No. 2 Bulldogs drop series finale as No. 3 Razorbacks complete sweep

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The No. 2 Mississippi State baseball team lost the series finale against No. 3 Arkansas 6-4 on Sunday at Dudy Noble Field as the Razorbacks finished off the series sweep.

The Bulldogs fall to 17-7 (2-4 SEC), while the Razorbacks improve to 19-3 (5-1 SEC)

MSU outhit Arkansas 11-7 but left nine on base. It marks the first time the Bulldogs recorded more hits than the Razorbacks in the series. Graduate student Scotty Dubrule, senior Tanner Allen, senior Josh Hatcher and junior Brad Cumbest all recorded two hits apiece.

Freshman righty Jackson Fristoe (2-2) was charged with the loss for the Bulldogs after allowing five runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in 3 ²⁄₃ innings pitched.

Senior southpaw Houston Harding then allowed one run in 1 ²⁄₃ innings of work and struck out one batter, while sophomore righty Landon Sims threw 3 ²⁄₃ hitless innings, striking out five batters and walking four.

Right-handed junior pitcher Ryan Costeiu (3-0) earned the win after pitching 1 ²⁄₃ innings of relief, allowing two runs on two hits with three strikeouts. Freshman righty Jaxon Wiggins recorded his fourth save after pitching two scoreless innings.

After three scoreless innings, Arkansas jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Senior Matt Goodheart got things going with a home run to right field to make it 1-0. Freshman Cayden Wallace then singled and junior Brady Slavens followed by drawing a walk. A wild pitch moved both runners up before junior Jalen Battles’ single made it 3-0. Sophomore Robert Moore followed with an RBI triple before he crossed home on junior Jacob Nesbit’s single to center field.

The Bulldogs got two runs back in the bottom half on a fielder’s choice RBI and an RBI single by Cumbest to make it 5-2.

A bases-loaded walk increased Arkansas’ lead to 6-2 in the sixth inning. In the bottom half, the Bulldogs made things interesting with back-to-back home runs from junior Luke Hancock and sophomore Logan Tanner to make it 6-4. Hatcher followed with a double to right-center, but two groundouts and a strikeout ended that threat.

The game was scoreless in the final three innings as the Razorbacks held on for the 6-4 win.

The Bulldogs will be back in action Tuesday when they host Mississippi Valley State at Dudy Noble Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and will be streaming on SEC Network+.