Dakota Jordan walkoff home run gives Mississippi State baseball NCAA regional win vs St. John's
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — It was a frustrating Friday night for the Mississippi State baseball offense against St. John's at Davenport Field.
Dakota Jordan put an end to that. With his walk-off three-run home run in the 10th inning, the Bulldogs picked up a 5-2 win to open play at the Charlottesville Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
The victory advances No. 2 seed MSU (39-21) into the winner's bracket of the regional. The Bulldogs will face host and No. 1 seed Virginia (42-15) on Saturday (5 p.m., ACC Network).
St. John's (37-17-1) will face No. 4 seed Penn (24-24) in an elimination game at Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN+).
Mississippi State's Khal Stephen gets no decision despite gem
As has become the norm, Khal Stephen delivered a strong start for Mississippi State. However, the right-handed pitcher was handed a no decision.
The former Purdue transfer threw eight innings while allowing two runs. He struck out 10 hitters – one shy of a season-high 11 against Auburn.
Of Stephen’s 99 pitches, some of his most important came against St. John’s catcher Jimmy Keenan. He is the lone player from the Red Storm with more than 10 home runs this year. In three at-bats against Stephen, he was hitless with two strikeouts.
Logan Kohler sparks Mississippi State offense early, St. John’s responds
Third baseman Logan Kohler transferred to MSU from Memphis last year looking to give the Bulldogs another left-handed power threat in the lineup. Though he hit only five home runs in the regular season, he wasted no time showing off the pop in the postseason.
In his first at-bat, Kohler launched a ball to left-center to put Mississippi State ahead 2-0 in the second inning. The blast came after second baseman Amani Larry walked ahead of him.
However, that lead didn’t hold up for MSU.
In the fourth inning, St. John’s strung together three hits to tie the game – highlighted by a two-out, two-run single from first baseman Marty Higgins.
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Charlottesville Regional schedule
All times CDT
Friday’s games
Game 1: Virginia 4, Penn 2
Game 2: Mississippi State 5, St. John's 2
Saturday games
Game 3: Penn vs. St. John's, 11 a.m., ESPN+
Game 4: Mississippi State vs Virginia, 5 p.m., ACC Network
Sunday games
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 11 a.m., TBD
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 5 p.m., TBD
Monday game
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (if necessary), TBD
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State baseball: Dakota Jordan walkoff HR beats St. John's
