OMAHA, Neb. — Parker Stinnett departed alone for Mississippi State’s third-base dugout, the rain soaking his maroon cap and glistening in the long dark hair spilling out from under it.
Teammate Will Bednar offered a quick fist bump and a sympathetic pat on the back before Stinnett disappeared under the overhang.
Then the rest of the Bulldogs on the field followed Stinnett’s path. The mound the sophomore had just left was draped with a green cover, and the massive white tarp was rolled out over the playing surface.
The delay had begun.
Not only did incessant rain push back the end of Friday night’s game against No. 2 Texas by nearly two and a half hours, but a 8-5 loss delayed the Bulldogs’ chance of punching their ticket to the College World Series by at least one more day — should MSU make it at all. The Bulldogs and Longhorns will face off at 6 p.m. Saturday with the winner moving on.
“They beat us,” outfielder Tanner Allen said. “We play tomorrow. That’s all I got, man.”
At the end of a lengthy night, it was all the Bulldogs had, too. They certainly fought, tying the game 5-5 with three runs in the bottom of the eighth prior to the delay, but Ivan Melendez’s three-run homer off Stinnett in the ninth put the Longhorns ahead for good.
The blast to left-center followed a pair of walks, the eighth and ninth free passes issued by Mississippi State pitchers. Cade Smith added two more bases on balls when the game resumed to up that total to 11.
“We had a great eighth inning to get back in the game,” Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis said. “We’ve just got to throw strikes; we’ve got to compete in the zone. I think that’s where we fell short a little bit tonight.”
Instead of being able to save starter Will Bednar for a possible best-of-three championship series, the Bulldogs will likely have to use him in Saturday’s win-or-go-home contest. Lemonis wouldn’t commit to Bednar starting, but Allen said he’d be on the hill to face the Longhorns once again. The sophomore right-hander struck out 15 over six innings as Mississippi State beat Texas 2-1 on Sunday.
Lemonis said it’s once again “all hands on deck” — minus Houston Harding, who started Friday and pitched 4.2 solid innings — for Saturday’s contest.
“Everybody is available,” he said. “We’re in that position now where you just have to win.”
The Bulldogs came closest to wrapping up their four-team bracket when Brad Cumbest ripped a two-run single to tie things up in the eighth. Later in the inning, Rowdey Jordan stepped to the plate in prime position with the bases loaded, but he fouled out to the catcher as Mississippi State missed an opportunity to take the lead and turn things over to Landon Sims.
Instead, Sims sat unused in the bullpen as Brandon Smith walked Mike Antico and recorded an out on a sacrifice bunt. Stinnett followed by walking Zach Zubia and giving up Melendez’s no-doubter on a 3-2 count as Texas regained the lead.
“I give Ivan so much credit for just being ready for that pitch and being ready to swing the bat and wanting to be in that situation,” Texas coach David Pierce said. “He did a great job of just having confidence in the box and wanting to help his team win and just did a great job with that.”
Aaron Nixon, who was on the mound before the delay, finished things off after it, stranding two runners in the ninth to earn the win in relief.
“We came out in the ninth and really gave a great effort to try to get back in that ballgame and possibly tie it, if not even win it,” Allen said. “So I was pleased with it.”
Ty Madden, starting against the Bulldogs for the third time this season, allowed two runs over six innings.
But Mississippi State broke through against Tanner Witt and Nixon in the eighth. Scotty Dubrule drew the Bulldogs’ third straight walk to force in a run, and Cumbest smoked the first pitch he saw from Nixon off the glove of second baseman Mitchell Daly and into right field, tying the game.
The Bulldogs couldn’t get anything more, and ultimately, it cost them. Still, they’ll be in a position in which they’ve been before, facing elimination in Super Regionals against Notre Dame less than two weeks ago.
“We’ve just got to show up and control what we can control, which is preparation for that game and don’t let the moments get too big and play a full nine innings,” Allen said. “If they hit us in the mouth early, we’ve just got to keep playing. I feel if we do that, we’ll be fine.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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