Mangum Delivers In Midweek Win

STARKVILLE, Miss. (MSU Athletics) – Timely hitting and a solid outing from the bullpen led Mississippi State baseball to its fourth-straight win to open the season on Tuesday (Feb. 20), as the Diamond Dawgs earned a 3-2 victory over UAB at Dudy Noble Field.

The Bulldogs (4-0) and Blazers (3-1) exchanged scoreless innings over the first four frames, before UAB was able to get to MSU starter senior Peyton Plumlee in the fifth. The Blazers used four singles to scratch across a pair of two-out runs, before freshman Brandon Smith got a lineout to end the frame.

State’s offense was held in check by UAB starting pitcher Graham Ashcraft for 5 2/3 innings, as the righthander didn’t allow a hit before exiting the game with two outs in the sixth. Ty Harris got the final out of the sixth for UAB, stranding a runner at first.

The no hitter was broken up by MSU sophomore Justin Foscue with one out in the seventh, as he sharply singled through the left side of the infield. He moved around to third, eventually scoring on a Dustin Skelton two-out infield single. Junior Gunner Halter reached on an error in the following at bat, with the pair moving into scoring position on a wild pitch.

Then, Jake Mangum delivered another signature moment in his career, ripping a base hit to right field to score both runs and give MSU the lead.

Smith tossed the sixth inning scoreless to account for 1 1/3 scoreless frames, junior Riley Self put up a scoreless seventh inning and graduate student Cole Gordon closed the door with two innings of one-hit relief. Gordon got the final out via ground out with a runner on third base for his first save of the season and extend his scoreless innings streak to 18 2/3 innings, dating back to the 2018 season.