STARKVILLE — Chris Lemonis knows it’s been a while since Mississippi State took an early lead in an important game and won it going away.

How long exactly? He’s not sure.

“When’s the last time?” the Bulldogs coach said. “I can’t remember.”

The last time, Lemonis decided, was back on March 20 against Georgia in the first Southeastern Conference series of the season. Since then, every win has been a battle: two late comebacks against Alabama, a 12-inning victory at Arkansas, a 10-inning walk-off job against UAB.

Thursday night was no different. But Lemonis and the Bulldogs won’t care.

Trailing 6-5 into the ninth inning, Mississippi State (20-15, 5-8 SEC) rallied for two runs to notch a 7-6, walk-off win over Auburn (23-11, 7-6 SEC) in the series opener at Dudy Noble Field.

“We’ve been talking a lot about toughness and fighting and competing, and I think that’s what the guys did today,” Lemonis said.

Mississippi State took advantage of a key error and a wild pitch to walk off the Tigers. Luke Hancock stood in with the bases loaded and worked a game-ending walk to send the crowd home happy.

Hancock worked the count full against Auburn’s Blake Burkhalter, swinging underneath two pitches, but he said he knew the final offering would be in the dirt when it left Burkhalter’s grip.

“I just saw it down,” Hancock said. “I knew it was going to be a ball whenever he threw it.”

It was, and Hancock jogged down the line. First base coach Landon Sims pounded him on the helmet as Hancock stood atop the bag, and the Bulldogs mobbed their first baseman in shallow right field.

“It’s huge for us,” Hancock said. “We needed that win.”

Despite a pair of three-run leads early in the game, Mississippi State almost didn’t get it.

In the eighth inning, Cole Foster took Pico Kohn deep to left field for a solo home run, putting Auburn on top 6-5.

It seemed like the decisive blow with the Bulldogs’ offense scuffling after a pair of homers to tie the game at 5-5 in the seventh inning. Brad Cumbest and RJ Yeager each went deep to left, responding after Auburn took the lead with a three-spot in the sixth.

The Bulldogs failed to get traffic on the bases for much of the game. Cumbest’s and Yeager’s home runs were MSU’s only offense between a two-out single by Lane Forsythe in the fourth inning and Kellum Clark’s walk to lead off the ninth.

But Mississippi State rallied when it counted, aided by some shoddy fielding by the Tigers.

An error on Brad Cumbest’s grounder to second left both runners safe, and Tanner Leggett bunted them over. After an intentional walk to RJ Yeager, Clark raced home on a wild pitch to tie the game, beating the tag.

“The hardest three outs to get in the SEC, I believe, are here,” Mississippi State pitcher Drew Talley said.

Auburn chose to load the bases again by walking Kamren James, and Hancock was happy to take the spotlight.

“I wish I could be the guy every time,” Hancock said. “I love that moment. I don’t know what it is or why I like it.”

He helped seal a victory for the Bulldogs in a game that seemed destined to end like so many recent contests: with Mississippi State on the losing end of another tightly contested game.

The Tigers rallied to take the lead in the sixth on a backbreaking two-out, two-strike single by Blake Rambusch, bringing in two runs. Two batters before, pitcher Brooks Auger had walked catcher Nate LaRue to force in the tying run.

Mississippi State put up two runs in the first inning as Logan Tanner had an RBI single and Hunter Hines added a sac fly. The teams traded scores in the third as LaRue took Bulldogs starter Brandon Smith deep to left, but Hines answered with a base hit up the middle.

MSU had its final answer in the ninth, rallying for a critical win. The Bulldogs had lost the opening game of three of their previous four SEC series, but they got off on the right foot Thursday.

“When you invest it all and you don’t get the W, it’s depressing because you know you’ve taken some of your best shots and you didn’t get the W,” Lemonis said. “For us tonight, it’s huge.”

Auger leaves with injury

Auger left Thursday’s game in the top of the seventh inning with a trainer and pitching coach Scott Foxhall.

Lemonis said he had no update on the freshman right-hander, who appeared to injure himself after retiring the first two batters of the frame.

Auger owns a 3.05 ERA in 20 2/3 innings this season.

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