Pair of Sunday wins over Tigers encouraging for Bulldogs

Mississippi state 4, auburn 3, eight innings

STARKVILLE – A rainout on Saturday presented a long and interesting day in the making for Mississippi State baseball.

With a sweep of the utmost importance for an MSU team trying to get back to postseason, the Diamond Dawgs needed toughness to get through two seven-inning games. It came down to that final frame in the first game and the Bulldogs needed extra innings in game two, but they found a way to grab the three-game sweep with the 3-1 and 4-3 victories on Sunday.

“It feels great and just shows the amount of trust that we have in each other,” MSU outfielder Connor Hujsak said. “We just keep building and getting better and better. It's going to be a good ride going forward now.

“Anytime you can sweep, it's big time. We've had opportunities and the past and haven't capitalized. Finally getting one of them feels really good.”

Trailing 3-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh in game three of the series, the Bulldogs tied things up but left a golden opportunity there for the taking. After hits from Hujsak and Bryce Chance started the frame, Logan Kohler came through with a huge double in the gap that scored both to tie the game at 3-3.

That momentum was quickly erased when MSU had pinch runner Aaron Downs picked off and two more outs followed. The Bulldogs got another chance in the eighth with a leadoff double from Amani Larry but got down to two outs with two men on base.

Hujsak came through with a big hit of his own as the centerfielder singled into left field and the game-winning run came across for the 4-3 victory.

The Bulldogs finished the game with nine hits with two each coming from Hujsak, Bryce Chance and Kohler and Kohler drove in three runs in the win.

It was Bulldog pitching that stole the show in the game, however. Outside a fourth inning blowup with four walks and three runs on just one hit, MSU pitched a gem of a game.

Brooks Auger got the start and retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced with three strikeouts, but he left the game in the fourth after giving up a hit and two walks.

Eventually, the Bulldogs lost a 1-0 lead on those three runs, but the pitching staff got back in the game.

Cam Schuelke, Nolan Stevens and Tyson Hardin threw the final five innings giving up just one hit, one walk and striking out six. The bulk of that work came from right hander Hardin, who struck out five of the six batters he faced.

Hardin was the hero of the first game as well. Coming into a bases loaded jam in that game two in the seventh and MSU clinging to a 3-1 lead, Hardin got a fly out to end the game and gave the Bulldogs the win.

In the first game, Jurrangelo Cijntje set MSU up well in the bullpen as he went 6.2 innings, gave up just three hits, one run, three walks and five strikeouts. The win improved him to 6-1 this season.

“My mindset was just to minimize the runs and give my team a chance so we could stay in the game,” Cijntje said. “I knew that if I could hold them to one or two runs, we were going to win the game.”

For the weekend, the Bulldogs held a solid Auburn offense to just five runs with the bullpen holding the Tigers scoreless through 7.1 innings with a save, win and 10 strikeouts to just two walks.

At the plate, MSU left 11 batters on base in game two with 11 hits and three walks resulting in just the three runs. Dakota Jordan, Hunter Hines, Hujsak and Chance all had two hits.

The Bulldogs (26-14, 10-8 SEC) have their most SEC wins since 2021 after sweeping an SEC opponent for the first time since that year. The 10 wins are also already more than State was able to corral in each of the last two seasons.

Trying to build a resume for postseason, MSU will have another big weekend coming up starting next Friday when the team heads to No. 13 Vanderbilt (29-11, 10-8 SEC).

Lemonis likes how his team finds ways to respond and he's hoping that they take a step forward this week.

“They're tough,” Lemonis said of his team. “Our journey has not been easy. Sometimes when you go through that and watch teams grow, I'm hoping today helps us grow again. We've got a good group that can do some special things. We're kind of waiting on a couple of guys to join the party. If they start playing a little bit better, we can be a team to reckon with.”