No. 6 Mississippi State baseball secures series win over Alabama with 7-0 win Friday

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The No. 6 Mississippi State baseball team secured a series win over Alabama with a 7-0 win Friday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

The Bulldogs (39-13, 19-10 SEC) scored one run in the second inning, three in the third, two in the fifth and one in the ninth. The pitching staff held the Crimson Tide (29-21, 12-16 SEC) to just three hits.

MSU starting pitcher Will Bednar (6-1) pitched eight innings and allowed three hits with 11 strikeouts and two walks. Junior Brandon Smith tossed the ninth inning and struck out two of the three batters he faced.

Alabama junior starting pitcher Dylan Smith (1-7) allowed six runs on eight hits in 7 ²⁄₃ innings and was charged with the loss. He fanned three batters.

Senior Rowdey Jordan and sophomore Kamren James accounted for two hits each of MSU’s eight total hits.

In the top of the second inning, James hit a one-out home run to left field to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.

MSU added three runs in the top of the third inning to increase its lead to 4-0. Senior Tanner Leggett led off with a double to right field. After a popout, Jordan doubled down the right-field line to score Leggett. Senior Tanner Allen followed with another double to score Jordan, and an RBI sacrifice fly from junior Luke Hancock plated the third run of the inning.

Freshman Lane Forsythe reached first base to start the top of the fifth inning after he was hit by a pitch. Jordan followed with a single through the right side to put runners on the corners. A wild pitch allowed Jordan to make his way to second base. Allen’s sacrifice fly scored Forsythe before Hancock’s RBI single up the middle made it a 6-0 ballgame.

Forsythe and Jordan began the top of the ninth inning with a pair of walks. A fielder’s choice moved Forsythe to third before he scored on a groundout to end the game’s scoring at 7-0.

The Bulldogs will look for a series sweep Saturday at 1 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.