No. 6 Mississippi State tops Vanderbilt 7-2 behind Valincius’s dominant pitching

STARKVILLE, Miss. — A crowd of 14,834 fans watched as No. 6 Mississippi State defeated Vanderbilt 7-2 Saturday at Dudy Noble Field. The attendance set a record for the fifth-largest on-campus college baseball crowd in NCAA history, according to university officials.

Freshman pitcher Tomas Valincius delivered a standout performance on the mound, striking out 14 batters over seven innings and allowing only two hits with no earned runs. Vanderbilt’s team struck out 17 times and recorded just three hits in the game, according to official stats.

Mississippi State (19-4, 3-2 SEC) built an early lead with a four-run second inning. Ryder Woodson and Jacob Parker drew walks to start the inning, and Kevin Milewski’s bunt single loaded the bases. Aidan Teel’s RBI single and a two-run double by Ace Reese pushed the Bulldogs ahead. Reed Stallman added a sacrifice fly, giving MSU a 4-0 edge.

Vanderbilt (13-11, 2-3 SEC) responded with two unearned runs in the fourth inning, taking advantage of a fielding error. MSU responded in the bottom of the inning when Noah Sullivan hit a solo home run, his sixth of the season, to extend the lead to 5-2. The Bulldogs added two more runs in the seventh when Bryce Chance’s double scored Woodson and Parker, sealing the victory.

Brendan Sweeney pitched two scoreless innings in relief to finish the game. Offensively, Sullivan, Chance, and Teel contributed key hits, while Woodson and Parker each scored twice. The win secures the series for Mississippi State, which aims to continue its strong start in SEC play.

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Source: Original Article