It was Mississippi State baseball’s turn Thursday night to complete a crazy comeback. It still wasn’t enough to pull off an upset.
Once down 7-1 in their series opener at No. 24 Tennessee, the Bulldogs scored six unanswered runs, capped by a ninth-inning homer by Hunter Hines to tie the game, only for Tennessee’s Griffin Merritt to hit a walk-off home run off of KC Hunt in the bottom of the ninth to win, 8-7.
Hunt was in his second inning of work after relieving Tyler Davis in the eighth and getting the final out of the inning. Thursday marked the second consecutive Southeastern Conference game MSU (24-18, 6-13 SEC) lost on a walk-off, after losing last Sunday’s game at Auburn.
MSU’s bats came alive in the sixth inning after starting the game 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, when Slate Alford began the rally with a two-run home run. Colton Ledbetter followed it up with a solo shot in the seventh, then Luke Hancock hit a two-RBI double to get the Bulldogs within a run, before Hines tied the game.
MSU had a chance to open the game with a big first inning, loading the bases with no outs, only to get one run out of it on a Dakota Jordan infield single.
Tennessee (28-14, 9-10 SEC) didn’t waste its chance, scoring four runs in the inning off of MSU starter Cade Smith, then three more in the fifth inning off of Tyson Hardin before its walk-off.
Smith pitched four innings, allowing six hits, four walks, four earned and struck out three.
The two teams return to the diamond for tomorrow’s second game with first pitch scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (SEC+).
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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