TALLAHASSEE — Mississippi State’s 2025 season came to an end in heartbreaking fashion in the Tallahassee regional on Sunday. Hosts Florida State rallied after trailing for seven innings against MSU, winning 5-2.
After plugging away for seven innings, the Seminoles (41-14) broke through against MSU’s defense with a two-run blast from Cal Fisher. The next inning, they loaded up the bases and strung together three runs from two hits to take a 5-2 advantage into the ninth.
Ole Miss transfer Wes Mendes got the win on the mound, going eight innings with nine strikeouts and two earned runs on solo home runs.
The Bulldogs (36-23) end the year in the postseason after they were on the outside looking in a month ago. Athletic Director Zac Selmon made the decision to fire head coach Chris Lemonis, who led the team to its first national championship in 2021, and entrusted pitching coach Justin Parker the rest of the way as interim head coach. The Bulldogs went 11-4 under Parker, with the final two losses coming against the Seminoles.
The game began just how the Bulldogs would have wanted, with Gehrig Frei sending the first pitch to the scoreboard on a solo home run. Ace Reese pounced on his first pitch as well, beating a throw to first after a hit over the middle. A chance to build some early momentum and add to the lead was quickly snuffed out on a double-play ball from Noah Sullivan, and FSU pitcher Mendes got out of the inning having thrown just six pitches.
It was one quick inning after another for the Bulldogs at the plate while Ligon had to work out of jams. It was an admirable showing from the right-hander, who kept his cool even with the bases loaded in both the third and fourth innings, seeing off Fisher and Alex Lodise.
The problem was just how much work it took from Ligon.
Mendes threw just 39 pitches through the first four innings, compared to 96 from Ligon.
Luke Dotson had to come out of the bullpen in the fifth, and the trend of nervy innings on defense continued for MSU while going down quickly on offense. Joe Powell added another solo shot, but the Bulldogs couldn’t string hits together as Mendes pitched into the eighth.
The Seminoles loaded up the bases four times against the Bulldogs, finally breaking through in the seventh and eighth to take the lead on Dotson and Ryan McPherson, who closed the game after going four innings on Friday.
The inability to get runners on base came back to haunt the Bulldogs, who found just three base hits on the night, striking out 12 times and only recording one at-bat with a runner in scoring position.
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