FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
OMAHA, Neb. – The crowd roared and the Mississippi State dugout exploded as Trey Porter’s eighth inning single plated the go-ahead run to give MSU a 5-4 win over Indiana on Monday night at TD Ameritrade Park.
With the win, Mississippi State improves to 50-18 on the season and 2-0 in the College World Series. The win also gives the Bulldogs a three-day break between its next CWS games.
Indiana (49-15) took its first loss of the CWS and will face elimination on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT against Oregon State. MSU will face the winner of that night’s game on Friday at 2 p.m. CT.
After tacking on a run in the first inning, MSU held a 1-0 lead that didn’t last long as Indiana answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the second.
Indiana wasted little time sticking around and tacked on two more runs in the third to give it a crooked numbered 3-1 lead. Will Nolden started off the inning with a one-out single through the left side, prompting the Bulldogs’ head coach John Cohen to replace starting pitcher Trevor Fitts with Chad Girodo.
But the pitching change led to no avail for MSU, and Kyle Schwarber kept the inning going with another single off Girodo through the left side, advancing Nolden to third base. With runners on first and third, Sam Travis doubled to right-centerfield to score Nolden, and Scott Donley followed with an RBI groundout to second to bring in Schwarber.
However, Indiana would face problems of its own in the sixth. After allowing a single, wild pitch – his second of the game – and an RBI single from Wes Rea through the right side, Will Coursen-Carr was relieved by Ryan Halstead. Demarcus Henderson added a single to rightfield to load up the bases, but Halstead was able to induce a pop out and a deep flyout to rightfield to keep Indiana ahead 3-2.
Indiana saw itself in trouble again in the eighth when Brett Pirtle led off the inning with a single to leftfield. Rea executed a perfect hit-and-run, lining a base hit to right-centerfield and Pirtle advanced to third. Henderson followed with a clutch one-out single to rightfield, and a sliding Pirtle was able to reach home plate just before the tag was placed. A pinch-hitting Porter followed with a two RBI single to right-centerfield to plate the go-ahead run and an insurance run to give the Bulldogs a 5-3 lead.
Girodo (9-1) earned the win in relief, escaping a ninth inning comeback attempt when the Hoosiers strung together two hits and an RBI groundout. Girodo pitched 6.1 innings and allowed two runs (both earned) on seven hits, one walk, two hit-by-pitch and struck out 10.
Jonathan Holder earned his 20th save as he came in and retired the final out of the game in Michael Basil.
Halstead took the loss, falling to 4-5. He threw 2.1 innings and allowed three runs (all earned) on four hits and struck out two.
Pirtle was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, Rea was 2-for-5 with one run scored and an RBI, Henderson was 2-for-4 and Porter was 1-for-2 with the game-winning RBI for MSU.
Donley was 2-for-5 with two RBI for Indiana.
