No. 3 Mississippi State rallied late to come back from behind and defeat Tulane 11-7 in the Hancock Whitney Classic on Tuesday night.
Trailing 7-2, the Bulldogs (15-2) found a much-needed offensive spark from Ace Reese in the bottom of the seventh inning. The veteran third baseman hit a grand slam to cut the deficit to one run. The hit was contagious, as a pair of singles and a double followed, scoring an additional three runs in the frame to give the maroon and white their first lead of the night.
Mississippi State added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, courtesy of a sacrifice fly scoring Bryce Chance and an RBI single that sent Peter Mershon to home plate. Neither team scored in the ninth, allowing the Bulldogs to walk away four-run victors.
Before that, the Green Wave (9-8) appeared to be playing spoiler in nearby Biloxi. Tulane scored two runs right out of the gate, taking an early lead. Mississippi State neutralized the scoreboard in the bottom of the first, but a two-run long ball by Nate Johnson in the top of the fourth, followed by a three-run top of the seventh, gave the visitors a sense of momentum that was promptly squashed.
While Reese’s big hit was the highlight of the contest, Mississippi State had a couple of other solid individual offensive performances. Gehrig Frei and Reed Stallman had two hits and two RBI apiece. On the mound, the Bulldogs’ pitching staff struck out 12 batters. Dane Burns (1-0) was credited with the win after recording the last out of the top of the seventh and getting his team out of a jam.
Tulane was led by Jason Wachs, who had three hits and an RBI, along with Johnson’s two-run homer. Left-handed hurler Tom Vincent (1-1) picked up the loss after giving up an earned run. The Green Wave’s pitching staff was highlighted by 14 strikeouts, six of which were recorded by J.D. Rodriguez.
Next up
Mississippi State will begin SEC play at No. 5 Arkansas, a place the Bulldogs have not won a series in over a decade. The three-game affair will get underway on Friday at 6 p.m. CT.