Mississippi State completed a two-game set with Middle Tennessee State Wednesday at Dudy-Noble Field.
The Bulldogs were able to split the series with a win on Wednesday after falling 10-6 Tuesday. With the series over, the Bulldogs are now 21-21 on the season, 6-12 in Southeastern Conference play.
On Tuesday night, the Bulldogs entered the fifth inning in a 2-2 tie with the Blue Raiders, but a five-run fifth inning blew the lead open 7-2 for the Blue Raiders. MTSU entered the bottom of the eighth inning with a 10-2 lead over the Bulldogs, and despite a four-run surge in the inning, the Bulldogs weren’t able to muster up enough firepower at the plate to come back.
Senior Connor Powers had four walks in the game, going 0-1 on the night and snapping his 12-game hit streak. Junior Russ Sneed hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning, his seventh of the year, while sophomore Cody Freeman hit his third home run of the year in the same inning. Grant Hogue had three hits in the contest.
On Wednesday, the Bulldogs relied on an eight-inning long ball again to help their chances. This time, a ball that left the park in the eighth turned out to be the game-changer as the Bulldogs would win thanks to a two-run shot by sophomore Ryan Collins. Collins’ long ball wrapped up the night going 5-for-5 at the plate while scoring three runs and driving in two. The five-hit performance was the first for a Bulldog since Jeffrey Rea had five hits at Florida on March 18, 2007.
The victory put the Bulldogs back at .500 for the season and also served as MSU’s final non-conference game of the season. With the loss, MTSU is now 28-11 on the season.
Collins said he was looking for his pitch to hit.
“With a guy on first base, you’re looking for a pitch you can drive,” Collins said. “I was sitting on the curve ball, and he threw it right where I wanted it.”
The home run gave the Bulldogs a 9-7 lead heading into the top of the ninth. The Blue Raiders gave MSU a scare in the final inning after Blake McDade hit a solo shot to make MSU’s lead 9-8. MTSU had the tying run at second base with one out later in the inning, but the Bulldogs ended the game on a line drive double play after picking off the runner at second.
Coach John Cohen said it was nice to see the hard work his players put forth in practice pay off in Wednesday night’s game.
“It’s great to see our guys’ hard work and competitiveness pay off with a win tonight,” Cohen said. “Guys like Ryan Collins and others are starting to show their potential, and that’s real exciting.”
Senior Chad Crosswhite logged a season-best seven innings for the Bulldogs. Crosswhite gave up five earned runs but struck out four batters while allowing no walks.
The Bulldogs will now return to conference play this weekend to travel to Vanderbilt University to take on the Commodores.
Cohen said he knows his team will have to play well in order to take the series.
“Like most of the league, Vanderbilt has a very good pitching staff,” Cohen said. “Their guys are very skilled on the mound, and they’re very good at home. So it should be a challenge for us.”