Mississippi State's Dakota Jordan hits walk-off to even series with Ole Miss
Apr. 15—Mississippi State freshman leftfielder Dakota Jordan hit a walk-off, two-run single Saturday afternoon against Ole Miss, leading the Bulldogs past the Rebels 8-7 in the second of three games at Dudy Noble Field.
With the series tied at one piece, the teams will play the rubber match Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
Bulldogs (21-15, 4-10 SEC) junior centerfielder Colton Ledbetter hit two home runs in the game.
The Rebels (20-15, 3-11) took a 7-6 lead in the top of the ninth, as senior centerfielder Ethan Groff led off the ninth with a double, and junior shortstop Jacob Gonzalez brought him home to tie the game with a double. Senior first baseman Anthony Calarco gave the Rebels the go-ahead run with a single that bounced off first base and allowed Gonzalez to score from third.
A Bulldogs leadoff walk advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, and Ledbetter walked, bringing slugging sophomore Hunter Hines to the plate. Hines eventually walked to load the bases for Jordan, who bounced a ball up the left side of the infield to end the game.
Sophomore Mason Nichols pitched the eighth inning and walked the leadoff man in the ninth. That brought freshman Sam Tookoian, who walked two batters in his 1/3 inning of work.
Freshman designated hitter Will Furniss gave Ole Miss an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second inning. The Rebels then tacked on another run on an error from Mississippi State's Lane Forsythe.
The first two Mississippi State batters reached to start the bottom of the second, and the Bulldogs tied the game with a Kellum Clark single and Ross Highfill sacrifice fly.
Ole Miss senior first baseman Anthony Calarco hit a solo home run in the fifth to give the Rebels the lead once again. Ole Miss added another two runs in the sixth, as senior centerfielder Ethan Groff singled in junior right fielder T.J. McCants, who was on third due to a triple, and junior shortstop Jacob Gonzalez drove Groff in to make it 5-2.
The Bulldogs rallied in the bottom of the fifth, scoring two runs, the last coming off a solo home run from Hines. Ledbetter hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh Saturday afternoon, his second long ball on the day.
