Mississippi State baseball dropped its rubber match at No. 6 Texas A&M on Saturday, losing 6-1 in the series finale.

The three-game set opened Thursday where a five-run fifth was pivotal for the Aggies in a 6-3 victory. The opposite occurred Friday when Mississippi State rode a five-run fifth inning to a 5-1 win.

For MSU coach Chris Lemonis, the .500 start to conference play has featured three wins against top-10 foes. Mississippi State opened its SEC slate last week with a series victory against LSU.

MSU (17-8, 3-3 SEC) will remain on the road next week with a midweek contest at Samford on Tuesday before opening a series at Florida on March 29.

Before that stretch begins, here’s what we learned about the Bulldogs against the Aggies (21-3, 3-3).

Home runs, defense hurt Jurrangelo Cijntje while offense disappears in rubber match

Command has been an issue for switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje throughout his time at Mississippi State. In five starts this year prior to Saturday’s matchup with the Aggies, the sophomore allowed 16 walks.

Finding the zone wasn’t an issue in the finale, with Cijntje allowing only one walk in 5⅔ innings. However, the long ball was a problem along with little help from the defense behind him.

Cijntje allowed five earned runs, with four coming off three home runs. However, there could be a case made for only three runs being earned. In the fourth inning, outfielder Dakota Jordan dropped a fly ball that was followed by a two-run home run from Braden Montgomery.

In the sixth, Texas A&M’s Jackson Appel hit a lead-off double. On the ensuing at-bat, he tried advancing to third on a sacrifice fly. A throw from Jordan in right field easily beat Appel to the bag. However, third baseman Logan Kohler dropped the throw. Appel scored on another sacrifice fly in the following at-bat.

Cijntje also got little help from his offense with the Bulldogs scoring one run on only three hits. MSU only had two hits in 7⅓ innings against A&M starter Justin Lamkin.

Khal Stephen finds stride in SEC play

Mississippi State has gotten two versions of Khal Stephen this season. In starts against Air Force, Mount St. Mary’s and Evansville, the right-handed pitcher allowed one earned run in 19 innings. Against Georgia Southern and LSU, he allowed 12 earned runs in 4⅓ innings.

The Bulldogs got the good version of the Purdue transfer Friday as he picked up his third win of the season. Stephen allowed only one run in 6⅔ innings – striking out five Aggies and walking three. His ERA dropped to 4.20 after the outing.

Of his 104 pitches, 64 were strikes – a testament to the command he’s added to MSU’s staff. Even amid inconsistent showings, Stephen has allowed only eight walks.

MEN'S HOOPS: Unpacking Chris Jans' next Mississippi State basketball roster after March Madness defeat

Hunter Hines continues to mash in SEC

In Mississippi State’s three games leading up to SEC play – against Evansville, South Alabama and New Orleans − Jordan was intentionally walked five times. That was due in part to Jordan’s hot hitting, but it was also a result of the struggles of Hunter Hines behind him.

Conference foes haven’t been able to take that route with Hines finding his groove. The series was no exception, with Hines hitting two homes runs and collecting five runs driven in.

In six SEC games, Hines has five home runs. He only has one in nonconference play.

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: Bulldogs drop series at No. 6 Texas A&M