STARKVILLE – Mississippi State baseball took Game One of its first home SEC series of the 2026 campaign in front of a Friday regular-season record crowd of 14,649. It was the sixth-largest on-campus crowd in NCAA history, and offered a glimpse at the excitement for fans to see the No. 6 Diamond Dawgs in SEC action.
The Bulldogs got on the board first with a solo shot from Kevin Milewski in the bottom of the second inning, and added three more from a 412-foot bomb to center by Ryder Woodson the next inning. The ball fell just left of straightaway center, but was a no-doubter off the bat that got a big crowd at The Dude on its feet.
The Bulldogs had a chance to add some more in the fourth inning on two outs when Ace Reese was called out by the umpire for batter’s interference. The decision left both Reese and head coach Brian O’Connor confused and demanding answers from the officials, but there was no reconsideration.
At the top of the fifth inning, another stroke of bad luck hit the Bulldogs as starting pitcher Ryan McPherson left the game during warmups. Replays didn’t offer much by way of answers but McPherson felt some sort of discomfort and the decision was made quickly to pull him out and send him to the trainers.
O’Connor got Jack Gleason up to get ready, and he had to put in a good inning of work to post another zero on the scoreboard. A walk and two hit batters loaded up the bases, but a lineout and a double play saved the Bulldogs for the time being.
The next inning saw two more runners get aboard with a walk and a double, putting both in scoring position with only one away. O’Connor sent for Maddox Webb, who got the Bulldogs out of a bases-loaded jam for the second inning in a row.
Webb followed up with a dicey seventh inning, but Ben Davis kept the trend going by coming out of the bullpen and leaving a pair of runners stranded. Vandy left eight on base over three consecutive innings with a chance to swing the game, and after a premature exit from McPherson, it was a positive showing from the MSU pitching staff to back each other up on the mound and post three zeros.
The Commodores pulled one back in the eighth inning through Chris Maldonado, who got a drive into left center to fall between the gap and send a runner home, but the momentum stopped there. Davis would stay in the game for the ninth inning and finish the job.
The teams will meet again for Game Two on Saturday at 6 p.m.
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