Bulldog season ends with more self-inflicted wounds in 9-2 loss at Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – All season long, Mississippi State has been plagued in its losses by mental mistakes and droughts offensively and it finished the Bulldogs’ season off on Sunday evening.

After receiving exactly what it needed pitching wise in 8.0 innings of action, the offense never showed for the Bulldogs. A late meltdown on the mound from closer Tyler Davis allowed the floodgates to open up on what was a tight game as Virginia ended State’s run at the Charlottesville Regional with a 9-2 victory.

“Congrats to Virginia. Really good ball club, one of the better teams we’ve faced all year. Kind of hate to have the ninth inning go the way that it went,” head coach Chris Lemonis said. “We’ve played pretty clean all year and played games tight and it was a really good ball game to that point. I’m proud of my guys. I’ve got a tough, gritty group.”

In a game where both teams were down the line in their pitching rotation, the two starters did everything they could to keep the offenses at bay and had career performances. Pico Kohn threw career highs with 7.0 innings and eight strikeouts while giving up six hits, three runs, two earned runs and one walk.

As good as Kohn was, it was Jay Woolfolk that would be the difference and State’s lack of production against him would be a dagger. Woolfolk came into the game with a 6.85 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 44.2 innings while surrendered a .273 batting average.

He left it with a 3-2 lead in the ninth with seven hits, two runs, one walk and seven strikeouts.

Both of those runs came in the first inning as State followed up a run in the first from UVA with a two-run home run from Dakota Jordan. After that, the Bulldogs didn’t score for the final eight innings.

State had pivotal moments in the game. The Bulldogs had a leadoff double from Hunter Hines in the fourth and followed with three-straight outs. Mershon got State a runner at second with no outs again in the sixth but was picked off at second. With two outs in the eighth, Jordan tried to steal second and slid off the bag resulting in an inning-ending double play.

“We had a couple of opportunities there in a tight ball game to make something happen,” Lemonis said. “Those little moments kept the momentum in their dugout.”

The momentum from the way that inning would finish made for an implosion of a ninth.

With one out and closer Tyler Davis coming in to face the UVA lineup, things unraveled as rain fell. Davis opened the door for an incredible seven-straight base runners with four hits, three walks, two wild pitches and an error in a six-run frame. 12 batters came to the plate and the game was put out of reach at 9-2.

“It’s baseball. You do what you can, stay calm, keep yourself composed,” David Mershon said of the inning. “Ultimately things like that are going to happen. It doesn’t change what our season was like or how we are as a team. It’s baseball.”

State had nine hits in the game with two-hit games from Mershon, Jordan, Hunter Hines and Aaron Downs.  

On the mound, State had the career night from Kohn to give the Bulldogs a chance and Gavin Black was also doing his part as he retired the first four batters he faced with three strikeouts. Lemonis and pitching coach Justin Parker opted to bring in the closer Davis to get the final two outs but things fell apart as he gave up four hits and six runs without recording an out.

It ended State’s year at 40-23 as the Bulldogs finished in the postseason after missing it two-straight seasons. All-in-all, it was a success in the coach’s eyes.

“It’s a special group. It’s a really successful team, but it’s been a really tough ride,” Lemonis said. “Some heartbreaking losses, a really tough first week of the season and we played one of the toughest schedules in the country. We had to fight through some tough games and I give our kids a lot of credit.”rrrrrr