Video: Tom In Baton Rouge – LSU Ends Mississippi State’s Postseason Run

June 12, 2017

BATON ROUGE, La. (Miss. St. Athletics/WCBI) – For the Mississippi State baseball team, the clock finally struck midnight early Monday morning.

Playing in the seventh super regional in program history, the MSU season ended with a 14-4 loss to No. 4 national seed LSU in the second game of the Baton Rouge Super Regional played at Alex Box Stadium.

LSU (48-17) won its 16th straight game to advance to the College World Series. MSU (40-27) capped a memorable season, which included 25 come-from-behind wins, 19 wins against Southeastern Conference opposition and a Hattiesburg Regional championship.

First-year MSU coach Andy Cannizaro became just the second Bulldog skipper to win 40 or more games in his first season.

After suffering a heart-breaking 4-3 defeat in the super regional opener, MSU again showed its mettle by erasing a 3-0 deficit to take a brief 4-3 lead before being undone by six runs in the LSU fifth inning.

MSU chased LSU starter Jared Poche’ with four runs in the third inning. Poche’ walked Josh Lovelady to start the frame. Harrison Bragg followed with a two-run home run just inside the foul pole down the left field line.

After a lineout, Poche’s night was done after three straight walks loaded the bases. Jake Mangum and Elijah MacNamee followed with back-to-back run-scoring singles for a 4-3 lead.

The story of the game for LSU was reliever Caleb Gilbert (6-1). After being touched for those two hits to start his time on the mound, Gilbert settled down and retired the next 15 in a row.

LSU chased MSU starter Jacob Billingsley during a two-run first inning. Billingsley faced four batters and did not record an out. Trey Jolly finished the first inning and balked in LSU’s third run in the second inning.

Trysten Barlow and Denver McQuary (3-4) followed to the mound. McQuary allowed four of the six runs in the fifth inning, thanks in part to three walks. Cole Gordon finished out the fifth inning and had his own streak of success, retiring 10 Tigers in a row at one point.

Gordon, Peyton Plumlee, Spencer Price and Parker Ford combined to pitch the ninth inning for the Bulldogs. The Tigers scored five insurance runs in that at-bat.

Bragg led MSU with a pair of hits. Cody Brown, Mangum and MacNamee all recorded hits for the Diamond Dawgs.

Kramer Robertson led the Tigers with three hits. Antoine Duplantis had two hits. Cole Freeman, Greg Deichmann, Josh Smith, Michael Papierski and Jake Slaughter also recorded hits for LSU. Papierski and Robertson each scored three of the Tigers’ runs.