BULLDOGS BEATEN
Arkansas base runner Carson Shaddy (20) makes it back to first base before Mississippi State's Brent Rooker can secure the pick off throw from pitcher Jacob Billingsley on Friday night in Hoover, Alabama. The Bulldogs lost to the Razorbacks and the Florida Gators earlier in the day to be eliminated from the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
HOOVER, Ala. – Mississippi State had two chances to advance to the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference on Friday and had solid starts from its pitchers in both ball games.
Despite giving up just four runs in 12 innings, Cole Gordon and Jacob Billingsley didn't get the help.
In game two of the doubleheader, Blaine Knight of Arkansas seemingly shut down MSU hitting and kept the offense at bay as the Bulldogs bowed out of the tournament with a 9-2 loss.
“We had a good couple of games (at the tournament) and those two were a little disappointing at the end, but overall we played well,” Billingsley said of MSU's week run. “We had a lot of positive things happen and our defense played fantastic behind our pitchers.”
Billingsley followed Gordon's strong start with one of his own. The junior pitcher tied a career high with five innings pitched giving up just three hits and two runs and striking out five batters. After giving up two hits in the first inning, he only allowed one more the rest of the way with a solo home run in the sixth being the difference.
That home run gave Arkansas a 2-1 lead after Knight and Billingsley both were dealing through that part of the game. Billingsley gave
up a double from Chad Spanberger and an RBI single followed in the first as State fell behind 1-0 early.
The Bulldogs answered the next inning as Hunter Vansau got a run across on an error on the throw to first base from his grounder. The game stayed tied at 1-1 until the sixth when Arkansas broke through.
An RBI triple scored another run in the inning without an out with Trey Jolly on the mound and the lead expanded out to 4-1 following a double.
The floodgates opened in the inning as Arkansas pounded out six runs on six hits and take a 7-1 lead that they wouldn't lose the rest of the way.
The only excitement remaining would be Cody Brown's solo home run in the seventh as well as the first appearance on the mound for Brent Rooker. The All-SEC first baseman took to the mound with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. It wasn't incredibly successful as he gave up a four-pitch walk and a two-run double for the 9-2 final.
The Bulldogs' bats were cold against the Razorback arms with just five hits. Brown led the way with his 2-for-4 performance driving in one of the two runs on his solo homer. No one else manufactured multiple hits and Rooker went hitless for the secondstraight game.
There is a bit of unknown for MSU going into Monday as they await their regional destination that will be announced at the start of the week. The Bulldogs feel safely in for the tournament after a 36-24 season to this point and likely will be a No. 2 seed on the road.
“We feel really good about where we are going into a potential regional,” Cannizaro said. “I'm really proud of our guys for the effort that they gave us this week and that they've given to us all year long through some injuries and other things that have happened along the way.”