HOOVER, AL — Two consecutive plays kickstarted Mississippi State baseball’s unraveling in the 9-0 first-round loss to Texas A&M in the SEC tournament.
Bear Harrison, Texas A&M’s leadoff batter in the second inning, shot a high fly ball into right field. MSU outfielder Reed Stallman lost his footing, and the ball landed for a double. Then on the next batter, second baseman Gatlin Sanders committed an error to put runners at first and third base with no outs.
There were two runners instead of two outs. Shortly after, the Aggies took a 6-0 lead, and then an 8-0 lead in the third inning to make quick work of the Bulldogs. No. 11 seed MSU (34-21) didn’t threaten No. 14 Texas A&M (29-25) much at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on May 21.
Mississippi State, which had won nine of the last 10 games, didn’t have as much to play for in the SEC tournament as Texas A&M. The Bulldogs aren’t in contention to host an NCAA tournament regional. They’re expected to make the tournament, so they could only make improvements in their seeding.
I’m not concerned,” interim coach Justin Parker said. “It’s the game of baseball. We’ve played great for a month. We’ve been unbelievable early in games. Offensively, we’ve scored in the first inning for what seems like two to three weeks straight.”
