Thursday, April 18
Fayetteville, Ark.
8:00 PM
Mississippi State
32-7, 10-6
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#12 Arkansas
28-10, 10-6
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Mississippi State
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Arkansas
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Photo by: Trevor Birchett/MSU Athletics
Baseball Drops Series Opener at Arkansas
April 18, 2019 | Baseball
State hits two home runs, but falls, 5-3, in series opener of its third road series in SEC play
STARKVILLE – A pair of SEC aces dueled it out on Thursday (April 18) night at Baum-Walker Stadium, as the No. 3 Mississippi State baseball program dropped a 5-3 decision to No. 10 Arkansas in the series-opening SEC contest.
Redshirt-junior Ethan Small (4-1) threw six innings and allowed three runs – all in the sixth inning – on five hits. He walked just one and struck out eight batters to move his season total to 102, making him the sixth Bulldog pitcher to strikeout 100-plus batters in multiple seasons.
Small joined the group of Jeff Brantley (1984, 85), Eric DuBose (1995, 96, 97), Matt Ginter (1998, 99), Konnor Pilkington (2017, 18) and B.J. Wallace (1991, 92). The left-hander struck out 122 batters last season.
State (32-7, 10-6 SEC) took the early lead on a home run by sophomore Rowdey Jordan in the fifth inning, before Arkansas (28-10, 10-6 SEC) plated three in the sixth. After State got one back in the eighth, the Razorbacks plated a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the frame. Senior Elijah MacNamee hit a solo home run to lead off the ninth and cap the scoring.
Senior Jake Mangum reached base twice, once via hit and once on a hit-by-pitch, to move his hitting streak to 19 games. Sophomore Tanner Allen pushed his hitting streak to a season-best seven games with a pair of hits in the game, while Jordan moved his hitting streak to a career-long seven games.
Quotable
Head Coach Chris Lemonis
On what he told his team after the game
"We are bunch of gritty dudes, so they are always competing until the last out, I can tell you that. We are disappointed, but we have to be able to come back out and get after it tomorrow…We are playing good baseball, probably not our best effort tonight, but in 18 hours we have to be able to come out and get back after it."
Quick Hitters
Mississippi State
Ethan Small – Became the sixth MSU pitcher to post multiple 100-strikeout seasons, striking out eight batters to end the night with 102 strikeouts in 2019. Allowed three runs on five hits. Walked one in the loss.
Rowdey Jordan – Hit his third home run of the season to open the scoring, moving his hitting streak to a career-long seven games.
Jake Mangum – Reached base twice in the game and extended his hitting streak to 19 games.
Elijah MacNamee – Hit his sixth home run of the season to lead off the ninth inning.
Tanner Allen – Posted a pair of hits to move his hitting streak to seven games.
Arkansas
Isaiah Campbell – Allowed two runs on five hits in 7 2/3 innings of work. Didn't walk a batter and struck out 10.
Casey Martin – Drove in two RBIs with a seventh-inning double to give Arkansas a lead.
Christian Franklin – Posted a pair of hits and scored a run.
Scoring Recap
Top Fifth
Rowdey Jordan opened the scoring with his third home run of the season to right field.
Mississippi State 1, Arkansas 0
Bottom Sixth
Arkansas took the lead with three runs on four hits against Ethan Small. The inning started with a walk to Casey Opitz and a single from Christian Franklin. After a sacrifice bunt, Casey Martin doubled to left-center field to score two and Matt Goodheart singled to drive in the third run of the inning.
Arkansas 3, Mississippi State 1
Top Eighth
Dustin Skelton started the frame with a double to right-center field and moved to third on a wild pitch. Josh Hatcher grounded out to push Skelton across.
Arkansas 3, Mississippi State 2
Bottom Eighth
A leadoff walk was followed by a pair of flyball outs against reliever Riley Self in his second inning of work. Dominic Fletcher then hit a two-out, two run home run to right field to give Arkansas a pair of insurance runs.
Arkansas 5, Mississippi State 2
Top Ninth
Elijah MacNamee led off the ninth inning with a home run to left field, but that was all MSU could get in its final at bat.
Arkansas 5, Mississippi State 3
Up Next
The Diamond Dawgs and Razorbacks will get together again on Friday, April 19, with the contest slated for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch. The series finale will start at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 20. Both games are available on the Mississippi State Sports Network and SEC Network+.
Redshirt-junior Ethan Small (4-1) threw six innings and allowed three runs – all in the sixth inning – on five hits. He walked just one and struck out eight batters to move his season total to 102, making him the sixth Bulldog pitcher to strikeout 100-plus batters in multiple seasons.
