No. 9 Mississippi State Falls To Vols

Saturday, April 11

Starkville

6 p.m.

Mississippi State

26-9, 7-7

Tennessee

23-12, 6-8

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Tennessee	1	3	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	6	13	1
Mississippi State	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	2	8	0

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

No. 9 Mississippi State Falls To Vols

April 11, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

STARKVILLE - No. 9 Mississippi State couldn't overcome an early surge from Tennessee on Saturday night, as the Volunteers handed the Diamond Dawgs a 6-2 setback at Dudy Noble Field.

The Vols struck quickly and never relinquished control, plating a run in the first on Reese Chapman's solo homer before breaking the game open with a three-run second inning. Tennessee used timely hitting and aggressive baserunning to build a 4-0 cushion, capitalizing on three hits and a sacrifice bunt sequence that produced multiple runs.

Mississippi State (26-9, 7-7 SEC) struggled to find rhythm offensively against Tennessee starter Tegan Kuhns, who limited the Bulldogs to four hits across six innings while striking out seven. The Diamond Dawgs didn't break through until the fifth, when Jacob Parker doubled to spark a rally and later scored on Ryder Woodson's RBI double down the line.

State added another run in the seventh when Gehrig Frei launched a solo home run to right-center, trimming the deficit to 5-2. But that would be as close as MSU would get.

Tennessee (23-12, 6-8 SEC) answered with an insurance run in the eighth inning to keep the Bulldogs at arm's length.

The Diamond Dawgs finished with eight hits but struck out 10 times and left seven runners on base, unable to string together sustained offense against Kuhns and reliever Brandon Arvidson, who earned the save with three scoreless innings.

Duke Stone (5-1) took the loss for MSU, allowing five runs on 11 hits over 5 2/3 innings. The Bulldogs bullpen provided some stability, with Dane Burns and Jack Gleason combining to allow just one run over the final 3 1/3 frames.

Grindlinger and Manny Marin paced the Volunteers with three hits apiece as Tennessee outhit Mississippi State 13-8. Frei led State with two hits and a homer, while Woodson added two hits and an RBI in the losing effort. The 16,814 on hand was the sixth-largest on-campus crowd in NCAA history.

The Diamond Dawgs will try to salvage the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. on SEC Network+. MSU will send sophomore left-hander Charlie Foster (0-1, 5.21 ERA) to the mound while the Vols send out senior southpaw Evan Blanco (2-2, 3.83 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.