Mississippi State
11-0
Virginia Tech
7-3
Fourth-Ranked Bulldogs Remain Unbeaten
February 28, 2026 | Baseball
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - Fourth-ranked Mississippi State erupted for 15 runs on 15 hits and withstood a late Virginia Tech rally to claim a 15-8 victory Saturday afternoon at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field.
The Diamond Dawgs (11-0) stayed unbeaten behind a relentless offensive attack that produced runs in six different innings and a five-run seventh that broke the game open.
Mississippi State finished with 10 walks and went 8-for-16 with runners in scoring position, consistently applying pressure to the Hokies' pitching staff.
MSU wasted little time setting the tone. After Aidan Teel singled in the first and moved into scoring position, Reed Stallman laced an RBI double to right to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
State struck again in the second. Bryce Chance doubled and Teel followed with an RBI single to center. Ace Reese then launched a two-run homer to right-center, pushing the lead to 4-0 and energizing the pro-Mississippi State crowd at the home of the Texas Rangers.
Virginia Tech trimmed the margin to 4-1 in the third but the Bulldogs answered with a steady stream of offense. An RBI hit-by-pitch from Chance in the fifth stretched the advantage to 5-1.
The decisive blow came in the seventh. Gehrig Frei opened the inning with a double and the Diamond Dawgs loaded the bases with no outs. James Nunnallee was plunked to force in a run, Chance followed with an RBI single, and Teel delivered a two-run single through the right side. Reese capped the five-run frame with a sacrifice fly, extending MSU's lead to 10-2.
Mississippi State kept pouring it on in the eighth when Jacob Parker, pinch hitting, crushed a 415-foot, three-run homer to right-center to make it 13-2. The Bulldogs added two more in the ninth on an RBI hit-by-pitch by Chone James and a run-scoring single from Drew Wyers.
Teel paced State's 15-hit barrage, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two stolen bases. Reese finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs, while Parker drove in three off the bench. Frei added two hits and scored twice as the Bulldogs' lineup showed its depth from top to bottom.
On the mound, Tomas Valincius improved to 3-0, allowing two runs on four hits over 5 1/3 innings while striking out seven. Brendan Sweeney provided 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief before Virginia Tech mounted a late rally against the bullpen. Jack Gleason slammed the door in the ninth with three strikeouts to secure the win.
The Hokies scored three runs in both the eighth and ninth innings, including back-to-back-to-back home runs in the final frame, but the early cushion built by Mississippi State proved more than enough.
The Diamond Dawgs wrap up their stay with a showdown with No. 1 UCLA on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. streamed on FloCollege. State will send sophomore right-hander Duke Stone (2-0, 2.70 ERA) to the mound while the Bruins counter with righty Landon Stump (0-0, 6.35 ERA).
Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the baseball program. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching 'HailStateBB' on X, Facebook and Instagram.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Valincius, Tomas (3-0)
L: Stieg, Griffin (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Frei, Gehrig 1 ; Chance, Bryce 1 ; Stallman, Reed 1
HR: Reese, Ace 1 ; Parker, Jacob 1
RBI: Reese, Ace 3 ; Chance, Bryce 2 ; Parker, Jacob 3 ; Teel, Aidan 3 ; Nunnallee, James 1 ; Stallman, Reed 1 ; Wyers, Drew 1 ; James, Chone 1
SF: Reese, Ace 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Frei, Gehrig 2 ; Reese, Ace 2 ; Chance, Bryce 2 ; Parker, Jacob 1 ; Teel, Aidan 2 ; Nunnallee, James 1 ; Stallman, Reed 1 ; Woodson, Ryder 2 ; Raymond, Andrew 2
SB: Teel, Aidan 2
CS: Teel, Aidan 1
HBP: Sullivan, Noah 1 ; Chance, Bryce 1 ; Nunnallee, James 1 ; James, Chone 1
Batting:
3B: Lutterman, Hudson 1
HR: French, Anderson 1 ; Gates, Sam 1 ; Ball, Ethan 1 ; Lutterman, Hudson 1 ; Chandler, Aimon 1
RBI: French, Anderson 1 ; Gates, Sam 1 ; Ball, Ethan 1 ; Gibson, Ethan 1 ; Lutterman, Hudson 1 ; Chandler, Aimon 3
SF: Gibson, Ethan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: French, Anderson 1 ; Locurto, Nick 1 ; Gates, Sam 1 ; Ball, Ethan 1 ; Oxendine, CJ 1 ; Lutterman, Hudson 2 ; Chandler, Aimon 1
CS: Petrich, Owen 1
HBP: Lutterman, Hudson 1
