A Clutch Performance on the Mound Leads Mississippi State to an 8-5 Win over Arkansas

Mississippi State evens the series with an 8-5 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Bulldogs got off to a hot start and eventually led the Razorbacks 8-0 going into the bottom of the fourth. 

However, everything started to fall apart for starter Jurrangelo Cijntje in the fourth inning. The Florida native worked around trouble in the second and the third. Still, a throwing error by second baseman Ethan Pulliam led to Arkansas getting their first, and a sacrifice fly would put up the second run. 

The Hogs were not done there as Pulliam failed to turn a double lead in the fifth, ultimately leading to a two-run home run for Peyton Stovall. A once 8-0 lead had been cut in half, and all of the momentum was with the home team as they chased Cijntje after only 4.1 innings. 

Cam Schuelke finished out the fifth without giving up any damage. Brooks Auger, who had been the Sunday starter for State the past three weekends but was roughed up last week by Alabama in only two innings of work, took the mound in the sixth, looking to hold the lead. 

The Louisiana native did not get off to a good start as he issued a leadoff walk and a one-out single, putting runners on the corners with only one down. Arkansas got a sacrifice fly to cut the State lead to three runs. 

However, after that, the senior right-hander pitched extremely toughly for the Bulldogs. He was not lights out, but he weathered the Razorback rally, and State has struggled to close out games on the road despite big leads leading to losses at Ole Miss and Florida. 

However, the former Hinds Community College Eagle would not let that happen, including getting his third and fourth strikeout to strand a pair of Razorback runners in the eighth. Tyler Davis would take over on the bump for State in the ninth innings and only allowed a two-out single before getting a strikeout looking to end it. 

Despite taking the life out of Baum-Walker Stadium early, by the sixth inning, all of the momentum was with the Razorbacks. Auger did an outstanding job of handling the environment and giving big innings for his team.

The Bulldogs needed one win coming into the weekend to feel safe about their hosting opportunity; with that under the belt, they will go for their series win over the Razorbacks since 2018 tomorrow at 2 p.m. CT.