Mississippi State baseball falls to Alabama 6-2 in series finale

STARKVILLE, Miss. — After earning a pair of walk-off wins to win the series, the Mississippi State baseball team fell to Alabama 6-2 in Sunday’s series finale at Dudy Noble Field.

With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 15-10 (3-3 SEC), while the Crimson Tide improves to 14-11 (2-4 SEC).

Junior Logan Tanner was the lone Bulldog to record multiple hits as he finished 2-for-4 at the plate with one RBI. Alabama was led by senior Drew Williamson with two hits, two RBIs and two runs, while junior Dominic Tamez and sophomore Bryce Eblin both had two hits and one RBI.

MSU sophomore starting pitcher Cade Smith (4-1) tossed six innings and allowed three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and three walks. Sophomore Brooks Auger entered at the start of the seventh inning and allowed no runs and no hits with two strikeouts and three walks through 2 ¹⁄₃ innings. Senior Cam Tullar then allowed two runs on two hits with one walk in one-third of an inning. Sophomore Jackson Fristoe got the final out via strikeout.

Sophomore Grayson Hitt (2-0) earned the win for the Crimson Tide, allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts and four walks in six innings of work. Junior Antoine Jean picked up his first career save after allowing one unearned run on three hits with one strikeout and one walk in three innings pitched.

MSU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Senior Luke Hancock reached first base on a fielder’s choice and scored on Tanner’s RBI double to right-center field.

Junior Owen Diodati drew a leadoff walk in the top of the second inning and came around to score on back-to-back singles by Eblin and Williamson to tie the game at 1-1.

In the top of the fourth inning, Tamez singled to begin things and scored on Eblin’s RBI double to right-center to give the Crimson Tide a 2-1 lead. Williamson homered in the top of the sixth inning to push Alabama’s lead to 3-1.

A flyout and groundout began the bottom of the seventh inning before sophomore Lane Forsythe and junior Matt Corder hit back-to-back singles. A fielder’s choice then loaded the bases before Hancock was hit by a pitch to score Forsythe and make it a 3-2 ballgame.

The Crimson Tide then added three insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning to take a game-ending 6-2 lead. Williamson earned a walk to begin the frame and advanced to second on a groundout. Senior Tommy Seidl was then intentionally walked before a trio of RBI singles by junior Zane Denton, Diodati and Tamez plated three runs.

The Bulldogs will return to action Tuesday when they hit the road to take on the Memphis Tigers at 6 p.m. CT at AutoZone Park on ESPN+.