STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Mississippi State baseball team scored runs in every inning from the second through sixth innings on Saturday, as the Bulldogs powered past the visiting University of Evansville Purple Aces, 8-3, at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Mississippi.
“It is tough to lose a series on Saturday, as we came down here with expectations, but just have not played well enough to win in the first two games,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “We have also run up against a very good opponent who is playing really good baseball right now, and their middle of the order has really done some damage this weekend.
“I am really looking forward to coming to the yard tomorrow, and seeing our character show. I know that we are going to get a good effort tomorrow, and hopefully, we can salvage one here on Sunday and show what we are capable of.”
Mississippi State opened the scoring in the second inning thanks to a lead-off walk and then back-to-back singles by third baseman Logan Kohler and outfielder Connor Hujsak. Catcher Joe Powell then delivered a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 2-0 after two innings.
Evansville threatened to tie the game in the top of the third inning after a two-out double by junior outfielder Harrison Taubert and a walk by Mark Shallenberger, but MSU starter Khal Stephen (2-1) induced a fly-out to end the inning. Mississippi State first baseman Hunter Hines followed in the bottom of the third inning with a solo home run to right field to push the lead to 3-0.
Stephen would proceed to retire nine of the next 10 UE batters, while his teammates would extend the lead in every frame through the sixth inning. A two-out RBI double by shortstop Dylan Cupp in the fourth inning moved the MSU lead to 4-0, before outfielder Dakota Jordan delivered a towering two-run home run in the fifth inning and a two-run double in the sixth inning to give the Bulldogs an 8-0 lead. Through the first two games of the series, Jordan has gone 6-for-7 with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBI and two runs scored.
Evansville’s offense would finally get on the scoreboard in the eighth inning, as Taubert crushed a two-run home run to left-center field and graduate third baseman Brent Widder followed two batters later with a solo home run to left field to trim the MSU lead to 8-3. That would be as close as Evansville would come though.
Taubert led Evansville by going 2-for-4 with a double, home run, and two RBI. Widder also went 1-for-4 with his team-leading fifth home run of the year.
With the victory, Mississippi State extends its winning streak to eight-straight games, as the Bulldogs improve to 11-4 overall. Evansville, meanwhile, sees its season record even at 7-7. The series will conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m. Freshman left-hander Kenton Deverman (2-0, 2.55 ERA) is expected to get the start for UE. Sunday’s game can be seen live on the SEC Network+ streaming service.
