Bisons drop regional opener to Mississippi State, face elimination Saturday
Lipscomb baseball dropped its NCAA Regional opener this Friday, 10-1, to host Mississippi State at Dudy Noble Field.
The loss moved the Bisons into the elimination bracket. They will now face Louisiana on Saturday afternoon.
Mississippi State’s pitching staff kept Lipscomb’s offense in check for most of the game. Lipscomb pitcher Alexander Llinas matched the Bulldogs early, throwing three scoreless innings to open the game. Mississippi State broke through in the bottom of the fourth, using three singles and a walk to score three runs.
In the sixth, the Bulldogs added a run on a solo home run by freshman outfielder Jacob Parker to make it 4-0. Mississippi State then broke the game open in the seventh, taking advantage of walks and a two-run double by graduate outfielder Vytas Valincius during a five-run inning that extended the lead to 9-0.
Lipscomb had limited chances against Mississippi State starter Duke Stone, striking out eight times through the first six innings. The Bisons put runners on with a double by junior infielder player Cam Pruitt in the first and a single by sophomore catcher Alejandro Ludeiro in the sixth, but could not put together a sustained rally.
Lipscomb avoided the shutout in the ninth. Pruitt singled to right field and junior outfielder Jordan Thomas drew a walk to put two runners on. With two outs, sophomore first baseman Blake Carter lined an RBI single down the left-field line to score Pruitt for the Bisons’ only run before a flyout ended the game.
Pruitt led Lipscomb offensively, going 3 for 4 with a double and a run scored.
Lipscomb will return to Dudy Noble Field tonight for a 3 p.m. CT elimination game against No. 3 seed Louisiana. The Bisons must win to keep their season alive.
Featured image courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics.
