TALLAHASSEE — Mississippi State kept its season alive, winning 3-2 against Northeastern in an elimination game at the Tallahassee regional on Sunday.
The Bulldogs (36-22) were put on the brink of elimination by the hosting Seminoles on Saturday, but they were able to win a close one against the Huskies (49-11) thanks to some early work at the plate.
Hunter Hines drove in two while Bryce Chance added another as the Bulldogs did just enough on offense to hold off the Huskies. Alex Lane got one back on an RBI hit and Jack Doyle walked another in for Northeastern, but the CAA champions couldn’t muster up any more against the Bulldog bullpen.
MSU starter Evan Siary had a perfect game through four innings before the Huskies got their first hit in the fifth, when Lane added his RBI single. The righty finished the game with nine strikeouts in six innings of work, allowing no walks. He was credited with two earned runs as reliever Nate Williams couldn’t stop a run from getting home.
The Bulldogs had no problem getting guys on base, but they had trouble getting runners home. They recorded 13 hits with a .371 team average, but left 11 runners on base throughout the game. They were 2-12 at the plate with runners in scoring position.
The best chances to pull away came in the middle innings.
In the fifth inning, Gehrig Frei lined a single into right field with the outfield backed way up to the warning track, and Ace Reese got his first hit of the weekend by beating the shift with a drive through the gap at third. With two runners in scoring position, the Huskies made their first pitching change. Reliever Cooper McGrath gave up a sac fly to Hunter Hines, but snagged the third out on a line drive right at him from Bryce Chance to stop a potential avalanche.
The Bulldogs got another pair of runners on in the sixth, with Lukas Buckner narrowly avoiding hitting into a third double play as his drive to third was picked up but bobbled. A walk later, and the bases were loaded with the top of the order coming up, but again, McGrath got out of it.
Siary was relieved after a leadoff double in the seventh, but Nate Williams struggled with control as the Huskies got one back. Veteran Stone Simmons came in and saved the day with a strikeout to leave three stranded.
MSU stranded another pair of runners in the eighth, but Simmons kept his cool to close out the game. A double play in the ninth was followed by a pick-off throw from Joe Powell to end the game as the Huskies played aggressively to get the tying run in scoring position.
The Bulldogs have a quick turnaround, facing hosts Florida State at 5 p.m. It’s do-or-die the rest of the way, needing two wins against the Seminoles to make a Super regional.
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