While taking one game at No. 3 Arkansas likely will be enough to boost Mississippi State baseball’s hopes of hosting regionals in the NCAA tournament, the Bulldogs failed to take advantage of an opportunity to make a splash.

Coach Chris Lemonis’ squad held a lead in all three games. However, an eighth-inning lead in Friday’s opener resulted in a 7-5 loss, and a 6-0 lead Sunday flipped into a 9-6 loss.

But with an 8-5 win Saturday, Mississippi State earned a top-10 victory to add to its postseason résumé.

Here are our observations from the series between Mississippi State (33-18, 15-12 SEC) and Arkansas (42-10, 19-8).

Khal Stephen cements status as top pitcher

A year ago, Mississippi State was at LSU facing off against top prospect Paul Skenes. With the Bulldogs not having a surefire ace, Lemonis elected to pitch then-freshman Evan Siary in the series opener while saving his better arms for games MSU had stronger hopes of winning.

The strategy worked as Mississippi State, a team that failed to make the postseason, won a series against the eventual national champions.

Facing Arkansas’ Hagen Smith — whose numbers entering Friday were comparable to Skenes' — Lemonis could’ve taken a similar approach. Instead, he elected to trust starter Khal Stephen to match up against Smith.

Though the Bulldogs lost, Stephen cemented himself as an ace in the SEC who can match up against any opposing pitcher. He allowed four runs in seven innings, while Smith lasted just five innings.

In his first season at MSU after transferring from Purdue in the offseason, Stephen has a 3.16 ERA.

Defense turns to offense for Dakota Jordan in second game

Earlier this season, teams were intentionally walking Dakota Jordan due to a combination of his success and Hunter Hines’ struggles. Recently, though, Hines has been providing pop in the clean-up spot while Jordan has struggled.

His woes continued in the series opener — striking out three times. That changed Saturday when Jordan had three hits to help fuel the win.

But his best moment may have been sparked by a play on the defensive end.

Playing center field due to Connor Hujsak’s absence, Jordan made a leaping grab at the wall to end the third inning. In the top of the fourth, Jordan launched a two-run shot to right field.

The blast was Jordan’s first home run since an April 23 win at Memphis.

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Unlikely heroes emerge in finale, but bullpen falters

While the stars have carried Mississippi State for most of the season, unlikely heroes emerged in the finale.

It started with Ethan Pulliam. The freshman second baseman, after going hitless Saturday and with an error, responded by launching a three-run blast in the second inning Sunday, the first home run of his career. He followed that up with a run-scoring double in the next inning.

Joe Powell went back-to-back with Pulliam's blast. The solo shot was also the catcher's first home run of the season.

Lemonis elected to make a change on the mound after Brooks Auger — who started for MSU the past three weeks — threw three innings in relief Saturday. Left-handed pitcher Pico Kohn got his first SEC start on Sunday and delivered four innings, with only one run allowed.

However, relief pitchers behind Kohn surrendered eight runs across four innings.

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: How series loss at Arkansas affects Mississippi State's hosting hopes