Small joined the group of Jeff Brantley (1984, 85), Eric DuBose (1995, 96, 97), Matt Ginter (1998, 99), Konnor Pilkington (2017, 18) and B.J. Wallace (1991, 92). The left-hander struck out 122 batters last season.
State (32-7, 10-6 SEC) took the early lead on a home run by sophomore Rowdey Jordan in the fifth inning, before Arkansas (28-10, 10-6 SEC) plated three in the sixth. After State got one back in the eighth, the Razorbacks plated a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the frame. Senior Elijah MacNamee hit a solo home run to lead off the ninth and cap the scoring.
Senior Jake Mangum reached base twice, once via hit and once on a hit-by-pitch, to move his hitting streak to 19 games. Sophomore Tanner Allen pushed his hitting streak to a season-best seven games with a pair of hits in the game, while Jordan moved his hitting streak to a career-long seven games.
Quotable
Head Coach Chris Lemonis
On what he told his team after the game
"We are bunch of gritty dudes, so they are always competing until the last out, I can tell you that. We are disappointed, but we have to be able to come back out and get after it tomorrow…We are playing good baseball, probably not our best effort tonight, but in 18 hours we have to be able to come out and get back after it."
Quick Hitters
Mississippi State
Ethan Small – Became the sixth MSU pitcher to post multiple 100-strikeout seasons, striking out eight batters to end the night with 102 strikeouts in 2019. Allowed three runs on five hits. Walked one in the loss.
Rowdey Jordan – Hit his third home run of the season to open the scoring, moving his hitting streak to a career-long seven games.
Jake Mangum – Reached base twice in the game and extended his hitting streak to 19 games.
Elijah MacNamee – Hit his sixth home run of the season to lead off the ninth inning.
Tanner Allen – Posted a pair of hits to move his hitting streak to seven games.
Arkansas
Isaiah Campbell – Allowed two runs on five hits in 7 2/3 innings of work. Didn't walk a batter and struck out 10.
Casey Martin – Drove in two RBIs with a seventh-inning double to give Arkansas a lead.
Christian Franklin – Posted a pair of hits and scored a run.
Scoring Recap
Top Fifth
Rowdey Jordan opened the scoring with his third home run of the season to right field.
Mississippi State 1, Arkansas 0
Bottom Sixth
Arkansas took the lead with three runs on four hits against Ethan Small. The inning started with a walk to Casey Opitz and a single from Christian Franklin. After a sacrifice bunt, Casey Martin doubled to left-center field to score two and Matt Goodheart singled to drive in the third run of the inning.
Arkansas 3, Mississippi State 1
Top Eighth
Dustin Skelton started the frame with a double to right-center field and moved to third on a wild pitch. Josh Hatcher grounded out to push Skelton across.
Arkansas 3, Mississippi State 2
Bottom Eighth
A leadoff walk was followed by a pair of flyball outs against reliever Riley Self in his second inning of work. Dominic Fletcher then hit a two-out, two run home run to right field to give Arkansas a pair of insurance runs.
Arkansas 5, Mississippi State 2
Top Ninth
Elijah MacNamee led off the ninth inning with a home run to left field, but that was all MSU could get in its final at bat.
Arkansas 5, Mississippi State 3
Up Next
The Diamond Dawgs and Razorbacks will get together again on Friday, April 19, with the contest slated for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch. The series finale will start at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 20. Both games are available on the Mississippi State Sports Network and SEC Network+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Isaiah Campbell (7-1)
L: Small, Ethan (4-1)
S: Matt Cronin (8)
Batting:
2B: Skelton, Dustin 1
HR: MacNamee, Elijah 1 ; Jordan, Rowdey 1
RBI: MacNamee, Elijah 1 ; Jordan, Rowdey 1 ; Hatcher, Josh 1
Base Running:
RUNS: MacNamee, Elijah 1 ; Jordan, Rowdey 1 ; Skelton, Dustin 1
HBP: Mangum, Jake 1
PO: Mangum, Jake 1
Batting:
2B: Casey Martin 1 ; Jack Kenley 1
HR: Dominic Fletcher 1
RBI: Casey Martin 2 ; Matt Goodheart 1 ; Dominic Fletcher 2
SH: Trevor Ezell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Trevor Ezell 1 ; Casey Martin 1 ; Dominic Fletcher 1 ; Casey Opitz 1 ; Christian Franklin 1
CS: Christian Franklin 1
Game Leaders
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Players Mentioned
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