STARKVILLE — Desperation is the feeling of having an urgent need or desire to accomplish something.
The Mississippi State University baseball team doesn’t need the word defined for it. The squad is living it this season.
On Saturday, desperation turned into despair as MSU surrendered three unearned runs and allowed Vanderbilt University to escape with a 4-3 victory in 12 innings at Dudy Noble Field.
MSU (19-12, 4-7 Southeastern Conference) will try at 1:30 p.m. today to rebound in the final game of the three-game series.
“It’s hard to get upset about this because you know the effort your kids are giving and it’s not happening for us in close games,” MSU coach John Cohen said. “Eventually you know it’s going to happen for us if the effort continues.”
Another lost series, this time to a sub-.500 team near the bottom of the SEC standings, could spell trouble for MSU if it hopes to make it to back-to-back NCAA tournament regional trips for the first time since 2007.
“We’ve been saying we need to come out with fire and get a win tomorrow so we can go into next week with something,” MSU sophomore outfielder Hunter Renfroe said. “We talk about it all the time.”
With the loss, MSU joins Vanderbilt, the University of South Carolina, and the University of Alabama battling for the 10th and final spot in the SEC tournament in Hoover, Ala.
Vanderbilt scored three runs in the sixth inning, capitalizing on two errors on one play by center fielder C.T. Bradford. No. 2 hitter Anthony Gomez wound up on third base and scored on a single by right fielder Mike Yastrzemski, the grandson of
Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame selection Carl Yastrzemski. Soft-hitting Vince Conde, who came to Starkville hitting .204, doubled home two runs to give 18-year-old starting pitcher Tyler Beede some cushion.
“He was really good on the mound, and I’ll give him that today,” Renfroe said. “It was his day today and he went out and took it. He’s going to be great.”
Bradford allowed the fly ball to pop out of his glove and then kicked the ball around the outfield once it fell to the ground. The errors were his first of the season.
“We just had a mental lapse there with one of the best outfielders we have in the SEC, but it happens to all of us,” Renfroe said. “Everybody misses a ball, but I don’t think that cost us the game. We left too many guys on base today. That’s the story.”
Beede, the 21st overall selection in the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, shut MSU down for six innings, allowing one run on two hits in an 84-pitch effort. Beede didn’t allow a base hit until the fifth, and the Bulldogs hit just four baseballs out of the infield.
“Tyler is a young man we have known since his ninth-grade year,” Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said in the preseason. “He has a very good foundation for pitching. His investment in the game and his ability to throw strikes with several pitches will allow him to be a very good one.”
Corbin was unavailable to the media after the victory.
Vanderbilt (13-18, 4-7 SEC) used multi-hit games by Gomez, Yastrzemski, and cleanup hitter Conrad Gregor Saturday to earn its first road win of the season.
In a game where MSU used 21 of the allowed 27-man active roster, none of the 14 batters got a hit with runners in scoring position. A game-tying double by Renfroe was the only extra-base hit.
“Offensively we were not good and that’s my responsibility, and by count we swung through five 3-1 fastballs,” Cohen said. “You gotta feel good about your chances of putting 3-1 fastballs in play. When you don’t do it, you won’t win games, plain and simple.”
With MSU down to its last out and Renfroe staring at a 3-2 count, the sophomore outfielder elevated a fly ball that barely hit the bottom of the wall to tie the game at three and send the contest into extra innings.
“In a 3-2 count he gave me a fastball and tried to paint the corner with it,” Renfroe said. “I sat on and got it, so I tried to pull it as hard as I could.”
The loss makes MSU 3-6 in one-run games this season with three straight losses in conference play in those situations.
Vanderbilt will start right-hander Drew VerHagen (3-2, 3.28) today. The junior college transfer pitched two innings of relief Friday night. Cohen didn’t announce a starting pitcher for the series finale, saying it would be a game-time decision.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.