State fends off Ole Miss rally to take another series over the Rebels, 6-5

Mississippi State was well on its way to a decisive series win over No. 24 Ole Miss but the Diamond Dawgs let the Rebels hang around in game three.

After building a five-run lead in the middle innings, State’s bullpen began to falter. Ole Miss closed the lead to a run in the final two innings and had the lead runs on base, but the Diamond Dawgs survived a 6-5 victory.

Freshman RHP Ryan McPherson was the hero of the night as he entered the ninth with two on and nobody out and got State out of a jam. This came less than a month after McPherson was on the verge of winning the Governor’s Cup game against the Rebels in Pearl but surrendered a two-run home run in the ninth.

“It felt great,” McPherson said of the win. “Me and Luke Dotson were talking before the game that this was our revenge game. It was a great win for us and great for the team.”

Ligon gives Diamond Dawgs great start to help clinch series

The dramatics late in the game almost overshadowed what was another good start from a Bulldog hurler. A day after Evan SIary tossed the game of his life with his 8.0 scoreless innings and 15 strikeouts, Karson Ligon delivered 5.0 innings, three hits, one run and seven strikeouts. He did walk six batters, but they wouldn’t hurt the senior as he got out of any trouble.

The Diamond Dawgs were in full control for the middle part of the ball game as they touched up starter Mason Nichols for four runs and eight hits in the first 3.2 innings. It continued for Taylor Rabe behind him as State would build a 6-1 lead by the fifth inning.

One thing that would haunt State in the later innings, however, was the fact that they left runners on the bases in the first three frames. MSU was 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position during that stretch and missed a chance to build a big lead.

While the work during the middle innings would get that healthy lead, State’s bullpen struggled to hold it. Ole Miss drove in two runs in the seventh thanks to two walks and a hit batter and two more runs came in during the eighth after Ross Highfill’s error to leadoff the inning set the stage for a pinch hit two-run home run from Collin Reuter off of Luke Dotson.

Ben Davis would get the Bulldogs out of trouble with a strikeout of Judd Utermark, but the Rebels were back in the game.

“That’s what’s plagued us lately when the bullpen has scuffled. It’s been just gifts. For them to score five runs on only six hits is disappointing to me. That’s something that we pride ourselves on, just making them earn it. We allowed them back in the game because of that.”

More trouble was on the way in the ninth as Davis would walk the first two batters and Parker would turn to the true freshman Ryan McPherson to try to find a way out of it.

McPherson came in and turned a 4-6-3 double play to get two outs. After a two-out walk, the freshman would get another ground ball to Sawyer Reeves and it ended the game, sending Dudy Noble Field into celebration.

“It was crazy. I might have blacked out a little bit and I’m still not sure what was happening,” McPherson said. “The defense really put it together. The shortstop made a great play and without that, who knows. I just had really good trust behind me and in front of me with Joe (Powell).”

It was a tough day for the bullpen as a whole with Nate Williams, Luke Dotson and Ben Davis combining for three hits, four runs and four walks in 3.0 innings. McPherson would deliver a scoreless frame but walked one of his own taking the total to 11 walks by State, a day after allowing just one free base.

In the end, the Bulldogs just found a way and that’s all that mattered. A lot of that had to do with the offense finding enough clutch hits in those middle innings. State was 5-of-17 with runners in scoring position as they had 13 total hits and had five different players with multiple base knocks.

Ace Reese had another big day as he went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a double. Bryce Chance extended his hitting streak to 14 games and has had multiple hits in seven of those as he’s batted nearly .500 during his hit streak the last few weeks.

Gatlin Sanders also came up big in the game and was 2-for-3 with two RBI coming in clutch at bats. Sawyer Reeves and Gehrig Frei each had two hits with Reeves knocking in a run. Hunter Hines and Noah Sullivan missed some chances as the four and five-hole hitters were a combined 0-for-10 with four strikeouts.

Up Next

MSU (31-20, 12-15) have now put themselves in prime position to get to postseason, but it won’t be as easy as many think. State has to travel to Missouri next week to take on a Tiger team that is gunning for the SEC record in losses.

Mizzou has only won two SEC games all season long, but both of those have come in the last two days on the road at Texas A&M. It’s a team that has been playing better baseball the last couple of series and they’ve also had State’s number in recent years. Two victories should all but seal up an NCAA Tournament berth but the Bulldogs will have to earn it.

Before traveling to Columbia, Mo., State will host North Alabama on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in the final game at DNF this year.

“First off, North Alabama will have our full attention on Tuesday night and then we’ll turn to Missouri on Thursday. They have a very unique setup and at times I feel like it’s one of the best home field advantages in the league because it’s so unique. They’ll have our full attention. We have incredible respect for everybody in this league because it’s so hard to get (wins).”