Starkville, MS- After a record-setting 27-2 loss on Thursday, State didn't let down with a competitive effort but couldn't come out on top, falling to the number one ranked Tennessee Volunteers 4-3.
Preston Johnson gave State one of his strongest outings of the season against the nation's best offense. Tennessee gave State a bit of a scare in the first inning as they had a pair of runners in scoring position after a Drew Gilbert double, but "Beef" battled out of it, forcing a groundout, and dominated the rest of the way.
Over the next six innings, the Hinds Community College product allowed just two hits and one walk and struck out ten Tennessee hitters, an impressive feat against the number one ranked team. The Vols managed just one run across through seven innings, an RBI single from left fielder Seth Stephenson in the fifth.
Tennessee's Chase Burns has been among the nation's best as a true freshman and had his A-stuff through six innings. The Gallatin, TN native had his fastball up to 99 MPH and possessed elite command as he didn't surrender a walk. He made just one mistake pitch, a fastball up in the zone that Bulldog DH Hunter Hines gave a long ride to dead center, the 16th of the season for the freshman from Madison Central.
State jumped out to a lead in the seventh as Burns surrendered a leadoff double to Hines, a hit that propelled his batting average over the .300 mark. After an infield single and a stolen bag from Brad Cumbest, State sophomore Kellum Clark found some grass on a line drive to right-center to drive in the two runners and put the Bulldogs up 3-1.
The Vols responded as Preston Johnson went out for an eighth-inning; he got the first two hitters to fly out but began to falter as he reached the 110 pitch mark. A double from 1st baseman Luc Lipcius and an RBI single by All-American right fielder Jordan Beck cut it to 3-2, and a 2-run shot from centerfielder Drew Gilbert on a high popup that just drifted over the wall put Tennessee up 4-3.
KC Hunt did his best to keep State in the game as he shut the Vols down in the ninth, but Tennessee had an elite reliever of their own to keep the score as it is. Blake Tidwell, a potential first-round draft pick, entered for Burns in the seventh and pitched three shutout innings, allowing no baserunners and five strikeouts, including the one to seal it as he got Kellum Clark to miss a 99 MPH fastball.
The loss will officially eliminate Mississippi State from making the SEC Tournament. With one game left to play, State will look to avoid a third consecutive sweep and go out on a high note, trying to beat the #1 team in the country.
