No. 4 Mississippi State baseball completes sweep over Eastern Michigan with 4-1 win

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The No. 4 Mississippi State baseball team defeated Eastern Michigan 4-1 Sunday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field to complete a three-game sweep over the Eagles.

The Bulldogs (13-3, 0-0 SEC) scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning and one in the third, while the Eagles (4-5, 0-0 MAC) scored their lone run of the game in the top of the third.

MSU outhit Eastern Michigan 8-4 and was led by graduate student Scotty Dubrule and sophomore Logan Tanner with two hits apiece. Dubrule accounted for three RBIs and Tanner accounted for one.

MSU freshman right-hander Jackson Fristoe (2-0) pitched four innings and allowed one run on three hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

Sophomore righty Will Bednar then struck out seven with one hit allowed in four innings out of the bullpen. Right-handed sophomore Landon Sims earned his first save with three strikeouts in the ninth.

For Eastern Michigan, senior righty Luke McGuire (1-1) was charged with the loss after allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits with two strikeouts and one walk.

The Bulldogs began the bottom of the second inning with back-to-back singles by Tanner and senior Josh Hatcher. After a pop out, freshman Lane Forsythe reached on a fielder’s choice and Hatcher was ruled safe at second on McGuire’s throwing error to load the bases. Dubrule brought all three runners home with a double to left-center to give MSU a 3-0 lead.

Eastern Michigan made it a 3-1 ballgame in the top of the third when freshman Mark Kattula homered to left field. Tanner responded with a home run for himself in the bottom half to end the game’s scoring at 4-1.

The Bulldogs will be back in action Tuesday when they host Samford before opening conference play against the No. 18 LSU Tigers on Friday for the first game of a three-game series in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.