ARLINGTON, Texas — Mississippi State capitalized on free passes and timely hitting to pull away from Virginia Tech late, defeating the Hokies 15-8 Saturday at Globe Life Field.

The Bulldogs (11-0) collected 15 hits and went 8-for-16 with runners in scoring position, taking control with a five-run seventh inning before tacking on three more scores in the eighth and two in the ninth.

Mississippi State struck first in the opening inning. Aidan Teel singled and later scored on Reed Stallman’s RBI double to right, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead against Virginia Tech starter Griffin Stieg.

The Hokies fell behind further in the second when Teel delivered an RBI single and Ace Reese followed with a 399-foot two-run home run to right-center, pushing the margin to 4-0.

Virginia Tech answered in the third. Hudson Lutterman tripled to right field and Ethan Gibson lifted a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 4-1. But the Bulldogs continued to manufacture offense, adding a run in the fifth after a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded made it 5-1.

The Hokies began to chip away in the sixth when Ethan Ball launched a 448-foot solo home run to center field, trimming the lead to 5-2. Virginia Tech threatened further in the inning after Owen Petrich reached and Treyson Hughes moved into scoring position following an error, but a strikeout and a caught stealing ended the rally.

The game swung decisively in the seventh.

Mississippi State loaded the bases against Aiden Robertson and Peyton Smith before James Nunnallee was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Bryce Chance followed with an RBI single, and Teel delivered a two-run single through the right side. An Ace Reese sacrifice fly capped the five-run inning, extending the Bulldogs’ lead to 10-2.

Mississippi State added three more in the eighth on Jacob Parker’s 415-foot, three-run home run to right-center, stretching the advantage to 13-2.

Virginia Tech was able to answer to aviod the run-rule decision. In the bottom half of the eighth, Nick Locurto advanced on a wild pitch before Aimon Chandler crushed a two-run homer to left-center to make it 13-5.

The Bulldogs answered again in the ninth, taking advantage of walks and another hit-by-pitch to plate two more runs and push the lead to 15-5.

The Hokies mounted one final rally in the bottom of the ninth, launching three consecutive solo home runs. Anderson French homered to open the inning, Hudson Lutterman followed with a blast of his own and Sam Gates added another to trim the deficit to 15-8. The comeback attempt stalled there, however, as Mississippi State recorded the final three outs to secure the win.

Virginia Tech finished with 11 hits and hit seven home runs in the contest, but the difference proved to be traffic. The Hokies issued 10 walks and hit four batters, allowing Mississippi State to consistently put runners on base. The Bulldogs stranded 12 but capitalized often enough to keep control.

Ball, Chandler, French, Lutterman and Gates each homered for the Hokies, while Mississippi State countered with long balls from Reese and Parker.

Despite the late power surge, Virginia Tech could not overcome Mississippi State’s sustained offensive pressure and struggled to contain innings once they began to unravel.

The Hokies will look to regroup as they finish tournament play tomorrow against Tennessee.

The loss was on Ritson Meyer’s mind all week as he prepared for his final state wrestling tournament. 

A senior 215-pounder at Elgin, Meyer isn’t used to getting beaten, but he got a wake-up call when he lost against Coweta senior Aiven Robbins by five points in their regional championship match. 

For Meyer, it set in that winning his fourth state championship wouldn’t be an easy task. 

“I lost to him last week and I’m not a loser, so it was eating on me all week in practice,” Meyer said. “So (in) practice, I really leveled up everything. Everything about it.” 

Meyer and Robbins met again on Saturday, this time with the Class 5A state championship on the line. 

Intensely focused from the start, Meyer came out aggressive. And although it was another great match, Meyer did just enough to etch his name in the state history books. 

Meyer held on to beat Robbins in an 8-7 decision in the new OG&E Coliseum as he claimed his fourth state championship, while Coweta won the team title. 

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An Abilene Christian football signee, Meyer’s wrestling days are over, but he leaves the sport with satisfaction. 

“I came out here — even though it hurt, even though I was tired — I got it done,” Meyer said. “I’m so happy. I got to celebrate with my parents, my family, my friends. It’s a crazy feeling.”