Mississippi State
7-0
Delaware
1-5
Fourth-Ranked Diamond Dawgs Run-Rule Delaware
February 21, 2026 | Baseball
STARKVILLE - Fourth-ranked Mississippi State kept its unbeaten start rolling Saturday afternoon, riding a balanced offensive attack and another sharp outing on the mound to a 10-0 run-rule victory over Delaware in eight innings.
The Diamond Dawgs improved to 7-0 on the young season, pounding out 13 hits and scoring in five different innings to secure the shutout win in front of 13,194 fans at Dudy Noble Field.
MSU wasted little time getting started. After plating a run in the first inning, the Bulldogs broke things open in the middle frames. A two-run fourth and a three-run fifth gave State breathing room before a Blake Bevis ended the game with a pinch hit two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth.
The Bulldogs' long ball barrage began with Jacob Parker's first-career homer – a two-run shot – in the fourth. Reed Stallman followed up with a solo homer in the fifth and Noah Sullivan connected on a three-run round-tripper in the sixth.
State finished the day with seven extra-base hits with Ace Reese, Ryder Woodson and Gehrig Frei each adding a double. Woodson, Frei, Parker and Bryce Chance collected two hits apiece against the 1-5Â Fightin' Blue Hens.
On the mound, MSU got another steady performance from Tomas Valincius. The sophomore left-hander improved to 2-0 after tossing six shutout innings, allowing five hits while striking out seven and walking two. He threw 89 pitches, 53 for strikes. Valincius worked around scattered traffic to keep Delaware off the board, including three-straight strikeouts to strand the bases loaded in the second.
Brendan Sweeney closed it out for the Bulldogs with two scoreless innings, surrendering just one hit and striking out one to preserve the shutout.
State will go for the series sweep on Sunday at 1 p.m. on SEC Network+. The Diamond Dawgs will send another sophomore lefty Charlie Foster (0-0, 9.00 ERA) to the mound while Delaware goes with junior southpaw Elias Conway (0-1, 4.50 ERA).
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 X, Facebook and Instagram.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Valincius, Tomas (2-0)
L: Doug Marose (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Lt Cockrill 1
Base Running:
PO: Sal Mineo 1
Batting:
2B: Reese, Ace 1 ; Woodson, Ryder 1 ; Frei, Gehrig 1
HR: Sullivan, Noah 1 ; Stallman, Reed 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1 ; Parker, Jacob 1
RBI: Reese, Ace 1 ; Sullivan, Noah 3 ; Stallman, Reed 1 ; Bevis, Blake 2 ; Woodson, Ryder 1 ; Parker, Jacob 2
SH: Teel, Aidan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Teel, Aidan 1 ; Reese, Ace 1 ; Sullivan, Noah 1 ; Mershon, Peter 1 ; Stallman, Reed 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1 ; Raymond, Andrew 1 ; Frei, Gehrig 1 ; Parker, Jacob 1 ; Chance, Bryce 1
SB: Sullivan, Noah 1
HBP: Teel, Aidan 1
