STARKVILLE, Miss. – A three-run home run by Mississippi State outfielder Dakota Jordan in the bottom of the third inning proved to be the difference on Friday night, as the host Bulldogs picked up a 5-2 victory over the visiting University of Evansville baseball team in the series opener at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Mississippi.
“We had a chance tonight,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “I thought our offense did a great job of putting us into position to have a chance in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings tonight, but we just couldn’t get that next big hit to really unlock things. You really have to credit their bullpen, as they did a great job of mixing and matching their relievers tonight.
“Overall, I thought we gave a great effort today, and it was just a really good college baseball game that didn’t go our way. We are ready to get ourselves back in the series tomorrow.”
Jordan drilled a 1-2 fastball from UE starter Nick Smith (0-2) to left field for his sixth home run of the year to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead. It came as part of a 4-for-4 night for Jordan, as he teamed with first baseman Hunter Hines to produce seven of Mississippi State’s 11 hits on the night, and drive in all five runs for the Bulldogs.
Following Jordan’s home run in the third inning, Evansville answered back with a run of its own in the fourth thanks to a triple off the wall in right field by senior first baseman Kip Fougerousse and a sacrifice fly by junior outfielder Ty Rumsey to cut the MSU lead to 3-1. Jordan would follow in the fourth with another RBI single though, and Hines beat out an infield single to push the Mississippi State lead to 5-1.
The score would remain 5-1 until the seventh inning, when Evansville would load the bases and score a run on an infield RBI single by graduate third baseman Brent Widder. UE would load the bases in the seventh, but back-to-back strikeouts would end UE’s threat.
Evansville would then bring the tying run to the plate in the eighth inning as well, after a double by graduate catcher Brendan Hord and a single by Rumsey, but the Bulldogs would once again escape the jam with a fly out and ground out. Mississippi State closer Brooks Auger then worked around a single by Widder in the ninth inning to slam the door on Evansville for his second save of the year.
Widder paced Evansville offensively by going 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Rumsey also went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Overall, Evansville pounded out 11 base hits, including three doubles on the evening. Reliever Shane Harris kept Evansville in the contest, as he entered the game in the fifth inning with two on and no one out, and tossed 4.0 scoreless innings of relief, while striking out five men.
“The job that Shane Harris did tonight was special,” said Carroll. “To come in with runners on first and second and no one out and then to put up a goose egg was huge. And, he just continued to battle all night from there and really did a great job of giving us a chance. I am really proud of his effort tonight.”
With the victory, Mississippi State improves to 10-4 on the season, as the Bulldogs run their win streak to seven-straight games. Evansville, meanwhile, falls to 7-6 with the loss. The series will continue on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m., as UE will send senior LHP Donovan Schultz to the mound for the start. Saturday’s game can be seen live on the SEC Network+ streaming service.
