STARKVILLE, Miss. – Vanderbilt rallied to beat Mississippi State 4-3 in 12 innings Saturday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field to even the series at one game apiece.
With one out in the 12th inning, Tony Kemp drew a walk and moved to second base on a balk by Bulldogs’ (19-12, 4-7) reliever Will Cox. Anthony Gomez immediately took advantage of the mistake singling through the left side of the Mississippi State infield to score Kemp, who slid under the tag of the catcher to put the Commodores (13-18, 4-7) back in front. Will Clinard then nailed down Vanderbilt’s first road win of the year, working a 1-2-3 inning to earn his third win of the season.
Vanderbilt grabbed the lead in the 6th scoring three runs. Anthony Gomez reached third base on two errors on the same play by the center fielder and scored on Mike Yastrzemski’s infield single. Vince Conde pushed the lead to three runs with a two-run double over the left fielder’s head. The Bulldogs battled back in the seventh with two runs and eventually tying the game in the ninth. Mississippi State was down to their final strike in the ninth trailing 3-2 before Hunter Renfroe tied the game with a RBI-double off the left-center field fence. Gomez, Yastrzemski and Conrad Gregor all had two hits to lead the Commodores. The Bulldogs were held to just five hits in the game.
Clinard (3-1) earned the win pitching 3.1 scoreless innings. Jacob Lindgren (1-1) took the loss allowing the winning run in the 12th. Vanderbilt starter Tyler Beede turned in another strong start giving up one run on two hits with three walks and five strikeouts over five-plus innings. The freshman did not allow a hit until the fifth inning.
The Commodores and Bulldogs are set to play the rubber game tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. in Starkville, Miss.
