Mississippi State
26-29, 0
#1 Tennessee
48-7, 0
State Drops Game Two to No. 1 Tennessee
May 20, 2022 | Baseball
The series finale against Tennessee is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday in Starkville.
STARKVILLE -- Mississippi State (26-29, 9-20 SEC) lost Game Two of the series against top-ranked Tennessee (48-7, 24-5 SEC) 4-3 on Friday (May 20) in front of 10,592 in attendance at Dudy Noble Field.
The Bulldogs got on the board first as Hunter Hines led off the bottom of the second with a solo shot to center. Tennessee tied things up in the top of the fifth and the game remained knotted until the bottom of the eighth.
Hines led off the bottom of the eighth with a double down the first baseline followed up by a single from Brad Cumbest. Kellum Clark delivered a double in the gap to score a pair of runs.
But the lead was short-lived as the Volunteers produced three runs of their own with two outs in the eighth, two of which came via a home run.
Preston Johnson got the start on the mound and was able to keep the Tennessee offense at-bay for most of his outing. Johnson went 7 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on four hits with one walk and fanned 10. It was his sixth game of the season recording double-digit strikeouts.
KC Hunt went the rest of the way in relief, allowing just a hit and a walk while striking out two.
Each team finished with eight hits. Hines went 3-for-4 with a double, home run and two runs scored. Brayland Skinner went 2-for-3 with two singles and two stolen bases. Clark, Cumbest and Luke Hancock each picked up a base hit.
Bottom 2
Hunter Hines hit a solo homer to center field.
Tennessee 0, Mississippi State 1
Top 5
Evan Russell doubled to left-center and advanced to third on a Cortland Lawson groundout. Seth Stephenson singled to center and scored Russell.
Tennessee 1, Mississippi State 1
Bottom 7
Hines led off with a double down the right-field line and advanced to third on a Brad Cumbest single. Cumbest stole second. Kellum Clark doubled to right-center to score Hines and Cumbest.
Tennessee 1, Mississippi State 3
Top 8
Luc Lipcius hit a double to right center. Jordan Beck hit a single to the left side to score Lipcius. Drew Gilbert hit a two-run home run to left field.
Tennessee 4, Mississippi State 3
The series finale is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, at Dudy Noble Field. The contest will air on SEC Network+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Blade Tidwell (2-1)
L: Johnson, Preston (3-4)
Batting:
2B: Luc Lipcius 1 ; Drew Gilbert 1 ; Evan Russell 1
HR: Drew Gilbert 1
RBI: Seth Stephenson 1 ; Jordan Beck 1 ; Drew Gilbert 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Luc Lipcius 1 ; Jordan Beck 1 ; Drew Gilbert 1 ; Evan Russell 1
Batting:
2B: Hines, Hunter 1 ; Clark, Kellum 1
HR: Hines, Hunter 1
RBI: Hines, Hunter 1 ; Clark, Kellum 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Hines, Hunter 2 ; Cumbest, Brad 1
SB: Cumbest, Brad 1 ; Skinner, Brayland 2
PO: Skinner, Brayland 1
