Diamond Dawgs Close Out Fall with Tight World Series Finale
November 19, 2017 | Baseball
JACKSON, Miss. – Mississippi State baseball's Fall World Series in Jackson was decided by a home run derby as StarkVegas edged HailState via a home run by Cole Gordon.
"It was an outstanding weekend of baseball for us," Mississippi State head baseball coach Andy Cannizaro said. "We're headed back home to Starkville a better baseball team than we were Friday when we bussed down here."
StarkVegas and HailState played to a 2-2 tie through five innings before a derby became necessary. After seven outs, Gordon crushed a ball to right field to put himself and his team on the board. His opposition, freshman Owen Lovell, followed, but was unable to put a ball over the fence.
HailState struck first in Game Three as freshman Justin Foscue singled in the first inning to bring around Rowdey Jordan, who led off the game with a single.
StarkVegas responded in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of runs. Junior Hunter Stovall led off with a single, moved to second on freshman Jordan Anderson's sacrifice bunt, and scored on a double from junior Elijah MacNamee. Junior Hunter Vansau hit a go-ahead single the next at-bat to bring MacNamee home and give StarkVegas a 2-1 lead.
HailState tied it back up in the third inning as junior Jake Mangum ran home on Denver McQuary's wild pitch.
Both teams were held scoreless from that point. The game ended after five innings, resulting in the home run derby that went in StarkVegas' favor.
Sophomore Noah Hughes started for StarkVegas and allowed the first run of the game. He lasted two innings and struck out a batter. Fellow sophomore Denver McQuary followed with 0.2 innings of work, and allowed HailState's second run on three walks, a hit and a wild pitch.
Freshman Zane Stephens threw 2.1 no-hit innings to finish the game for StarkVegas.
HailState's Game Three starter was Jared Liebelt, who allowed both of StarkVegas' runs on three hits and a walk, and struck out two batters. Freshman Josh Hatcher and junior Spencer Price combined for three innings of no-hit, five-strikeout relief of Liebelt.
Hunter Stovall was named the MVP for the series by Cannizaro after a 5-for-8 weekend, scoring two runs and stealing a base while committing no errors at shortstop.
The Diamond Dawgs now look forward to opening day, set for February 16 when they travel to Hattiesburg, Miss. to take on Southern Miss in a weekend series. You can find the full 2018 MSU baseball schedule here, along with information about the #NewDude.
For more information on the Diamond Dawg program, follow the program on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateBB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."
"It was an outstanding weekend of baseball for us," Mississippi State head baseball coach Andy Cannizaro said. "We're headed back home to Starkville a better baseball team than we were Friday when we bussed down here."
StarkVegas and HailState played to a 2-2 tie through five innings before a derby became necessary. After seven outs, Gordon crushed a ball to right field to put himself and his team on the board. His opposition, freshman Owen Lovell, followed, but was unable to put a ball over the fence.
HailState struck first in Game Three as freshman Justin Foscue singled in the first inning to bring around Rowdey Jordan, who led off the game with a single.
StarkVegas responded in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of runs. Junior Hunter Stovall led off with a single, moved to second on freshman Jordan Anderson's sacrifice bunt, and scored on a double from junior Elijah MacNamee. Junior Hunter Vansau hit a go-ahead single the next at-bat to bring MacNamee home and give StarkVegas a 2-1 lead.
HailState tied it back up in the third inning as junior Jake Mangum ran home on Denver McQuary's wild pitch.
Both teams were held scoreless from that point. The game ended after five innings, resulting in the home run derby that went in StarkVegas' favor.
Sophomore Noah Hughes started for StarkVegas and allowed the first run of the game. He lasted two innings and struck out a batter. Fellow sophomore Denver McQuary followed with 0.2 innings of work, and allowed HailState's second run on three walks, a hit and a wild pitch.
Freshman Zane Stephens threw 2.1 no-hit innings to finish the game for StarkVegas.
HailState's Game Three starter was Jared Liebelt, who allowed both of StarkVegas' runs on three hits and a walk, and struck out two batters. Freshman Josh Hatcher and junior Spencer Price combined for three innings of no-hit, five-strikeout relief of Liebelt.
Hunter Stovall was named the MVP for the series by Cannizaro after a 5-for-8 weekend, scoring two runs and stealing a base while committing no errors at shortstop.
The Diamond Dawgs now look forward to opening day, set for February 16 when they travel to Hattiesburg, Miss. to take on Southern Miss in a weekend series. You can find the full 2018 MSU baseball schedule here, along with information about the #NewDude.
For more information on the Diamond Dawg program, follow the program on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateBB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."
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