Mississippi State baseball loses at Virginia, faces elimination in NCAA regional
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Mississippi State baseball is facing elimination in the Charlottesville Regional.
The Bulldogs lost Saturday, by a score of 5-4, against No. 1 seed and host Virginia. The deciding blow came in the bottom of the ninth when UVA's Bobby Whalen sent a grounder to MSU second baseman Amani Larry.
Larry couldn't come up with the ball, allowing Harrison Didawick to score the winning run from third.
MSU (39-22), the No. 2 seed, must beat No. 3 seed St. John's on Sunday (11 a.m.) to keep its NCAA Tournament run alive. The loser will go home while the winner will face Virginia (43-15) at 5 p.m. Sunday.
Virginia’s Eric Becker disrupts Jurrangelo Cijntje’s start
Mississippi State pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje had a solid start Saturday, allowing four runs across seven innings. He struck out five hitters while walking one.
However, his outing would have been better had Virginia’s Eric Becker not been in the lineup.
Becker gave the Cavaliers a 2-0 lead in the third inning with a two-out triple. In the seventh, with momentum wavering toward UVA, his two-run single tied the game at four.
Becker’s four runs driven in accounted for all the runs allowed by Cijntje – MSU’s ambidextrous sophomore who only threw right-handed in his first career NCAA Tournament start.
Hunter Hines finds power vs. Virginia
Dakota Jordan’s walk-off home run against St. John’s on Friday snapped a 1-for-26 slump. Less than 24 hours later, Mississippi State’s other slugger broke out of his powerless stretch.
Hunter Hines launched a three-run home run in the third inning, flipping a two-run deficit into a 3-2 lead. The blast marked his first home run since a May 17 win against Missouri.
Hines closed the regular season with one hit across his last five games. In four games at the SEC tournament, he was hitless.
Hines snapped his slump with a single against the Red Storm before delivering a crucial blast against the Cavaliers.
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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: St. John's 10, Penn 9
Game 4: Virginia 5, Mississippi State 4
Sunday games
Game 5: St. John’s vs. Mississippi State, 11 a.m., TBD
Game 6: Virginia 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: NCAA regional: Mississippi State baseball loses at Virginia, faces elimination
