Mississippi State defeated No. 25 Southern Miss 10-9 in a thrilling finish to an in-state rivalry on the diamond at Trustmark Park Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs (6-3) got off to a hot start, taking a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the second inning, mostly courtesy of a bases-clearing triple hit by Colton Ledbetter.
Southern Miss (5-3) battled back, outscoring MSU 7-1 through the next 5.5 innings to take a 9-6 lead.
Then came the rally.
Trailing by three runs heading to the bottom of the eighth inning, the Mississippi State Bulldogs rallied to take the lead with four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Sophomore DH Hunter Hines picked up the winning RBI on a sacrifice fly to right field that scored senior 1B Luke Hancock.
At the plate, Ledbetter and Lane Forsythe led the way for the Bulldogs. Forsythe went 2-for-3 on the afternoon, including a double leading off the eighth inning that led to MSU gaining the lead. Ledbetter drove in three RBIs on the game with a bases-clearing triple in the second inning
On the mound, sophomore RHP Nate Dohm earned his first victory of the year after throwing 2.1 innings in relief. He struck out four of his nine batters, allowing only one unearned run. Dohm struck out two in the ninth, including the game-ending strikeout.
