STARKVILLE — Sophomore left-hander Vance Tatum capped a weekend of brilliant pitching for the No. 13 Mississippi State baseball team.
Tatum allowed two hits eight-plus innings Sunday as MSU completed its third-straight, four-game weekend series sweep with a 6-2 win against Samford at Dudy Noble Field.
Tatum recorded his second quality start, and the team’s fourth of the season. Senior right-hander Trevor Fitts worked around a pair of hits to close out the win.
MSU improved to 13-0 for the fourth time in program history.
The Bulldogs earned their last four wins in large part to the pitching. In two wins against Arizona and Samford, MSU allowed 28 hits and eight earned runs in 36 innings. The staff struck out 43 and walked nine.
Tatum (2-0) struck out 12 Sunday, which was the most by an MSU starter since Jacob Lindgren struck out 13 against St. Joseph’s on March 1, 2013.
MSU broke a 1-1 tie by scoring twice in the fourth and fifth innings.
Jacob Robson began the fourth with a hit. After a sacrifice bunt by Justin Lovelady and strikeout, Jacob Vickerson was hit by a pitch. An error scored Robson before Vickerson scored on a triple by Matt Spruill.
In the fifth, Luke Reynolds walked. Robson then beat out a bunt attempt for an infield single. After a sacrifice bunt by Lovelady moved both runners, each came home on wild pitches.
An RBI single by Wes Rea started the scoring in the first for MSU. An RBI double by Seth Heck capped MSU’s scoring in the eighth.
For the weekend, Vickerson had five hits, while Lovelady, Rea, Cody Brown, and Robson each had four hits.
MSU had eight hits Sunday, including multi-hit games by Heck and Robson.
Samford (3-8) had four hits, including two hits and two RBIs by Damon Waller. Eric Wright (0-2) was lifted in the fourth and took the loss.
MSU will play host to Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
n Ole Miss 2-4, Central Florida 3-3: At Orlando, Florida, Playing a doubleheader for the third-straight weekend, the No. 18 Rebels saw a similar outcome in their previous two by splitting a pair of games with No. 15 UCF on Sunday. The Knights (10-1) won the first game, 3-2, before the Rebels (6-4) earned a 4-3 victory in the second game.
In Game 2, Orlando native Sikes Orvis delivered a solo home run before drawing a RBI walk in the top of the ninth to help lead the Rebels to the victory. Orvis was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two walks, and one run.
Eight Rebels recorded hits as Ole Miss finished the game with nine. Joe Wainhouse had a pinch hit to lead off the top of the ninth, while Colby Bortles homered and Tate Blackman produced a double that knocked in a run for his first RBI as a Rebel.
Senior starting pitcher Sam Smith had his best outing of the year, going 5 1/3 innings and surrendering two runs on four hits.
Wyatt Short (2-1) pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the victory. He allowed one hit and struck out four.
In Game 1, UCF used a two-run home run by catcher Jordan Savinon, the Knights to earn the victory.
Starting first in the order for the first time in his career, freshman Kyle Watson reached base in all three plate appearances with a double and two walks. Five Rebels had hits, as sophomore J.B. Woodman and junior Cameron Dishon had RBI singles.
Sophomore Brady Bramlett (1-1) took the loss, going four innings and allowing three runs on five hits. Senior Scott Weathersby pitched a perfect two innings of relief with four strikeouts.
Ole Miss will play at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Southern Mississippi.
n Southern Mississippi 5, Troy 0: At Troy, Alabama, James McMahon tossed a complete-game, six-hit shutout to lead the Golden Eagles (5-4-1) to their victory at Riddle-Pace Field.
Southern Miss captured its second victory in a row after beating Troy 6-2 in 10 innings Saturday.
On Sunday, Connor Barron paced the Golden Eagles with two hits and two RBIs, while Matt Durst had a team-high three hits and Tim Lynch added a pair.
McMahon (2-0) threw his second complete game in a row. His nine-inning performance was a career-best. In the process, he tied his best strikeout total with eight. The senior from Hattiesburg retired the 10 the final 11 batters he faced. It was the first complete-game shutout by a Golden Eagle since Conor Fisk blanked Louisiana Tech on April 18, 2104.
Southern Miss will play at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at South Alabama.
n Louisiana-Lafayette 14, Alabama 2: At Hoover, Alabama, the Crimson Tide slipped to 7-4 after dropping the final game of the weekend series at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
Alabama used five pitchers who allowed 14 hits. Mikey White went 2-for-4 with a double and a solo home run to pace the Crimson Tide’s four-hit attack. He also had an RBI and scored two runs.
Alabama will play Auburn at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the annual Capital City Classic at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery.
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