Mississippi State survives Northeastern to stay alive in Tallahassee Regional

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Mississippi State baseball managed to keep postseason dreams alive with a gritty 3-2 win over Northeastern in Sunday morning’s elimination game at Dick Howser Stadium.

Now the Bulldogs advance to a possible championship showdown against Florida State on Sunday night. The Bulldogs improved to 36-22.

Right-hander Evan Siary delivered a standout performance, retiring the first 13 Northeastern batters he faced.

Siary’s command and poise set the early tone, as he worked efficiently through the Huskies’ lineup, keeping Mississippi State in control.

“Siary was outstanding for us,” said coach Justin Parker. “He gave us exactly what we needed in a win-or-go-home situation.”

Mississippi State wasted no time getting on the board. Gehrig Frei led off with a single, followed by Noah Sullivan’s knock that put runners at the corners.

Hunter Hines delivered a double off the right field fence, scoring Frei, and Sullivan later came home on a groundout to make it 2-0 in the first inning.

The Bulldogs added a crucial insurance run in the fifth, with Frei scoring on a sacrifice fly from Hines.

Northeastern broke through in the fifth after Carmelo Musacchia’s single and stolen base set up Alex Lane’s RBI single, trimming the lead to 2-1.

The Huskies threatened again in the seventh, loading the bases and forcing in a run with a walk, but reliever Stone Simmons entered with the bases loaded and struck out the leadoff hitter on three pitches to preserve the 3-2 lead.

Simmons continued his clutch relief work, inducing a double play and securing the final outs in the ninth.

The game ended with Northeastern’s tying run being thrown out attempting to steal second, sealing the Bulldogs’ victory.

“We knew our backs were against the wall,” said Frei, who collected three hits and scored twice. “Everybody just wanted to keep playing for each other.”

Now the Bulldogs have a shot at Florida State in the regional final.

The Bulldogs have now won 10 of their last 12 games since things appeared to be falling apart and a coaching change was made.

So far, it's still working out better than anyone imagined in April.

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