Cumbest’s 7th-inning home run helps No. 9 Mississippi State beat Grambling State 2-1

STARKVILLE, Miss. — No. 9 Mississippi State baseball used a seventh-inning home run by senior Brad Cumbest to beat Grambling State 2-1 Tuesday night at Dudy Noble Field.

With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 5-3 (0-0 SEC), while the Tigers fall to 2-5 (0-0 SWAC).

Freshman right-hander Jack Walker got the start on the mound and allowed one run on three hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. Senior righty Parker Stinnett (1-0) then entered in the sixth inning and limited the Tigers to two hits while striking out eight batters and walking one.

Grambling State graduate left-handed starting pitcher Jacorey Boudreaux (0-1) was charged with the loss after allowing two runs on five hits in six innings of work. He fanned five batters and walked two.

Offensively, both teams finished with five hits. MSU freshman Aaron Downs was the only player to record multiple hits. He finished 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored.

After a scoreless first inning, Grambling State struck first to go up 1-0 in the top of the second inning. Redshirt freshman Aries Gardner and redshirt junior Keylon Mack strung together back-to-back singles. Gardner then scored on a wild pitch.

The Bulldogs knotted things up at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Downs and freshman Slate Alford hit one-out singles up the middle to put runners on the corners. A sacrifice fly from sophomore Lane Forsythe plated Downs.

Cumbest led off the top of the seventh with a home run, his third of the season, to end the game’s scoring at 2-1.

The Bulldogs will now hit the road for the first time this season to face off against Southern Miss on Wednesday at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. CT.