Mississippi State
11-2
Southern Miss
11-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 1 |
| Southern Miss | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 7 | 7 | 0 |
No. 4 MSU Falls 7-6 In Top 10 Road Battle
March 03, 2026 | Baseball
HATTIESBURG - No. 4 Mississippi State rallied but ultimately fell just short in a top-10 showdown Tuesday night, as No. 10 Southern Miss held off the Bulldogs 7–6 at Pete Taylor Park.
The Diamond Dawgs erased an early 4-0 deficit and briefly seized momentum late, but the Golden Eagles answered with a decisive seventh inning to hand MSU only its second loss of the season.
Southern Miss (11-1) struck quickly against State starter Brendan Sweeney with a three-run homer Dray Barrett in the first inning. The Golden Eagles tacked on another run in the second frame on a fielding error and extended their advantage to 5-0 when Seth Smith connected on a solo shot in the fourth.
The Bulldogs (11-2) began chipping away in the fifth. Noah Sullivan provided a two-run double to right followed by an RBI single to right by Reed Stallman.
State took the lead with three more runs in the top of the seventh. Stallman drove in two more on a single to left followed by an Ryder Woodson RBI single up the middle to go up 6-5.
The Golden Eagles responded in the bottom half of the inning by scoring two runs on consecutive third strikes by Maddox Miller that got away at the plate.
Mississippi State threatened late but couldn't break through against Camden Clark, who worked the ninth inning to record his fourth save.
MSU outhit the Golden Eagles 9-7 with Stallman finishing the night 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
State's pitching staff combined for 13 strikeouts, highlighted by five-consecutive Ks from Jack Gleason in 1⅔ innings of relief.
Josh Och (3-0) earned the win for Southern Miss after tossing 1⅔ scoreless innings of relief. Miller (1-1) took the loss for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs will look to bounce back this weekend as they welcome Lipscomb to Starkville for a three-game series starting Friday at 6 p.m. 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 X, Facebook and Instagram.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Och, Josh (3-0)
L: Miller, Maddox (1-1)
S: Clark, Camden (4)
Batting:
2B: Sullivan, Noah 1
RBI: Stallman, Reed 3 ; Woodson, Ryder 1 ; Sullivan, Noah 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Reese, Ace 2 ; Nunnallee, James 1 ; Sullivan, Noah 1 ; Frei, Gehrig 1 ; Chance, Bryce 1
SB: Parker, Jacob 1 ; Frei, Gehrig 1
HBP: Parker, Jacob 1 ; Chance, Bryce 1
Batting:
2B: Higdon, Ben 1 ; Barrett, Drey 1 ; Morrison, Kyle 1
HR: Barrett, Drey 1 ; Smith, Seth 1
RBI: Barrett, Drey 3 ; Smith, Seth 1
SH: Higdon, Ben 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Higdon, Ben 2 ; Russo, Matthew 1 ; Barrett, Drey 2 ; Gillespie, Davis 1 ; Smith, Seth 1
