Mississippi State
13-5, 0-1
Texas
15-1, 1-0
Diamond Dawg Rally Falls Just Short Against No. 11 Texas
March 14, 2025 | Baseball
State falls 8-7 to the Longhorns.
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State put forth a valiant ninth-inning rally but couldn't complete a dramatic comeback as the Bulldogs fell 8-7 to No. 11 Texas in both teams' Southeastern Conference opener Friday night at Dudy Noble Field. MSU plated a pair of runs in the final inning and had the tying run at second base with two outs when a hard-hit ground out to shortstop ended things.
Texas struck first in the ballgame with two runs in the second inning, but Mississippi State answered fast. The Diamond Dawgs mounted a four-run frame in the bottom half to take control of the Longhorns. A five-run seventh inning from Texas disrupted State's hope of a win.
MSU ended the contest with nine total hits. Noah Sullivan showed off his power going 3-for-5 with a single, a double and a home run. Sullivan also scored a pair of runs and had an RBI. Ross Highfill finished 2-for-4 at the plate. Highfill had a three-run homer in State's four-run second inning and finished with four total RBIs and a run scored.
Pico Kohn started on the mound for the Dawgs, put in six innings of work and struck out six. Luke Dotson grabbed 1 ⅓ innings of relief work and struck out three to set a new season-high. Stone Simmons also contributed a scoreless inning out of the State bullpen, striking out two Longhorns.
On Deck: Due to potentially dangerous weather conditions on Saturday, State and Texas will now conclude this weekend's series withtwo seven-inning games on Sunday, March 16. The first game of the doubleheader is set for 1 p.m. on SEC Network with Game 2 starting 40 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1 on SEC Network+.
Game Notes:
- Mississippi State has now had seven games this season with 10,000 plus fans in attendance at Dudy Noble. That ranks sixth in program history.
- Luke Dotson struck out three batters to set a new season-high.
Scoring Summary:
Top 2
Will Gasparino hit a two-run home run to score Adrian Rodriguez.
MSU 0, Texas 2
Bottom 2
Noah Sullivan hit a solo home run to left-center field. Hunter Hines and Gatlin Sanders scored off a three-run home run by Ross Highfill.
MSU 4, Texas 2
Top 6
Ethan Mendoza scored off a throwing error by the catcher.
MSU 4, Texas 3
Bottom 6
Highfill singled into shallow right field to plate Sullivan.
MSU 5, Texas 3
Top 7
Rodriguez scored off a single from Gasparino. Kimble Schuessler scored off a single by Rylan Galvan. Casey Borba hit a three-run home run to plate Galvan and Gasparino.
MSU 5, Texas 8
Bottom 9
Ace Reese doubled to left center field to plate Gehrig Frei and Bryce Chance.
MSU 7, Texas 8
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Andre Duplantier II (2-0)
L: Hungate, Chase (1-1)
S: Dylan Volantis (2)
Batting:
3B: Ethan Mendoza 1
HR: Rylan Galvan 1 ; Casey Borba 1
RBI: Will Gasparino 1 ; Rylan Galvan 3 ; Casey Borba 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Ethan Mendoza 1 ; Adrian Rodriguez 2 ; Kimble Schuessler 1 ; Will Gasparino 1 ; Rylan Galvan 2 ; Casey Borba 1
CS: Ethan Mendoza 1
HBP: Adrian Rodriguez 1
PO: Ethan Mendoza 1
Batting:
2B: Reese, Ace 1 ; Sullivan, Noah 1
HR: Sullivan, Noah 1 ; Highfill, Ross 1
RBI: Reese, Ace 2 ; Sullivan, Noah 1 ; Highfill, Ross 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Chance, Bryce 1 ; Sullivan, Noah 2 ; Hines, Hunter 1 ; Sanders, Gatlin 1 ; Highfill, Ross 1 ; Frei, Gehrig 1
