A five-run fifth inning from No. 15 Mississippi State put the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers’ backs against the walls, but the Bulldogs couldn’t finish.
An Amani Larry error with two outs in the seventh and a solo home run in the eighth from UT would be the difference in the game as the Vols eliminated State from the SEC Tournament, 6-5. The Bulldogs lost their second-straight game by one run and now have 12 losses on the year by that margin.
State played with fire all night with the potent Volunteer offense as the SEC champions had a runner on base every inning. Starting pitcher Pico Kohn and relievers Cole Cheatam, Tyson Hardin and Tyler Davis all would limit damage as UT left 12 on the bases, but they got their runs.
The Vols scored in five of the nine innings while State continued its major struggles to put together some consistent innings at the plate. The Bulldogs managed just four hits in the game and scored all five of its run in a wild fifth inning.
Three of the four hits in the game came in that frame as David Mershon broke the 3-0 deficit with his bases loaded walk with two outs. Connor Hujsak and Dakota Jordan followed with consecutive two-run singles and suddenly the Bulldogs had a 5-3 lead.
With that advantage in the seventh inning, Hardin had the bases loaded with one out and got a ground ball to Mershon that looked like a potential double play. Instead, State just got the one out at second and Larry airmailed a ball at first base that would tie the game.
Hardin gave up a solo home run to Blake Burke in the eighth and the Bulldogs never threatened at the plate from there.
Kohn started the game and lasted just 3.1 innings as the Vols lived on the bases against the sophomore left hander. He limited the damage with five hits and two walks scoring two runs. Cheatham threw 1.2 innings with one hit, one run and two walks, Hardin had two hits, one earned run, three walks and two strikeouts in 2.0 innings and Davis (5-1) was saddled with his first loss of the year with 2.0 frames, two hits, one run and two strikeouts.
MSU’s struggling offense again had its issues. Outside of the fifth inning, MSU scored zero runs and had just one hit. In the SEC tournament, the Bulldogs scored in just seven of the 36 innings.
There was a bright spot in the game as Jordan broke through his 0-for-19 slump with his two-RBI single.
State (38-21) now will await its fate for the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs know that they will be playing in the tournament but the question remains whether or not that will be in Starkville or on the road.
The NCAA will announce host spots on Sunday evening via social media.
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