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Mississippi State opens Starkville Regional with 10-1 win over Lipscomb

Mississippi State beat writer Colin Dammsby: Colin Damms05/29/26Colintheshots95

Mississippi State‘s first home postseason game went about as well as fans could hope for on Friday. The sun broke through a cloudy day as the Diamond Dawgs waltzed to victory in the first NCAA Tournament game at Dudy Noble Field in five years.

The Bulldogs (41-17) took down No. 4 seed Lipscomb 10-1 to get things rolling at the Starkville Regional. A strong start on the mound from Duke Stone gave the bats time to wake up, and nine runs over four innings gave them a comfortable advantage to close with.

Duke Stone had one of his best starts of the season. He allowed just two hits with eight strikeouts through the first four innings as the Bulldogs and Bisons traded defensive blows. The two hits he gave up were both with two gone in the first and fourth innings, and he responded by getting the third out on both occasions.

Ace Reese had the lone hit for Mississippi State through the first three frames and added another base hit on his second trip to the plate to lead off the fourth. Noah Sullivan drew a walk to put two on with no one gone, and the time to strike was there for the offense. Jacob Parker took advantage with an RBI base hit to open the scoring, and Vytas Valincius loaded up the bases with a bunt.

Reed Stallman drove a hit up the middle to get two more runs home, but the momentum halted there. Valincius was called out at second for the first out, and a pair of flyballs ended the scoring run. It was an opportunity to blow the game open and potentially deal an early knockout blow. The 3-0 lead was good enough for the time being though as the Bulldog defense continued to keep Lipscomb off the board.

Stone kept a steady pace on his pitch count to stay on the mound through the sixth inning. He got another run added to the lead courtesy of Jacob Parker on a solo blast to Adkerson Plaza in the bottom half as well to make it 4-0.

Stone was replaced by Tyler Pitzer to start the seventh inning. He ended the day with six scoreless innings, no walks and 10 strikeouts. Lipscomb’s batters managed just three hits off of him.

Pitzer gave up the first walk of the game, but kept things rolling defensively. He forced a groundout and a flyout, and then catcher Kevin Milewski caught a runner stealing for the third out.

The Bulldogs knocked Lipscomb’s starter Alex Llinas out of the game in the seventh, and drove in three runs on the reliever Collin Bosley-Smith. Jacob Parker walked a run in and Valincius drove in two more with a double. Kevin Milewski got his first hit of the day to drive in two more on a two-out at-bat and put the Bulldogs in control 9-0.

Gehrig Frei added another for good measure with a solo home run in the eighth, and Jack Gleason closed the game in the ninth inning. Aidan Teel made a cameo at center field, his first since his two errors at Texas A&M, but there were no hiccups to speak of this time.

Gleason did allow two runners aboard with a base hit and a walk. An RBI base hit from Blake Carter spoiled the shutout too. The reliever kept it from getting too interesting, though. He got a pop up on the next pitch and Parker caught easily for the final out.

The Bulldogs await the winner of Louisiana-Lafayette and Cincinnati for their next game on Saturday.

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