Mississippi State baseball scores six runs in 8th inning, upsets No. 2 LSU in Baton Rouge
Fresh off its sixth run-rule loss of the season, Mississippi State baseball pulled off one of the more stunning wins of the SEC slate. Behind a six-run eighth inning Saturday, MSU upset No. 2 LSU for its first conference win since April 22 at Auburn.
The 9-4 victory marks Mississippi State's first against LSU since March 20, 2021.
The game got off to a shaky start for the Bulldogs and coach Chris Lemonis with the Tigers taking a 2-0 lead before the end of the fourth inning. Both runs came against Cade Smith who delivered a quality start − allowing just those two runs in six innings.
Mississippi State (25-24, 7-19 SEC) got on the board in the fifth with an RBI double from shortstop David Mershon. That was met by a solo home run from team captain Luke Hancock who tied the game at two in the seventh. The Tigers (39-11, 17-8) scored two in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of hit batters coming around to score.
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The Bulldogs rallied in response. Outfielder Kellum Clark hit a two-run shot to tie the game before an out was recorded in the eighth. Third baseman Slate Alford delivered an RBI single shortly after before outfielder Colton Ledbetter stretched the lead with a three-run blast.
Relief pitcher KC Hunt − who limited LSU to two runs in the seventh after coming in with the bases loaded and no outs − pitched a scoreless eighth. He was followed by Texas transfer Aaron Nixon in the ninth.
The victory kept Mississippi State afloat in a race toward the final spot of the SEC tournament. With a pair of wins to open its series against Georgia, Missouri sits two games up on Mississippi State for the 12th and final spot. Ole Miss was eliminated from the field Saturday after getting swept at home by Auburn.
Mississippi State will look to win the series against LSU on Sunday (1 p.m., SEC Network+).
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State baseball rallies to upset No. 2 LSU in SEC play
