State Drops Opener At Ole Miss

Thursday, April 21

Oxford, Miss.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

22-17, 6-10

Ole Miss

22-15, 6-10

Mississippi State

Ole Miss

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

State Drops Opener At Ole Miss

April 21, 2022 | Baseball

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The series continues at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 22, in Oxford

By: Anna Claire Thomas, Associate Director/Communications

OXFORD – Mississippi State (22-17, 6-10 SEC) fell in the series opener at Ole Miss (22-15, 6-10 SEC) by a score of 4-2 on Thursday night (April 21) at Swayze Field in Oxford.

Mississippi State fell behind 3-0 in the opening frame after Ole Miss plated three unearned runs following a two-out error and three-run home run by Kevin Graham. State's two runs both came on solo home runs by Brad Cumbest in the fifth and Kellum Clark in the seventh, but Ole Miss eventually came out on top in the pitchers' duel with a complete-game performance by starter Dylan DeLucia.

Brandon Smith (2-3) started for Mississippi State and gave the Dawgs a solid six innings, only allowing one earned run on four hits while striking out a career-high nine batters in six innings. Drew Talley, Cam Tullar and Jackson Fristoe combined to pitch the remainder of the game and held Ole Miss scoreless in the final two innings.

DeLucia went the distance on the mound for Ole Miss to move to 3-0 on the season. The righthander allowed two runs – both earned – on five hits, while striking out eight.

Offensively, Clark led the way after going 2-for-3 on the night with a single and a home run, while Cumbest recorded a 1-for-3 effort with a solo home run. Kamren James and Logan Tanner also tallied base hits for the Diamond Dawgs, while both teams totaled five hits apiece in the contest.

SCORING SUMMARY

Bottom First

Ole Miss got the scoring started by scoring three unearned runs on a three-run home run by leftfielder Kevin Graham with two outs after an error kept the inning alive.

Ole Miss 3, Mississippi State 0

Top Fifth

Brad Cumbest made it a two-run ballgame with a solo home run to left field with one away in the fifth. The home run was the 11th of the season for Cumbest.

Ole Miss 3, Mississippi State 1

Bottom Fifth

Hayden Dunhurst extended the Ole Miss lead to three once again in the fifth with a one-out solo home run to right field.

Ole Miss 4, Mississippi State 1

Top Seventh

Kellum Clark hit his 11th home run of the season, a two-out solo shot to right field, to cut the Rebels' lead to 4-2 in the seventh.

Ole Miss 4, Mississippi State 2

ON DECK

The series between Mississippi State and Ole Miss continues with game two at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday, April 22, at Swayze Field in Oxford. Friday's game can be seen on SEC Network+.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the baseball program. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching 'HailStateBB' on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.