ARLINGTON, TEXAS – Fourth-ranked Mississippi State erupted for 15 runs on 15 hits and withstood a late Virginia Tech rally to claim a 15-8 victory Saturday afternoon at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field.<\/p>\n
The Diamond Dawgs (11-0) stayed unbeaten behind a relentless offensive attack that produced runs in six different innings and a five-run seventh that broke the game open.<\/p>\n
Mississippi State finished with 10 walks and went 8-for-16 with runners in scoring position, consistently applying pressure to the Hokies’ pitching staff.<\/p>\n
MSU wasted little time setting the tone. After Aidan Teel<\/a> singled in the first and moved into scoring position, Reed Stallman<\/a> laced an RBI double to right to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.<\/p>\n State struck again in the second. Bryce Chance<\/a> doubled and Teel followed with an RBI single to center. Ace Reese<\/a> then launched a two-run homer to right-center, pushing the lead to 4-0 and energizing the pro-Mississippi State crowd at the home of the Texas Rangers.<\/p>\n Virginia Tech trimmed the margin to 4-1 in the third but the Bulldogs answered with a steady stream of offense. An RBI hit-by-pitch from Chance in the fifth stretched the advantage to 5-1.<\/p>\n The decisive blow came in the seventh. Gehrig Frei<\/a> opened the inning with a double and the Diamond Dawgs loaded the bases with no outs. James Nunnallee<\/a> was plunked to force in a run, Chance followed with an RBI single, and Teel delivered a two-run single through the right side. Reese capped the five-run frame with a sacrifice fly, extending MSU’s lead to 10-2.<\/p>\n Mississippi State kept pouring it on in the eighth when Jacob Parker<\/a>, pinch hitting, crushed a 415-foot, three-run homer to right-center to make it 13-2. The Bulldogs added two more in the ninth on an RBI hit-by-pitch by Chone James<\/a> and a run-scoring single from Drew Wyers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Teel paced State’s 15-hit barrage, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two stolen bases. Reese finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs, while Parker drove in three off the bench. Frei added two hits and scored twice as the Bulldogs’ lineup showed its depth from top to bottom.<\/p>\n On the mound, Tomas Valincius<\/a> improved to 3-0, allowing two runs on four hits over 5 1\/3 innings while striking out seven. Brendan Sweeney<\/a> provided 1 2\/3 scoreless innings in relief before Virginia Tech mounted a late rally against the bullpen. Jack Gleason<\/a> slammed the door in the ninth with three strikeouts to secure the win.<\/p>\n The Hokies scored three runs in both the eighth and ninth innings, including back-to-back-to-back home runs in the final frame, but the early cushion built by Mississippi State proved more than enough.<\/p>\n The Diamond Dawgs wrap up their stay with a showdown with No. 1 UCLA on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. streamed on FloCollege. State will send sophomore right-hander Duke Stone<\/a> (2-0, 2.70 ERA) to the mound while the Bruins counter with righty Landon Stump (0-0, 6.35 ERA). <\/p>\n Visit\u00a0www.HailState.com<\/a>\u00a0for the latest news and information on the baseball program. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching ‘HailStateBB’ on\u00a0X<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n