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Evan Siary delivers 4-1 masterpiece to even up State/Ole Miss series

3rupauk8_400x400by:Robbie Faulk•05/10/25•

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Evan Siary (Photo by Mississippi State Athletics)

40 minutes after Mississippi State was crushed 10-4 in game one of the series against No. 24 Ole Miss, the Bulldogs had their backs against the wall.

State didn’t pitch it particularly well in the game one against the Rebels and the bats couldn’t find a way to come through in key situations. Game two told a different story.

Starkville Academy graduate Evan Siary came out as a man on a mission. The junior right hander carved up the Rebel lineup for 15 strikeouts in 8.0 innings and the Bulldogs got enough offense to even the series in a 4-1 victory.

“It was just such a special outing,” interim head coach Justin Parker said. “He’s probably our hardest worker. I didn’t even realize he had 15 strikeouts until someone told me in the dugout. He had all four pitches working. Commanded all four pitches and had strikeouts on all four pitches – a lot on the fastball, several on the curveball.”

Siary’s career day keeps State postseason hopes alive

14,468 looked on as the Bulldogs bounced back in game two. It was the seventh largest crowd in NCAA history and handed MSU all of the top 22 crowds all-time. Siary and the State players fed off of it.

One-by-one, the Rebel batters came to the plate and they consistently went back to the dugout dejected. Siary hurled arguably the best pitching performance for a State pitcher since Will Bednar’s masterpiece in game one of the College World Series in 2021 against Texas.

“It means a lot. The team came out and played great overall and it was a great team win overall,” Siary said. “It was definitely different. Every SEC game means a lot. Every night is going to be a dogfight no matter what. It was just stay focused, keep going, trust the guy next to me and do whatever it takes to win the ball game.”

Siary matched Bednar’s 15 strikeouts for a new career-high and also threw a career-high 8.0 innings as he scattered six hits in his shutout with no walks. His biggest moment came in the eighth inning when he gave up a hit and hit a batter with two outs and got a mound visit from Parker.

“It was his game; I wasn’t taking him out,” Parker said. “I was just checking his pulse and giving him a breather, but I knew how the crowd would react to that. I felt like that got him over the hump and through the eighth.”

The junior’s first pitch to Isaac Humphrey was a ball headed for the grass in center but Sawyer Reeves tracked it down for the final out. It preserved Siary’s shutout and kept the momentum in the home dugout.

After having trouble breaking through against starter Riley Maddox for 6.1 innings, State finally got some insurance in the bottom of the 8th as Hunter Hines and Bryce Chance came through with two-out RBI singles to extend the lead to 4-0.

Ben Davis came out of the bullpen for the Bulldogs and put the first two batters on base but back-to-back flyouts and then a strikeout left the Rebels with just a run and State escaped.

The Bulldog offense had seven hits in the ball game with a 2-for-4 game from both Hunter Hines and Bryce Chance. The senior Chance delivered two runs in the game on top of the RBI triple that he had in the first game of the day. Hines had a double and an RBI.

State (30-20, 11-15 SEC) now has the season evened up at a game a piece with a game three to come. Rain could play a factor in the final ball game but it was moved to Saturday night at 7 p.m.

“I think our mindset as a team is every game is like the playoffs,” Ace Reese said. “We’re trying to get even in the SEC to make a playoff run this year.”

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