Mississippi State baseball falls to Ole Miss 5-2 in annual Governor's Cup

PEARL, Miss. — With the game tied 2-2, Mississippi State surrendered three runs to Ole Miss in the fifth inning, falling 5-2 in the annual Governor's Cup on Tuesday night at Trustmark Park.

With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 24-18 (8-10 SEC), while the Rebels improve to 23-17 (6-12 SEC) and claim the Governor’s Cup for the first time since 2015.

MSU was limited to four hits and had 13 flyouts in the game. Freshman Hunter Hines was responsible for bringing in MSU’s only two runs after he hit a single to third base. For Ole Miss, sophomore Jacob Gonzalez and senior Kevin Graham both recorded 2-for-4 nights at the plate with one RBI apiece.

Sophomore pitcher Mikey Tepper started for the Bulldogs and allowed two runs on two hits with four strikeouts and three walks in four innings pitched. Sophomore Lane Forsythe (0-1) then entered the game and was charged with the loss after allowing three runs on four hits in one-third of an inning. Senior Cam Tullar pitched the next 3 ²⁄₃ innings and fanned eight batters while allowing just one hit. Drew Talley pitched the ninth inning and struck out two batters.

Junior Drew McDaniel (4-2) earned the win for the Rebels after allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Freshman Mason Nichols then allowed one hit in three innings of work before senior Brandon Johnson pitched the ninth inning to earn his fourth save on the year.

The Rebels struck first with two runs in the top of the first inning. Senior Justin Bench was walked and scored on Gonzalez’s RBI triple to right-center field. An RBI groundout from senior Tim Elko scored Gonzalez to give Ole Miss a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom half of the first, senior Luke Hancock and junior Logan Tanner drew two-out walks and advanced on a wild pitch. Hines singled to score Hancock, and Tanner scored on an errant throw to first to make it a 2-2 ballgame.

After three scoreless innings, Ole Miss junior Peyton Chatagnier hit a leadoff single to left field in the top of the fifth inning off of Forsythe. A flyout followed before Gonzalez hit a double to right field to put runners on second and third. Elko then hit a two-RBI single to left field before Graham hit an RBI double to right field to give Ole Miss a 5-2 lead.

The Bulldogs will return to action Friday when they open a three-game Southeastern Conference series at Missouri at 6 p.m. CT. The series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. before concluding with a 2 p.m. first pitch on Sunday. The first two games will air on SEC Network+, while Sunday’s series finale will air on SEC Network.