Chance, Valincius Carry No. 11 MSU To Series-Opening Win

Thursday, May 7

Starkville

7 p.m.

Mississippi State

38-12, 15-10

Auburn

33-15, 14-11

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Auburn	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	3	4	0
Mississippi State	4	0	1	0	1	2	2	0	X	10	16	1

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Chance, Valincius Carry No. 11 MSU To Series-Opening Win

May 07, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score

STARKVILLE - No. 11 Mississippi State wasted little time turning a top-15 Southeastern Conference showdown into a statement Thursday night.

Bryce Chance blasted a first-inning grand slam, Tomas Valincius struck out 13 and the Diamond Dawgs powered past No. 6 Auburn 10-3 at Dudy Noble Field to open the weekend series with one of their most complete performances of the season.

Mississippi State (38-12, 15-10 SEC) hammered out 16 hits, hit three home runs and never trailed after Chance's early swing gave MSU immediate control. Auburn (33-15, 14-11) managed only four hits and struck out 15 times against Valincius and Jack Bauer.

The Bulldogs built the night around a two-out rally in the first inning. Blake Bevis singled, Noah Sullivan followed with another single and Jacob Parker walked to load the bases. Chance then drove a pitch over the wall in left field for his second grand slam of the season, putting State ahead 4-0 before Auburn starter Jake Marciano could escape the inning.

That was more than enough for Valincius, who improved to 8-2 after allowing three runs on four hits with no walks over 6 2/3 innings. The left-hander struck out 13, threw 72 of his 112 pitches for strikes and kept Auburn hitless until the fifth inning.

The Tigers got on the board in the fifth when Ethin Bingaman singled, stole second and scored on Brandon McCraine's two-out single. Mississippi State answered in the bottom half when Sullivan singled and scored on Chance's double to left center, stretching the lead to 6-1.

MSU kept adding on in the sixth. Ryder Woodson walked and Gehrig Frei followed with a two-run homer down the right-field line, his ninth of the season, to push the Diamond Dawgs ahead 8-1.

Auburn's biggest swing came in the seventh, when Bub Terrell hit a two-run homer to left after Chris Rembert singled.

State answered again in the bottom of the seventh. Parker opened the inning with his 11th home run of the season, Chance reached on a bunt single and later scored on Woodson's sacrifice fly to make it 10-3.

Chance finished 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and five RBIs. Sullivan went 3-for-5 and scored three times, Vytas Valincius added three hits and an RBI, Frei drove in two runs, and Bevis had two hits for the Bulldogs.

Bauer replaced Valincius after the seventh-inning blast and retired all seven batters he faced, striking out two to close the game.

Marciano took the loss for Auburn, allowing four runs on six hits in two innings. The Tigers used five pitchers, but Mississippi State scored in five different innings and had eight players record at least one hit.

The announced crowd of 12,658 watched the Bulldogs strengthen their postseason résumé with a series-opening win over a top-10 SEC opponent.

MSU will go for the series on Friday at 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network+. The Diamond Dawgs will send Duke Stone (6-1, 4.40 ERA) while Auburn counters with a sophomore right-hander of its own in Andreas Alvarez (8-2, 2.56 ERA).

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