Diamond Dawg bats disappear in the clutch as Troy takes 6-5 win at Dudy Noble

Opportunity knocked for Mississippi State on Tuesday night all game long and the No. 18 Diamond Dawgs left the door unanswered.

With Bulldogs routinely on the bases, State came through with a couple of hits but it wasn’t enough. Meanwhile, the No. 21 Troy Trojans found the long ball in their favor and overcame 20 strikeouts on the way to a 6-5 midweek win.

State left Dudy Noble Field dejected as 14 men were left on base including five in the final two innings without a run scored.

“We had so many opportunities to score. I don’t mind if you don’t score, but you’ve got to compete and put balls in play hard. We’re having our worst at bats when those are out there,” head coach Chris Lemonis said. “We win that game 90% of the time with what happens in the eighth. We got the bases loaded with one out and our middle of the lineup coming up and we don’t compete. They got momentum on their side and next thing you know they get the big hit.”

Diamond Dawgs fail to come through at the plate

It was a game that defied the stat sheet as the Diamond Dawgs dominated the Troy hitters at times and spent plenty of time occupying bases offensively. MSU had 13 hits as a team and had six more free bases, but the runs didn’t come when they were needed.

Hunter Hines had nine of the 14 base runners left stranded as the senior first baseman found himself up at critical moments in almost every at bat. In an 0-for-5 night, Hines struck out four times and had men on base in all five at bats. Three of those at bats came with two outs.

“He’s got to get out of his head a little bit and compete,” Lemonis said of Hines. “He was up there in a lot of big opportunities. We need a hit in that spot. I’m going to have to take a look at my lineup because we can’t go through some of the things we did last year.”

The missed opportunities were endless for the Bulldogs as they left two runners standing at third base through the first two innings. As State faltered at the plate, a former Bulldog came through as Bulldog transfer Shane Lewis hit home runs in each of his first two at bats.

A homer in the second and another with the fifth got the team out to a 2-0 lead and Troy scored three more runs in that middle inning to build a 5-0 lead. State came roaring back in the next two frames as Noah Sullivan came up with the bases juiced and one out and hit a grand slam to right field to close the gap to 5-4.

In the sixth inning, Ace Reese delivered a clutch two-out RBI to tie the game up at 5-5.

After loading the bases with one out in the eighth, State sent the four and five hole hitters to the plate in Sullivan and Hines. Sullivan got a 3-0 count but would strike out swinging. Hines followed with a strikeout of his own on just three pitches.

Troy would make the Bulldogs pay in the top of the ninth as Ben Davis threw a 3-0 pitch with two outs to leadoff hitter Steven Meier and he deposited it deep in right field for the 6-5 lead. State put two on with one out and had a flyout and groundout to end the game.

It was a tough pill to swallow for the Bulldogs for multiple reasons. For one, newcomer Jacob Pruitt delivered a dazzling start as he threw 4.0 innings and surrendered only a solo home run with no walks and nine strikeouts to 13 batters he faced.

Gavin Black, Evan Siary and Davis threw 4.2 innings giving up just two hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts and the lone run was Davis’ homer. JT Schnoor had the toughest day in his Bulldog debut as he gave up four hits, four runs, one walk and struck out one batter for the only out recorded.

The 20 strikeouts from MSU pitching was the most since the Bulldogs struck out 21 against Texas on June 20, 2021 in the first game of the College World Series.

“I thought most of the guys pitched great,” Lemonis said. “Solo homers aren’t going to beat you usually. The inning like the fifth inning is what beats us.”

State had 13 hits in the game with a 3-for-4 night in Gherig Frei’s second-straight start and he added a double. Lemonis pulled Frei out in the eighth inning for defensive purposes and he was replaced by Lukas Buckner who had the final out of the game.

Ace Reese, Reed Stallman and Sullivan all had two hits with Sullivan leading the way with the four RBI and Stallman getting two doubles.

“We put really good at bats together. We’re a really good offense. But whether or not I had a good night or not doesn’t really matter. If I get a walk in that last at bat (in the eighth inning), we win. I’ve got to be better and I can’t do that,” Sullivan said.

“We have to be better. We can’t lose at home. This place is too cool and too awesome to lose at home no matter who comes in here.”

Up Next

The loss was the second for State (6-2) and both of them have come to midweek foes from the Sun Belt. Last week, the Bulldogs were shutout 3-0 to Southern Miss and this week’s game had more offensive issues.

The Bulldogs will have to rebound quickly with a three-game neutral site set at Houston, Texas this weekend. MSU plays at the Houston Astros Stadium at Daikin Park. State plays Rice on Friday at 11:05 a.m., Arizona on Saturday at 3:05 p.m. and Oklahoma State on Sunday at 2:05 p.m.

All games can be streamed on Astros.com.