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No. 4 Diamond Dawgs sweep series against Hofstra with 7-5 win

3rupauk8_400x400by: Robbie Faulk02/15/26RobbieFaulkOn3

As Mississippi State got through the first two games of the weekend, pitching was bailing out some tough offensive moments, but it flipped in game three of the series against Hofstra.

Playing the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday, State got into an early hole and trailed on two separate occasions but the offense would come through. Three big runs in the fifth inning proved to be the difference for State as Chone James’ two-RBI single gave them the winning runs in a 7-5 ball game.

The offense came through when it had to on Saturday as State didn’t have its best day on the mound. Starting pitcher Charlie Foster managed just 3.0 innings of work in his first appearance of his sophomore season as he stayed behind in counts early.

Foster had two on with two out and looked to be on the verge of wiggling out of a jam before he would give up a three-run home run from CJ Griggs for a 3-0 deficit. State’s offense would answer back.

In the bottom of the first, Ace Reese would double with one out and came around to score on an RBI single with two outs from Aidan Teel that closed the lead to 3-1. The next inning, State struck again with Reese’s bat. A James walk and Nunnallee double would bring Reese in to deliver a three-run blast to right center field  giving State its first home run of the season and a 4-3 lead.

Diamond Dawg pitching would put State in a bind again. Chris Billingsley gave up a single and then three-straight walks with one out to tie the game. Dane Burns entered the game and walked another with two outs making it a 5-4 lead for the Pride.

Offense again came through for State in the bottom of the frame as Bryce Chance tried to bunt a run home and the pitcher couldn’t field it, tying the game. That’s when James would deliver his first hit as a Bulldog as he singled home two runs with two outs on the first pitch he saw to make it 7-5 with the Bulldogs back on top.

MSU pitchers would buckle down after Burns. Redshirt freshman Jack Gleason made his debut with the Diamond Dawgs and pitched 1.1 innings giving up one hit and two strikeouts. He got State out of a bases loaded jam when he entered in the fifth and then got a strikeout in the sixth with a runner in scoring position.

Behind Gleason was left hander William Kirk and the Virginia transfer was sharp. He pitched 2.0 innings, gave up one hit, no runs, no walks and struck out a batter. Maddox Webb also made his State debut, closing the game with a save despite things getting hairy. Webb hit a batter and gave up a hit to put the tying runs on base but got out of it striking out the side in his first game.

The Bulldogs (3-0) had 10 hits offensively as Reese finished 2-for-5 with three RBI on the first home run of the year. Teel went 2-for-4 for his first two hits as a Bulldog and Noah Sullivan walked twice and had a hit.

With the win, State now goes into a challenging week that will include five games. It starts on Tuesday with a matchup with Troy at 4 p.m. They will also play Alcorn State on Wednesday at 4 p.m. before hosting a three-game series with Delaware beginning on Friday.

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