The Mississippi State baseball team had a chance to send Saturday’s game against Virginia into extra innings before second baseman Amani Larry botched a double-play opportunity to give the Cavaliers a win and a big advantage heading into day three of the Charlottesville Regional.

Virginia went up 2-0 in the bottom of the second when Eric Becker tripled to right center, sending Henry Godbout and Jacob Ference across home plate. Mississippi State didn’t wait long to take its first lead off a three-run home run from first baseman Hunter Hines in the top of the third. The Bulldogs added another run in the top of the fourth off a Virginia throwing error.

BANG💥

📺» https://t.co/1n7mxX4Xcp#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/bj6SsXTQQN

— Mississippi State Baseball (@HailStateBB) June 1, 2024

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Mississippi State starting pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje continued to settle in over the next couple of innings with the help of his infielders making some big plays, including this highlight-reel catch by Hines to close out the fifth.

Hunter Hines flashing the leather!

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— Mississippi State Baseball (@HailStateBB) June 1, 2024

To the surprise of some, Bulldogs head coach Chris Lemonis allowed Cijntje to take the mound to start the seventh even though the switch pitcher had already exceeded his season-high pitch count. The move did not pay off as Virginia’s Becker knocked in two runs off a single to tie the game up with no outs. Tyson Hardin entered in relief and was able to get Mississippi State out of the inning with no further damage.

In the top of the ninth, the Bulldogs had a chance to retake the lead as David Merson forced a two-out walk. Dakota Jordan, who saved game one on Friday with an extra innings walk-off home run against St. John’s, hit a single that barely made it through the left side of the infield and with some aggressive baserunning, Mershon made it to third. With two runners on and a chance at a go-ahead hit, Hines’ heroics were exhausted as he grounded out to end the frame.

Harrison Didawick started the bottom of the ninth with a ground-rule double that hopped over the left field fence. Godbout then walked with Becker reaching on a fielder’s choice to put a runner on first and third for Virginia. That’s when the miscue at second base happened as the Cavaliers celebrated the latest walk off this year’s postseason has seen.

HOOS WALK IT OFF!!!!!!

📺: @accnetwork | #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/xqxhwk8VN7

— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) June 2, 2024

Mississippi State will be back up against St. John’s on Sunday with an 11 a.m. CT first pitch set for the elimination game. Whoever wins will face off against Virginia at 5 p.m. CT with two wins needed to overcome. If a second game is forced, that will be played on Monday at a time to be determined. The Cavaliers need just one more win to advance to a super regional.

Dakota Jordan’s slump-busting, walk-off, 3-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted Mississippi State baseball over St. John’s and into the winner’s bracket of the Charlottesville regional Friday night. Now, the Diamond Dawgs will take on regional host and #12 national seed Virginia, one of the best offensive teams in the country.

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Though the Cavaliers are most know for electric offense, it was their pitching that led the way in their 4-2 regional opening win over Penn. They held the Quakers to just two runs on four hits while striking out 11 and using just two pitchers. Second-baseman Henry Godbout hit a 3-run homer in the 2nd, and the Hoos would tack on an insurance run in the 7th.

MSU saw some high-powered lineups in SEC play this year, and Virginia is just as good as those if not better. Their team average of .339 is second nationally, and they’re third in runs per game at 9.6. Their entire starting lineup is batting at least .300. Eight players have at least 40 RBI, and four have at least 13 home runs.

Left-fielder Harrison Didawick leads the team with 23 homers and 67 RBI. Center-fielder Bobby Whalen is batting .395, and catcher Jacob Ference is slugging at .750. The Hoos can mash, and while Penn limited their offense on Friday, MSU’s Jurrangelo Cijntje will need an elite outing to keep them at bay.

UVA HC Brian O’Conner chose to hold his ace, Evan Blanco, against Penn, assuming they could get to the winner’s bracket without him. That decision paid off, and now they’ll start their best arm against MSU.

Blanco is 7-3 on the year with a 3.50 ERA with a 79/24 K/BB ratio. The lefty’s been the lone sure-starter for the Cavs this year, and he was fantastic in his last two outings. Nearly all of UVA’s bullpen will be available on Saturday, including Dean Kampschror (3.48 ERA) and Angelo Tonas (3.97 ERA).

Inconsistency at the plate was the biggest issue for Mississippi State in the regular season, and that’s held true in the postseason. It’s taken final inning heroics from Connor Hujsak and Dakota Jordan to drag State to wins in low-scoring affairs.

They can’t count on that against Virginia. While there’s all the reason to be confident in Jurrangelo Cijntje to give State a great outing, and UVA’s lineup was mostly quiet against Penn, the Cavs have been too good offensively this year to just assume they won’t find some success at the plate Saturday night.

MSU’s own lineup is going to need a good game if they want to move to 2-0 in Charlottesville. Hopefully, Dakota Jordan’s walk-off sparked something for this team going forward.

At The Ballpark
Shotgun Spratling – June 1, 2024

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Dakota Jordan texted his Mississippi State teammates last week in Hoover. 

Mired in the midst of an unprecedented offensive slump for the superstar sophomore that saw him go 20 consecutive at-bats without a hit, Jordan was carrying his at-bats with him into the dugout and onto the field defensively. Each strikeout and lazy fly became another link in the chain weighing down him down, slumping his shoulders. 

His text promised an improvement in his non-verbal communication. No more sulking. Jordan guaranteed better body language. Even if he wasn’t finding hits, he was going to show confidence. 

Over[…]