From Mississippi State Athletics
STARKVILLE – Postseason baseball is full of heart-pounding, nail-biting and deep-breath moments, and the No. 5 Mississippi State baseball program packed all of those into an 11-6 opening-round victory over Southern in the NCAA Starkville Regional.
Southern
Javeyon Williams – Went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored and one RBI.
Johnny Johnson – Hit a two-run home run to account for Southern’s only multi-RBI game.
Scoring Recap
Bottom First
Jake Mangum started the inning with a hit-by-pitch and Jordan Westburg walked. The pair moved up one base on a Tanner Allen flyball to right field, before Elijah MacNamee‘s groundout scored the first run of the game.
Mississippi State 1, Southern 0
Top Third
Southern tied the game up thanks to a pair of hits and one State error. With two outs, Javeyan Williams singled on a bunt, moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt by MSU starting pitcher JT Ginn and came in to score on a Tyler LaPorte single to left field.
Mississippi State 1, Southern 1
Bottom Third
Westburg walked with one out, before stealing second and third base. With two outs, MacNamee walked in front of Justin Foscue‘s RBI double down the left-field line.
Mississippi State 2, Southern 1
Top Fourth
Brandon Smith replaced Ginn to start the inning and Southern put five of its first seven runners on base and scored twice. After a leadoff single, Smith got a strikeout, before a hit-by-pitch and a stolen base put runners on the corners. Bobby Johnson delivered the first run of the inning with an RBI single to left field, before a Hampton Hudson single loaded the bases. Coby Taylor followed with a bases loaded walk and Williams’ sacrifice fly scored the third run of the frame. Jared Liebelt entered and struck out the final batter of the inning.
Southern 4, Mississippi State 2
Bottom Fifth
The Diamond Dawgs got things rolling with one out in the frame, as Allen reached on an infield base hit, before MacNamee flew out to center field. Four-straight hits followed, starting with a Foscue single to put two runners on base. Dustin Skeltondrove in the first run with a single and Rowdey Jordan followed with an RBI double. Josh Hatcher delivered the go-ahead runs with a two-RBI double off the Adkerson Plaza wall in right field.
Mississippi State 6 Southern 4
Top Seventh
The Jaguars tied it up with a one-out, two-run home run against Liebelt. After Williams doubled to start the inning, Johnny Johnson hit a flyball to left field that Rowdey Jordan nearly caught and brought back into play, but the ball caromed off his glove for Johnson’s fourth home run of the season.
Mississippi State 6 Southern 6
Bottom Seventh
State recaptured the lead thanks to a pair of hits and a Southern error. Jordan started the inning with a single and moved to second on an error by the SU second baseman, which allowed Hatcher to reach base. Marshall Gilbert moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt, before Mangum was intentionally walked. Westburg delivered with the two-RBI single, before a wild pitch allowed Mangum to score the third run of the inning.
Mississippi State 9, Southern 6
Bottom Eighth
A one-out single from Skelton was followed by the sixth home run of the season for Jordan to right field.
Mississippi State 11, Southern 6
Up Next
Mississippi State will play the winner of Miami (Fla.)/Central Michigan at 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 1. The loser of the UM/CMU contest will play Southern in the first game of Saturday at Noon.
