Another Miss. State walk-off victory

OMAHA, NEB. — Mississippi State’s flair for the dramatic continued in its College World Series opener.

Luke Alexander’s drive to right field got past Christian Jones in the bottom of the ninth inning, allowing Hunter Stovall to score from second base to give Mississippi State a 1-0 victory over Washington on Saturday night.

Of the Bulldogs’ seven wins in the NCAA Tournament, three have come in walk-off fashion and a fourth on their final at-bat.

“We’ve been through a lot this year, and when situations like that come up, we as a whole team have full confidence in whoever is at the plate and that it’s going to happen,” Stovall said.

Stovall and Elijah MacNamee singled leading off the ninth against Andy Hardy (5-3). After Justin Foscue fouled out on a bunt try, Alexander hit an 0-2 slider deep to right. Jones was playing shallow and gave chase, but he couldn’t catch up to the ball as it bounced to the wall.

Alexander easily scored, prompting players to pour out of the Mississippi State dugout and celebrate on the grass behind third base.

Starters Ethan Small of the Bulldogs (38-27) and Joe DeMers of Washington (3525) traded zeroes through seven fast-paced innings.

Mississippi State plays North Carolina today in a Bracket 1 winners’ game. Washington plays Oregon State in an elimination game in the afternoon.