(OMAHA, Neb.)——Mississippi State has been the “Cardiac Kids” all season long. They lead the country in come-from-behind wins with a total of 28 this season, and they’ve already flexed their muscle in Omaha. They came back from three runs down in the ninth inning to take down Auburn in their first game of the CWS. However, they found themselves on the other side of the spectrum today when they had to hold onto a three-run lead against Louisville going into the seventh-inning stretch. Things went very south for the Bulldogs after that.
Louisville gave the Bulldogs a taste of their own medicine as they rallied in the ninth inning to eliminate Mississippi State and fight for the right to remain in Omaha tomorrow night against Vanderbilt.
The first three innings didn’t see much action with a combined two hits from both squads, but the fourth saw Mississippi State pick up where their bats left off at the end of their loss to Vanderbilt yesterday. After Justin Foscue singled, Rowdey Jordan blasted a double into the right centerfield gap which brought Foscue all the way around from first base to score the first run of the game. The very next at-bat, Gunner Haltar hit a single to bring in Jordan. The Bulldogs jumped on top, leading 2-0 heading into the fifth.
Mississippi State looked to be in good hands with JT Ginn on the mound, he pitched for six innings and only gave up three hits with no earned runs. Louisville couldn’t find a rhythm against him, Ginn finished the game with just two strikeouts but the Cardinals still struggled to find gaps and get runners on base. Things looked even more promising for the Bulldogs when an RBI-single from Tanner Allen brought in another run to send Mississippi State to the seventh-inning stretch leading 3-0.
Jared Leibelt coming into the game gave life for the Cardinals, as he would walk the first two batters he saw and give up a difficult infield single to load the bases with nobody out. That’s when Drew Campbell got the zero off the scoreboard for Louisville with an RBI-single to right field, followed by another RBI from Justin Lavey who beat out the throw to first base on a potential inning-ending double play, bringing in a run from third base. All of a sudden, the Cards were back in it and only trailing 3-2 going into the eighth inning.
Jared Poland would be crucial for stopping the Bulldog offense. He came into the game in the eighth inning and pitched 1.2 innings with four strikeouts. Louisville retired six of the last seven Mississippi State batters, and left it up to Louisville’s bats to keep them in Omaha. The bats answered.
The ninth inning proved to be no challenge for Louisville. They went in still trailing 3-2, and got the necessary bats in just three batters. Jake Snider was walked by Cole Gordon to start the ninth, and then a wild pick-off throw from Gordon advanced Snider to second base with no outs. Danny Oriente followed up with a clutch RBI-single to left and advanced to second on the attempted throw to the plate, but the run was in time and Louisville evened the game at three. The very next at-bat proved to be the Grim Reaper for the Bulldogs, as Drew Campbell hit a line drive to right center, walking-off the game and bringing Oriente around from second base to close out the game with a 4-3 victory in dramatic fashion.
Tanner Allen went 2-4 with an RBI, while Jordan and Halter added an RBI each as well. Campbell went 3-4 with two RBI’s and Oriente went 1-4 with the game-tying RBI in the ninth-inning. Mississippi State is eliminated from the CWS, and Louisville takes on Vanderbilt in an opening-round rematch tomorrow. The Commodores won 3-1 against the Cards last Sunday, and both teams haven’t lost since. Louisville must win twice to advance to the CWS Final, while Vanderbilt only has to win once. Tomorrow’s game starts at 6 p.m.
