Starkville, MS- In what was seemingly a must-win series for the Bulldogs' postseason hopes, Mississippi State fell short as they were swept at the hands of the Florida Gators.
The Florida offense got off to a hot start on Friday, putting up seven earned runs, including homers from left fielder Wyatt Langford and catcher BT Riopelle on Mississippi State starter Brandon Smith in 4.2 innings. Smith had been the Bulldogs' best starter as of late, with a 2.59 ERA in his previous 24.1 innings, but didn't seem to have his command as he walked five batters after having walked just eight the entire season leading up to Friday's game.
The Bulldogs found themselves in a big hole down 7-0, and they were able to battle back to make it 8-6, but the runs given up early in the ballgame proved to be too much to overcome.
Saturday's game was a battle for eight innings as the Bulldogs and Gators wouldn't let each other pull ahead. BT Riopelle put Florida on top in the first with a sac fly, and State got the run right back in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single from Luke Hancock. Kellum Clark gave the Diamond Dawgs the lead with an RBI double in the fourth, but the Gators took the lead back in the fifth with a 2-RBI double from DH Jac Caglione. Luke Hancock evened it up in the seventh as he drove in a run on a groundout, and it would be a tie ball game heading to the ninth inning.
KC Hunt, who has been the Bulldogs strongest bullpen arm since returning from injury, was on the mound, but he didn't have it that day as the Florida offense drew two walks and exploded for four hits, including three extra-base hits and a 3-run blast from right fielder Ty Evans made it a 9-3 ballgame and ensured a Gator victory.
On Sunday, Bulldog sophomore Cade Smith had one of his best starts of the season, but the Bulldog bats offense couldn't take advantage. The Southaven native pitched seven innings and allowed just one run across as he struck out seven Gator hitters. The State offense struck in the first inning with an RBI single by Hunter Hines on a popup the shortstop lost in the sun, but the bats went dead silent after that.
Freshman Pico Kohn entered in the eighth inning, and the Gators immediately broke the tie with a solo homer from 2nd baseman Sterlin Thompson. Jackson Fristoe tried to hold things together in the ninth, but the Gators put the dagger in the Dawgs again with four runs in the ninth on three hits and two walks. Logan Tanner tried to start a rally with a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs fell 6-2.
What seems to have been the theme for the Bulldogs this season is hitting with runners in scoring position and its something that plagued them again this weekend as they went just 7-32 in those situations this series.
The sweep drops the Bulldogs to 9-15 in SEC play, putting them last in the west and tied for 12th overall. With an RPI of 102, an NCAA tournament berth seems virtually impossible. At this point, State will be fighting for a spot in Hoover the next two series against Texas A&M and Tennessee as they'll need to be in the top 12 of the SEC to make the conference tournament.
