Dawgs walk off for the third time in 2021 on Tanner’s blast to left center against Eastern Michigan
STARKVILLE – On a beautiful afternoon at Dudy Noble Field, the No. 2 Mississippi State baseball program provided some theatrics with its third walk-off win of the season in a 4-1 victory over Eastern Michigan on Saturday (March 13). The Dawgs trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning before Logan Tanner’s three-run blast sent The Dude into a frenzy.
A fourth-inning solo home run by Eastern Michigan’s Taylor Hopkins accounted for the only run of the game before Mississippi State (12-3) came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth.
A single and hit-by-pitch started the inning, before Luke Hancock’s RBI single tied the game. That ended a strong outing for EMU (4-4) starting pitcher Justin Meis, and Logan Tanner greeted reliever Cameron Wagoner with a first-pitch, three-run home run to left-center field.
Tanner’s blast to left-center field accounted for his first home run of the season and his first career walk-off hit. The second-year freshman walked in the second inning and then provided the heroics on the first pitch he saw from the right-handed reliever in the ninth inning.
Hancock was on base three times, as he reached via error twice and drove in the game-tying RBI with his ninth-inning base hit.
Junior Tanner Allen moved his hitting streak to 12 games and his reached streak to 15 games with a pair of base hits, including the hit that broke up the no-hitter in the sixth and the rally starter in the ninth inning. Kamren James was on base twice with a walk in the fourth and a hit-by-pitch in the ninth.
Sophomore Eric Cerantola threw a career-high-tying five innings in the start and allowed the only EMU run of the game on the fourth-inning solo homer. He struck out five batters in the no decision. Preston Johnson and Cam Tullar combined for a scoreless sixth inning.
Carlisle Koestler (2-0) held the Eagles scoreless the rest of the way to earn the win. Koestler allowed just one base runner and retired the final eight hitters of the game. He struck out two and allowed only a single.
Meis (0-2) tossed eight innings and allowed three runs on three hits. He threw 104 pitches, walked three and struck out four. At the plate, EMU had the home run from Hopkins and added a base hit by Christian Bault to account for their offense.
Quotable
Head coach Chris Lemonis
On his team’s third walk-off win
CL: I just think we don’t quit. Today, their pitcher was as good as we’ve probably seen all year at 93-94 [mph] with a sinker. We weren’t picking it up. We were just hitting it into the ground all day. It wasn’t by design, but I think we just keep on playing and drove that pitch count up. We talk about, in the ninth inning, just moving the lineup and having the next guy move to the plate. When Tanner [Allen] gets that hit, you feel that energy in the ballpark. Then, you get that hit-by-pitch and there’s more. It just gets hard to pitch. It gets hard to defend here when you have that energy going. We had some guys take some big swings.
On the starts by Christian MacLeod and Eric Cerantola
CL: We got two good starts. It lets us pitch our bullpen the way we want to pitch it. They give us an opportunity to have some momentum throughout the game. Even though it was 1-0 [today], Eric really dominated most of the game. We were able to get on and off the field. Hopefully, they continue that. That’s the pattern. I give them a lot of credit. I know it is stressful for them when they don’t pitch well. They want to win. They want to help us win. They want to be a part of that. When they don’t have good outings, they take it personal. I give them and our pitching coach, Scott Foxhall, a lot of credit. They’ve been spending a lot of time staying confident and being able to attack hitters. I hope they learn from the last week or two as they move forward.
Scoring Recap
Top Fourth
Taylor Hopkins scored the first run of the game with a one-out solo home run to left.
Eastern Michigan 1, Mississippi State 0
Bottom Ninth
Tanner Allen recorded his second hit of the game with a single up the middle to begin the inning. Kamren James took advantage of a hit-by-pitch to reach base and Luke Hancock brought in the tying run with a base hit down the right-field line. After a pitching change, with two on and nobody out, Logan Tanner hit the first pitch thrown for a three-run, walk-off home run.
Mississippi State 4, Eastern Michigan 1
Up Next
Mississippi State and Eastern Michigan conclude the three-game series with a 1 p.m. first pitch on Saturday, March 14.