When pinch-hitter Von Seibert walked to start the top of the ninth inning, it seemed like Mississippi State was on the right track.

The Bulldogs trailed Tulane 5-4 in Sunday’s rubber match in New Orleans but got their leadoff man on base in the final frame. Nine-hole hitter Tanner Leggett bunted pinch-runner Brayland Skinner to second, getting the tying run into scoring position for the top of the order.

But where last season Rowdey Jordan or Tanner Allen would almost surely have come through, the 2022 Bulldogs continued to find no such luck.

Luke Hancock flied out to center field. Kamren James popped out to second base. And Mississippi State (6-6) lost 5-4 to Tulane (10-2), dropping the best-of-three weekend series in the process.

The Bulldogs seemed assured of a series victory with a 10-2 lead in the fourth inning Saturday, but after blowing the comfortable cushion, they came out flat Sunday.

The offense that seemed to break out with 17 hits in a 19-2 drubbing of the Green Wave on Friday produced only four hits in Sunday’s loss. Mississippi State’s bullpen continued to struggle, with relievers on the mound for Tulane’s final two runs.

The Green Wave pushed across the go-ahead run in the eighth on a double by Trevor Minder off right-hander Drew Talley, the third man out of the bullpen for the Bulldogs. Talley induced a flyout with the bases loaded to keep the game tied at 4-all in the seventh, but he allowed a leadoff double to Simon Baumgardt in the eighth before Minder’s one-out hit.

Mississippi State was held scoreless in the ninth by Tulane closer Zach DeVito, who pitched a scoreless 10th inning in Saturday’s 11-10 Green Wave win.

The Bulldogs rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game in the seventh inning, stringing together a rally without a hit. Freshman Hunter Hines chopped a soft grounder up the first-base line as Leggett scored ahead of the throw to the plate.

But in the bottom of the seventh, a balk called on freshman reliever Brooks Auger put Tulane back in front. Auger shimmied his shoulders without beginning his delivery, advancing each runner a base and giving the Green Wave a 4-3 lead.

It was the fourth and final run charged — if unfairly — to starter Cade Smith, who allowed eight of Tulane’s 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings of work. Four of those hits came in the first inning alone, with Tulane jumping on the first pitch twice before Brady Marget plated a run on a single.

The Green Wave doubled their lead in the second when Chase Engelhard scored on a wild pitch with outfielder Ethan Groff at the plate.

Mississippi State scored its first run in the fifth inning as Leggett walked on four pitches — the second straight free pass issued by Tulane starter Michael Massey — with the bases loaded. But Hancock grounded out to third base, stranding all three runners and ending the inning.

After Groff — Saturday’s walk-off hero — homered against Smith in the fifth inning, Hines came up big in the sixth, smashing a solo home run well out of Turchin Stadium. But he was left on deck in the ninth, as James popped the ball up to shallow right field, where Engelhard made a snow-cone catch to end things.

It was the second straight one-run loss for the Bulldogs after Friday’s 17-run win, but aggregate score meant nothing for a Mississippi State team that has scuffled to a .500 record.

The Bulldogs will have another tough task ahead of them, traveling to Biloxi to face No. 19 Texas Tech. Game 1 at MGM Park is at 6 p.m. Tuesday, and Game 2 is at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.