Tomas Valincius struck out 10, Ace Reese and Kevin Milewski homered, and Reed Stallman knocked in three runs to lead Mississippi State to a 10-5 victory in the winner’s bracket game of the Starkville Regional on Saturday night.

The top-seeded Bulldogs (42-17) managed early behind another standout performance from Valincius, who allowed two runs over 7.1 innings to earn his 11th win of the season.

Valincius was supported offensively by Reese’s solo home run in the first inning, a run two-seed Cincinnati (38-21) responded to in the second to tie the game at 1-1. The Bulldogs broke open the game with three runs in the fifth inning, then followed with four more in the sixth and two more in the seventh to build a 10-1 lead.

As part of the surge, Stallman knocked in three runs on two doubles, Gehrig Frei hit a two-run single, Bryce Chance drove in one, and Milewski hit a two-run shot. Vytas Valincius, Tomas’ brother, crossed home plate on a wild pitch.

Cincinnati worked to chip away late, but the deficit was too much to overcome. The Bearcats scored two in the eighth and two in the ninth before Mississippi State reliever Ben Davis limited the damage by getting the final outs to end the ballgame.

Mississippi State is now just one win away from winning its first regional championship since 2021 – the same year the Bulldogs won the College World Series. Mississippi State will play the winner of Sunday afternoon’s elimination game between Cincinnati and Louisiana at 7 p.m. If Mississippi State drops the game, a winner-take-all final will be played Monday.

Coming off two impressive wins over VCU and East Carolina in the Chapel Hill Regional, the North Carolina Tar Heels head into Sunday’s matchup against Tennessee with significant momentum.

With all that being said, here is who will start on the mound for the Tar Heels on Sunday, with a lineup projection against the Volunteers in the third and final game of the regional round of the tournament.

Starting Pitcher Against Tennessee

Earlier this week, head coach Scott Forbes announced Ryan Lynch and Jason DeCaro would serve as the starters for the Tar Heels’ opening two games in the Chapel Hill Regional. With Caden Glauber contributing 4.1 innings on Saturday, compiling eight strikeouts while giving up three hits and two runs, Glauber could be less likely to start. However, I expect the true freshman to sprinkle in a few innings on Sunday against Tennessee.

• “Most of the time it becomes, ‘Okay, what do we feel like is the better matchup’ even though we feel like they match up well against anybody, and they [aren’t going to] be scared of anybody,” Forbes said. “That’s why we decided to go Lynch game one against VCU, and DeCaro will go game two against East Carolina or Tennessee.”

• “I feel like we have multiple aces,” Forbes said. “I feel like Jason DeCaro and Ryan Lynch are both Friday night guys.”

Projected Starting Lineup

Through the first two games of the regional round of the tournament, the Tar Heels are averaging 7.5 runs and 11 hits per outing. Based on what Forbes has rolled out in the opening games against VCU and East Carolina, I expect North Carolina’s batting lineup to look very similar, if not exactly the same.

While the Tar Heels coasted to victory over VCU and faced no adversity, jumping out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning en route to an 8-0 win. That was not the case on Saturday night, as the start of the game was a reciprocated experience for North Carolina, which fell behind 3-0 heading into the fourth inning.

“This team’s mature, they know we’ve played good teams all year, good midweek teams, and I’ve told them it’s about how we play, it’s not about the opponent,” Forbes said. “All of our focus has been on us, number one.”

With all that said, the Tar Heels’ projected batting lineup, in order, is Jake Schaffner, Gavin Gallaher, Owen Hull, Macon Winslow, Cooper Nicholson, Tyler Howe, Colin Hynek, Erik Paulsen, and Rom Kellis V.

Advertisement

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow

Brent Venables got Oklahoma back to the College Football Playoff in 2025, and while the season was a massive success, merely making the 12-team field isn’t good enough for anyone in Norman — Venables included. 

The Sooners enter 2026 with something that has been missing on both sides of the ball for a few years: continuity. 

OU returns its starting quarterback, John Mateer, for the first time since Dillon Gabriel started Venables’ first two seasons as head coach.

Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle is back, and while Venables lost cornerbacks coach Jay Valai to the Buffalo Bills, Venables has everyone else back on his staff and he’s the architect of the defense. 

The schedule will be tough again, but expectations are high for Venables’ fifth team at Oklahoma.

Here are three areas the Sooners need to improve to get back in the national championship picture.

Run the Ball

Venables hasn’t shied away from OU’s issues running the football. 

He’s put improvement in the rushing attack at the forefront all throughout the offseason, from working to sharpen the mentality of the offense to bringing in pieces like right tackle E’Marion Harris and a virtually new tight end room to help the cause. 

More consistency on the ground will take pressure off Mateer’s shoulders. 

It will not only allow OU to control the clock and give its defense a rest, but it will also open up the passing game downfield if the second and third levels of opposing defenses truly have to worry about bottling up the run and the pass. 

The inability to run the ball was the Sooners’ most glaring issue in 2025, so there is plenty of room for improvement this fall. 

Limit Mateer’s Turnovers

At times, Mateer had to do everything for OU’s offense in 2025. 

There were memorable moments, but Mateer also had a handful of head-scratching mistakes. 

He threw a career-high 11 interceptions a year ago, and his downturn in turnovers in November coincided with the Sooners’ employing conservative game plans. 

His worst moment came in the loss to Texas, where he threw three picks, but that performance came 17 days after thumb surgery, where he clearly was unable to throw the ball downfield with real accuracy. 

But he threw a pick in each of his first three games on questionable decisions, then he threw a nearly catastrophic pick against Tennessee when the Sooners were just trying to milk the clock late. 

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.

He tossed another three picks against LSU, and the pick six he threw against Alabama helped the Crimson Tide roar all the way back after digging a 17-point hole in the College Football Playoff. 

Mateer’s freewheeling nature produced incredible moments, and that will lead to risky throws. The tradeoff in those moments is usually worth it, but he can cut down on his misfires elsewhere to find a balance between pushing the envelope and taking care of the football. 

Avoid the Back-breaking Special Teams Plays

Oklahoma was excellent on special teams in 2025 for the most part. 

Kicker Tate Sandell won the program’s first Lou Groza Award for his incredible season, and special teams played a big role in massive victories, like Isaiah Sategna’s first punt return in Tuscaloosa that set OU’s offense up deep in Alabama territory.

But the few special teams lapses were monumental. 

Texas effectively put away the Red River Showdown by returning a punt for a touchdown, though Venables correctly pointed out a key block in the back that wasn’t called that helped spring the touchdown. 

But in the Cotton Bowl, the call stood, and it’s the kind of play that cannot happen when lining up against the best competition on the schedule. 

Then, in the CFP, punter Grayson Miller oddly dropped the football, leading to a blocked punt. Alabama was able to take that play and start clawing its way back into the contest. 

Doug Deakin has done a phenomenal job with the Sooners’ special teams units, but there are still improvements to be made in 2026.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow