Pearl, MS- After State took two of three from Ole Miss over the weekend, the Rebels evened up the season series tonight, handing the Bulldogs a 5-2 loss with a dominant pitching performance.
Making his first career start for the Bulldogs was sophomore Mikey Tepper. The Fort Mill, SC native got off to a rocky start, as Ole Miss centerfield had a gritty at-bat, fouling off a pair of 2 strike pitches a working a walk. All-American shortstop Jacob Gonzalez gave the Rebels an early lead with a triple in the right-center gap, and first baseman Tim Elko knocked him in with a groundball.
Tepper settled in after that, pitching three scoreless frames, including retiring eight consecutive batters with four strikeouts. He found himself in some trouble in the fourth, surrendering two consecutive one-out walks, but after a trip to the mound by Mississippi State pitching coach Scott Foxhall, Tepper forced Rebel 3rd baseman Reagan Burford to ground into a double play.
Ole Miss went with their usual midweek starter Drew McDaniel, and the Mississippi State offense struggled with him all night. State did manage to get a pair of runs across in the first inning as Luke Hancock and Logan Tanner drew a pair of two-out walks. After they advanced on a wild pitch, Hunter Hines hit a soft grounder to third, knocking in the two runs on a high throw by Reagan Burford.
The junior from Lafayette, LA, dominated after that, allowing only one hit across the next four innings, despite issuing five walks.
The Bulldogs brought in shortstop Lane Forsythe to make his third pitching appearance of the season, but the sophomore lasted just one-third of an inning. 2nd baseman Peyton Chatagnier led off with a single, and after a double on a chopper by Jacob Gonzalez that bounced over the head of Bulldog first baseman Hunter Hines, a single by Tim Elko and a double by left fielder Kevin Graham gave the Rebels a 5-2 lead.
Lefty Cam Tullar came in to blow out the fire, and he may have had the best outing of his career. Tullar, a senior from Brighton, MI, battled to get two strikeouts to get out of the fifth, and went another three innings totaling a career-high eight punchouts, and did not walk any batters.
Ole Miss countered with a strong relief appearance of their own from Mason Nichols. The true freshman pitched three innings and only surrendered one Bulldog hit while striking out two and walking none.
Drew Talley gave the Bulldogs a chance to stay in it, pitching a 1-2-3 ninth inning, and Ole Miss brought in Brandon Johnson to pitch the bottom of the frame. Johnson was looking for redemption after giving up the game-winning homer to Brad Cumbest on Saturday, and while State made it interesting by getting a two-out walk from Kellum Clark and an infield single by Jess Davis, Johnson got it by getting pinch-hitter Von Seibert to strikeout.
While tonight's loss doesn't count against their SEC record, it is the first time Mississippi State has lost the Governor's Cup since 2015, and it drops them to 24-18 on the season. The Bulldogs will travel up to Columbia for a three-game series with Missouri to try and get back on track in SEC play.
