Starkville, MS- The long-ball was the main show tonight, as the Bulldogs hit six of them in a 13-2 mercy-rule victory over UT Martin.

The Mississippi State offense got off to a hot start, as a 2-run bomb by Luke Hancock and a solo shot from Hunter Hines knocked UT Martin starter Noah Walters out of the ballgame after just one inning.

UT Martin switched to J. Henry Hobson, and the runs kept coming for the Bulldogs. Tanner Leggett knocked in a run on a throwing error by the pitcher, and Logan Tanner drove one in with a sac-fly. State went back to the long-ball in the third as Kellum Clark went deep to dead center on the first pitch of the inning, and Tanner Leggett followed with a 2-run blast to left. An RBI single by Luke Hancock gave Mississippi State their 10th run of the ballgame.

Brandon Smith gave the Bulldogs a quality start, striking out seven with no walks. The Skyhawks did manage a pair of runs, though, as Smith surrendered back-to-back homers during the third inning to UT Martin DH Jack Culumovic, whose sister Katie plays volleyball for Mississippi State, and shortstop Casey Harford.

State added another two home runs as Brad Cumbest sent one of the seats in left-center during the fourth, and Luke Hancock smashed his 2nd of the night and 4th in as many games during the sixth.

"I felt like I was seeing the ball well, even when I wasn't getting on base," said Hancock. "Right now, I'm still seeing it the same, and I'm just lucky enough to be finding holes or getting them out of the ballpark."

Sophomore Mikey Tepper relieved Smith in the fifth and pitched two shutout innings. The hard-throwing righty has struggled with his control this season, entering the game with eight walks in 7.1 innings pitched, but was pounding the zone tonight with four strikeouts and just one walk.

State managed another run across in the sixth as Davis Meche scored on a wild pitch, and a shutout seventh inning by K.C. Hunt ended the ballgame in a mercy rule.

The Bulldogs will prepare to host #19 LSU this weekend, who are coming off a series loss against Auburn.