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Another bullpen meltdown from Mississippi State hands series to Gators, 11-8

3rupauk8_400x400by:Robbie Faulk•04/19/25•

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Evan Siary (Photo by Mississippi State Athletics)

For the second-straight day, Mississippi State put on a clinic on how to lose a ball game and it cost the Bulldogs the series.

Holding a 6-3 lead in the seventh inning, State’s bullpen and catching fell apart. The Diamond Dawgs surrendered six runs to lose the lead and couldn’t get it back. Florida would take an 11-8 victory and the series win after that.

On Friday night, it was Stone Simmons delivering six runs on six hits without recording an out as the Bulldogs went from leading 3-2 to trailing bit and ultimately getting run ruled. Nate Williams was the one blowing up on Saturday as the reliever surrendered six runs, three hits and two walks without even recording an out.

State’s bullpen pitching was poor for the second-straight night as Ben Davis, Williams, Luke Dotson and Ryan McPherson pitched 5.0 innings and gave up seven hits, nine runs and had six walks. MSU walked eight batters total with four wild pitches.

The Bulldogs also missed plenty of issues at the plate despite scoring eight runs. State had the bases loaded and no one out in the fourth inning and got nothing out of it. The Diamond Dawgs had 11 hits but left seven on the bases.

It was a game in which State had a multi-run lead in the middle inning for the second day in a row. After getting an early 2-1 lead in the first on a two-run home run by Noah Sullivan, the game was tied in the fourth on a two-out RBI single – a half inning after MSU had left the bases juiced.

State got down 3-2 in the fifth after a wild pitch, but would get back in control of the game. Ace Reese had a two-run single while Ross Highfill drove in a run on a bases loaded hit by pitch with two outs and then an infield single from Nolan Stevens giving MSU a 6-3 advantage.

That lead wouldn’t hold as Williams and the State bullpen fell apart and the Bulldogs couldn’t take back control.

Of the 11 hits, Sullivan finished 3-for-5 with the two RBI and Reese was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Reed Stallman hit a two-run home run and went deep for the second day in a row while Gatlin Sanders had a 2-for-4 evening.

The loss dropped State to  23-16 on the season and now 5-12 in SEC play as the race to get into the Regionals is starting to wind down. MSU will try to salvage a game in the series on Sunday with a 2 p.m. first pitch on ESPN 2.

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