Valincius Dominates Vandy As No. 6 State Takes Series

Saturday, March 21

Starkville

6 p.m.

Mississippi State

19-4, 3-2

Vanderbilt

13-11, 2-3

Vanderbilt

Mississippi State

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Valincius Dominates Vandy As No. 6 State Takes Series

March 21, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score

STARKVILLE - A top five crowd and a dominant performance on the mound by Tomas Valincius made for another memorable night at Dudy Noble Field as No. 6 Mississippi State rolled past Vanderbilt 7-2 on Saturday.

In front of 14,834 fans — the fifth-largest on-campus crowd in NCAA baseball history — the Diamond Dawgs delivered in all phases to secure the series. MSU has now reclaimed every spot among the top 25 on-campus attendances in the sport's history.

The Bulldogs (19-4, 3-2 SEC) broke the game open early and never let Vanderbilt recover, riding a big second inning and a masterful outing from Valincius. The sophomore southpaw was electric on the mound, striking out 14 over seven innings – tying his career-long outing - while allowing just two hits and no earned runs.

Vanderbilt struck out 17 times as a team and had just three hits. Brendan Sweeney closed it out for MSU with two scoreless innings in relief.

State struck for four runs in the second, capitalizing on patience and timely hitting. Ryder Woodson and Jacob Parker worked walks to ignite the rally before Kevin Milewski dropped down a bunt single to load the bases. Aidan Teel followed with an RBI single and Ace Reese ripped a double down the right-field line to drive in two more. Reed Stallman added a sacrifice fly to cap the inning and give MSU a 4-0 lead.

Vanderbilt (13-11, 2-3 SEC) answered with two unearned runs in the fourth, taking advantage of a fielding error, but the Diamond Dawgs quickly regained control.

Noah Sullivan extended the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run down the left-field line, his sixth of the season, pushing the margin to 5-2.

From there, it was all pitching and timely insurance. Mississippi State tacked on two more in the seventh when Bryce Chance laced a two-run double down the third-base line, scoring Woodson and Parker to put the game out of reach.

Offensively, the Bulldogs piled up nine hits and drew eight walks, with Reese driving in two, Sullivan homering and reaching base three times, and Chance delivering a pair of RBIs. Woodson and Parker each scored twice as State's lineup applied constant pressure.

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