No. 9 Mississippi State baseball falls to Southern Miss 7-1

PEARL, Miss. — The No. 9 Mississippi State baseball team surrendered a 9-1 loss to Southern Miss on Wednesday night at Trustmark Park.

With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 5-4 (0-0 SEC), while the Golden Eagles improve to 6-2 (0-0 C-USA).

Hits were tied 7-7 for the game. Junior Logan Tanner was 2-for-4 with one RBI for MSU, while freshman Hunter Hines also finished with two hits. For Southern Miss, senior Gabe Montenegro led the way with three hits, three RBIs and one run. Sophomore Rodrigo Montenegro was 2-for-4 with two runs.

Sophomore starting pitcher Jackson Fristoe (1-1) was charged with the loss after allowing four runs on four hits with two walks in four innings pitched.

Freshman Pico Kohn then allowed two runs on one hit with two walks and one strikeout in 1 ²⁄₃ innings. Senior Brandon Smith then pitched 1 ¹⁄₃ innings and allowed one run on two hits with one strikeout. Sophomore Mikey Tepper, freshman Cole Cheatham and sophomore Brooks Auger then combined to pitch scoreless seventh and eighth innings.

Southern Miss sophomore starting pitcher Tanner Hall (1-0) earned the win after striking out a career-high 13 batters and holding the Bulldogs scoreless in seven innings of work.

In the bottom of the third inning, Fristoe issued a walk to redshirt freshman Carson Paetow to lead things off. Rodrigo Montenegro followed with a single through the right side before a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third. Gabe Montenegro brought them home with a triple and scored on junior Reece Ewing’s RBI single to right-center field to give the Golden Eagles a 3-0 lead.

A walk and a hit batter put two runners on for Southern Miss to begin the bottom of the fourth inning. A sacrifice bunt moved both runners up a base before a wild pitch made it a 4-0 ballgame.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Ewing drew a one-out walk and junior Danny Lynch drew a two-out walk. A wild pitch moved both runners up before sophomore Slade Wilks’ two-RBI double to left field increased the Golden Eagles’ lead to 6-0.

Rodrigo Montenegro hit a double down the left-field line in the bottom of the sixth inning and advanced to third on a flyout. Gabe Montenegro scored him with a single to center field to make it 7-0.

The Bulldogs ended the shutout in the top of the eighth inning when senior Luke Hancock drew a walk and Tanner hit an RBI double to center field to end the game’s scoring at 7-1.

The Bulldogs will return to action Friday when they open a three-game road series against Tulane in New Orleans. Friday’s first pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.