No. 4 Mississippi State drops series against No. 24 Long Beach State with 13-3 loss Saturday

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The No. 4 Mississippi State baseball team fell 13-3 to No. 24 Long Beach State in the second game of a three-game series on Saturday at Dudy Noble Field.

The Bulldogs (0-2) recorded nine hits, up from one hit in the first game, while the Dirtbags (2-0) recorded 14 hits.

Senior Brad Cumbest finished 3-for-4 on the day to lead the Bulldogs, while junior Kamren James was 2-for-3 with two runs. Junior Logan Tanner accounted for two RBIs on a 1-for-4 day.

Long Beach State had four players record multiple hits, with sophomore Jonathon Long leading the way with a 4-for-4 day at the plate with two home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored. Freshman Eddie Saldivar recorded two hits, one RBI and scored twice, while sophomore Sebastian Murillo and freshman Kaden Moeller both recorded two hits and scored once.

Junior right-hander KC Hunt (0-1) was charged with the loss for MSU after allowing five earned runs on six hits. He struck out four batters and walked two.

Junior righty Marques Johnson got the start for the Dirtbags, throwing 2 ²⁄₃ innings and allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out three batters and walked one. Junior righty Jack Noble (1-0) then pitched 4 ¹⁄₃ scoreless innings to earn the win. He surrendered just three hits and a walk while striking six.

The Dirtbags struck first when they took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Long hit a two-out single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. He came around to score on an RBI single to right field from junior Chase Luttrell.

The Bulldogs responded with two runs in the bottom half of the first to take a 2-1 lead. James hit a one-out single and junior Luke Hancock followed with a double to left-center field. Tanner plated James on an RBI groundout before freshman Hunter Hines plated Hancock with an RBI single.

The Dirtbags then regained the lead at 4-2 in the top of the second inning. Murillo drew a leadoff walk, Moeller then laid down a bunt and the throw went into the bullpen, putting runners on the corners with no outs. A groundout scored one run before sophomore Alex Pimentel followed with a two-run home run to left field.

MSU’s third and final run came in the bottom of the third inning when James led off with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and came around to score on back-to-back groundouts to make it 4-3.

In the top of the fourth inning, Long Beach State increased its lead to 8-3 thanks to a two-RBI single through the left side from redshirt freshman Rocco Peppi and a two-RBI double from sophomore Isaac Ramirez.

A home run by Long to lead off the top of the eighth inning increased Long Beach State’s lead to 9-3. The Dirtbags then scored four more runs in the top of the ninth inning to end the game’s scoring at 13-3. Moeller hit a double to left field. Junior Brennan Rozell pinch ran for him and scored on Saldivar’s RBI single. A wild pitch plated another run before Long hit his second home run of the day.

The Bulldogs will look to avoid being swept on Sunday at 1 pm. CT on SEC Network+.