STARKVILLE — The hitting was contagious and resilient, as the Mississippi State baseball team parlayed 11 runs and 15 hits Saturday into 13 more hits Sunday.
The only thing that didn’t follow was the runs.
Texas A&M used 14 hits and capitalized on four errors to earn a 7-4 victory Sunday before a crowd of 5,555 at Dudy Noble Field. The victory helped Texas A&M (32-12, 11-10 Southeastern Conference) win the series victory and dropped MSU (24-21, 9-12) into a tie for 12th in the SEC and fifth in the SEC West.
“If we play our ball game, we can beat anybody,” center fielder Jake Mangum said. “Any time you lose you look back on what you could’ve done better and there were things we could’ve done better. We have to move forward.”
The four errors — two by left fielder Rowdey Jordan, two by catcher Marshall Gilbert — didn’t lead to any unearned runs. The offensive errors that were hidden in the boxscore hurt MSU.
In the second inning, second baseman Hunter Stovall hit a solo home run to tie the game at 1. Right fielder Elijah MacNamee kept the momentum going with a walk, but he was thrown out trying to steal second. The Bulldogs used a single and an error to score a run that could have been more.
In the fifth, Justin Foscue singled for MSU’s second hit of the frame, but he was erased when he tried to stretch it into a double.
“It is (uncharacteristic),” MSU interim coach Gary Henderson said. “They’re playing hard. That’s not an issue, but we also have to be able to play with some intelligence and some poise and composure when it matters. We weren’t at our best today in that regard.”
MSU starting pitcher Jacob Billingsley (3-3) was in a battle from the start. He wore through a 16-pitch at-bat to end the second with a groundout, but he lasted only three innings (69 pitches) after allowing four runs on six hits and two walks.
“His last pen work with me was outstanding, really good, as good as I’ve ever seen him throw,” Henderson said. “You have to create another practice environment, another experience like that where he knows he can create the pitches he needs to create and bring that reservoir of experience and that confidence to the environment. That’s what athletics are: You practice, you hone your skills, you become confident and you have to go do it when it matters.”
Alabama (23-23, 5-16) is last in the league and coming off of losing three games to No. 8 Arkansas, which MSU swept last weekend.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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