Hatcher extends career-long reached base streak to 12 games, Allen chips in two hits in loss to Green Wave
STARKVILLE – An early lead for the No. 5 Mississippi State baseball program eventually ended in a 7-3 loss to Tulane in the series opener on Friday (Feb. 26) at Dudy Noble Field.
Mississippi State (3-2) scratched across single runs in the first, sixth and ninth, while Tulane (3-2) scored three runs in the third and sixth and added an insurance run in the ninth. Three of MSU’s six hits went for extra bases, while Tulane’s Collin Burns hit a home run.
Junior Tanner Allen led State with a 2-for-4 night at the plate, which included a first-inning RBI and a run scored. Classmate Josh Hatcher extended his reached base streak to 12 games dating back to 2020 with a sixth-inning RBI double. Graduate student Scotty Dubrule and junior Rowdey Jordan each doubled in the game, with Jordan scoring the first run of the game.
On the mound, third-year freshman Christian MacLeod (0-1) tossed four innings in the start and allowed three runs – all unearned – on three hits. He fanned six and walked two in the first loss of his career. Tulane’s Braden Olthoff (1-0) allowed two runs on six hits in eight innings of work. He struck out six batters and walked only one to earn the victory.
Quotable
Head Coach Chris Lemonis
On what he told his group following the game
CL: A big part is the energy and focus that we bring and being able to play the game every day. That was our message on Wednesday night. I wasn’t really happy with the energy we brought to come and play the game [on Wednesday]. We kind of came with the same thing today. Our kids think ‘It’s Mississippi State. We can just roll out the ball’. There are just too many great teams. That’s a really good team in the other dugout. You have to show up and you have to be ready to go every night in this game. We have to learn to do that. Practice that way, play that way. And we do. We have some really good pieces here. We have some inexperienced pieces. We have to get going in that way. You have to be able to show up every night and be able to put out a good effort.
On what he saw from the younger pitchers in the bullpen
CL: We had Riley [Self], who’s older, then we had KC [Hunt] and [Xavier Lovett]. They had pitched this week and I thought they were okay. We don’t make a play in there. They have to learn to pitch when we don’t make the plays. Sometimes we don’t make as many good pitches at that point. I really liked Dylan Carmouche there at the end of the game. I thought Drew Talley made a couple nice pitches too. I thought Carmouche really showed that he has a chance to have a bright future here.
Scoring Recap
Bottom First
Rowdey Jordan doubled to left center on the first pitch of the night, later scoring on Tanner Allen’s single with one out.
Mississippi State 1, Tulane 0
Top Third
Ethan Groff was hit-by-pitch to get on base, advancing to second on a fielding error. With two outs, Collin Burns hit a home run to give Tulane the lead. Trevor Minder singled to shortstop and advanced to second on a wild pitch, scoring on Frankie Niemann’s single. All three of Tulane’s runs in the inning were unearned.
Tulane 3, Mississippi State 1
Top Sixth
Niemann reached on a fielding error and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Chase Engelhard walked, before a Jared Hart double to left center, to score Niemann. Simon Baumgardt then singled to right field, allowing Hart and Englehard to score.
Tulane 6, Mississippi State 1
Bottom Sixth
Allen singled to center field and scored on a Josh Hatcher double to right center.
Tulane 6, Mississippi State 2
Top Ninth
Burns singled and advanced to second on a fielding error, before Niemann singled through the right side to score the seventh run of the game.
Tulane 7, Mississippi State 2
Bottom Ninth
Luke Hancock walked, advanced to second with two outs, and scored when Drew McGowan reached on an error.
Tulane 7, Mississippi State 3
Up Next
Mississippi State hosts Tulane in the second game of a three-game series on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m.