bost earlier in the frame to force in a run.
Smith allowed six runs on six hits and four walks. Four runs came in the first two innings as the Aggies put up a three-spot in the first and added on with a solo homer in the second.
Mississippi State scored all seven runs over the next four innings to come back and build a lead. Yeager sent a two-run shot out to left in the third inning, and Brad Cumbest doubled home another run in the fourth.
But after Kellum Clark walked to load the bases with nobody out, two ground balls and a strikeout from the bottom of the order killed the rally.
Cumbest put that in the past, though, with a three-run homer on a 2-2 pitch with two out in the fifth. His shot to left field followed singles by Hancock and Hines, the second of which chased A&M starter Nathan Dettmer from the game.
Kamren James hit a leadoff home run in the sixth inning to put MSU up 7-4.
But A&M came back against Smith and Hunt in the seventh thanks to the free pass. The Aggies worked full counts on three of their four walks, and Claunch’s double to right center field was their first hit of the inning.
Mississippi State went down in order in the eighth before its too-little, too-late rally in the ninth.
The Bulldogs and Aggies will play the middle game of the series at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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Tough break for the Bulldogs! It’s frustrating to see those close games slip away, especially against a ranked opponent like Texas A&M. Let’s hope they bounce back in the next game and bring their A-game!
Tough loss for the Bulldogs! It’s frustrating to see them fall short again, especially against a ranked team. They have the talent; hopefully, they can bounce back in the next game! Go Dawgs!
Tough loss for the Bulldogs! It’s frustrating to see them come so close but fall short again. Hope they can bounce back in the next games and find their rhythm. We’re rooting for you, guys!