OMAHA- In the face of adversity, they’ve responded.

Down by four to Virginia, they came back and won. Down by two to Texas, they came back and won.

Lost by six to Vanderbilt in game one of the College World Series Finals? Mississippi State came back and won, dominating the Commodores tonight, 13-2, to force a do-or-die contest for the whole thing.

“Big bounce-back game from our guys, just resilient group,” Chris Lemonis said. “We've had our back against the wall feels like all year long and they just keep responding.”

Coming off a poor starting pitching performance on Monday, the Bulldogs needed a solid start from Houston Harding. Seven innings were given up to Vandy on Monday. Harding retired the Commodores in order in the 1st.

State was able to keep the momentum going with a run in the home half. Kamren James reached on an error with two outs, and Luke Hancock scored him with an RBI single. 1-0 Dawgs through one

Harding retired the first two batters in the 2nd but gave up a solo home run. Kellum Clark knocked a two-out double in the bottom half but was stranded, leaving the score tied after two.

Harding issued a one-out walk in the 3rd but retired the next two batters. In the home half, the Bulldog bats got going. Tanner Allen led off with a single. Kamren James walked, Luke Hancock walked, and Logan Tanner walked to re-take the lead. Scotty Dubrule then singled, driving in James and Hancock. After a fielder’s choice and a Kellum Clark walk, Dubrule scored on a wild pitch. 5-1 State through three.

Harding gave up a walk and a single to begin the 4th. After a first-pitch ball on the next batter, things seemed like they started to teeter. Next pitch was a ground ball that turned into a fielder’s choice. Runners on the corners, one out. Swinging strikeout, swinging strikeout to strand the runners.

Houston Harding, in the biggest start of his life, pitched four innings with two hits, one run, and four strikeouts.

“He's just a tough kid,” Lemonis said. “I mean, he had good stuff in the first, maybe the second. In the next two innings he was just pitching on fumes. He just kept going out there and competing. That's what he does. He has good stuff, but he gives us a chance to win every time he runs out there. And really happy for him to be able to pitch so well on a big stage like that.”

In the bottom of the 4th, Tanner Allen led off with a walk, Kamren James walked, and a couple stolen bases got them in scoring position. Scotty Durbule, who had two RBI in his previous at-bat, scored Allen on a fielder’s choice. 6-1 State.

Preston Johnson relieved Harding and retired his first two batters. He gave up a two-out triple but responded with a swinging strikeout to strand him.

In the home half, Lane Forsythe got things going with a one-out single. He advanced to second on a Tanner Allen single, and back-to-back singles from Kamren James and Luke Hancock scored them. State was in cruise control with a 8-1 lead.

Johnson issued a one-out walk in the 6th but retired the next two. State got a couple singles from Brad Cumbest and Lane Forsythe but couldn’t score them. Then came the 7th.

Johnson fanned the Vandy side in order with two strikeouts. Tanner Allen got plucked to lead off the MSU offense. He took second on a wild pitch and stole third. Luke Hancock walked, and throwing error scored Allen. Logan Tanner walked, and a Scotty Dubrule single brought home pinch-runner Josh Hatcher. Brad Cumbest was plunked, loading the bases, and Lane Forsythe drove in two runs with a single. The hit parade continued, as Rowdey Jordan singled.

A five-spot in the 7th. Bulldogs led, 13-1.

Johnson threw a 1-2-3 8th. He gave up a solo home run in the 9th, but it didn’t matter. A groundout ended the game. Bulldogs 13, Commodores 2. One game for the entire thing on Wednesday.

“And so seeing everybody there, it was nice to win tonight because you'd hate for everybody to come and us not play well,” Lemonis said. “I didn't feel like we played great last night. So playing great tonight and giving them a chance to see us do something special tomorrow will be a big moment.”