It was a Complete Performance from Mississippi State Baseball in Game Two against Alabama

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State tops Alabama 8-1 to clinch the series. The Bulldogs have won ten of their last 11 games and are playing their best baseball of the season. 

This game might have been their most complete during the SEC schedule, narrowly topping their 13-3 win in game one. Alabama briefly grabbed the momentum thanks to a Max Grant solo home run in the third, giving the Crimson Tide their first lead of the weekend. 

However, after that, it was all Bulldogs as they responded in the bottom of the inning with a three spot of their own. State has sometimes struggled to respond when they fall behind this season, but they have flipped that trend during this winning stretch. 

Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis had an animated discussion with his team in the fourth inning in the dugout. The skipper urged his team to keep their foot on the gas. 

"Just showing some frustrating and bad body language…. it was from a couple of guys that are really good players who weren't probably having as much success as they wanted," Lemonis said. "It is about us winning games." 

Jurrangelo Cijntje drew the start for the Bulldogs, and he admitted he did not have his best stuff, but he dominated. The sophomore gave up a solo home run and ran into trouble in both the fourth and the third. 

"I thought he had a great performance… that is where Loo (Jurrangelo) has really grown, the competitive piece," Lemonis said. 

However, Cijntje escaped the jams and got better as the game continued. His final line was seven innings, eight strikeouts, and allowed one earned run. 

"I did not have my best stuff today, but I battled through it," Cijntje said. 

This game always shows how the lineup continues to get deeper and relies less on a couple of players. Dakota Jordan and Hunter Hines were a combined 0-6 today, but it did not stop the rest of the lineup from putting up ten hits and eight runs. 

"Obviously, Dakota and Hunter are really good, but we also we have other really good hitters, and we try to stick to the approach," Kohler said. 

Bryce Chance was 2-5 on the day with a pair of RBIs and seems to have locked down the leadoff spot, which has been a struggle for MSU. Perhaps the most significant addition to the lineup's depth has been Memphis transfer Logan Kohler. 

Kohler has struggled this season and has batted around .200 for most of the year, but he has put together some good at-bats for State the past few weeks. Kohler was 3-4 today with a couple of RBIs and hit his second home run of the year. 

"It has been a rough year, obviously… just keep working, and good things will happen," Kohler said. 

Tyler Davis relieved Cijntje in the eighth inning, and once again, the lefty pitched well. The former VCU transfer pitched two scoreless innings. 

The Bulldogs have only had to use two relievers this weekend, which sets them up nicely for tomorrow's series finale. They needed to win the series to stay on the path to hosting a regional, but a sweep would open up the door to potentially being a top-eight national seed. 

State played a near-perfect game today and listened to their manager's message, but game three is another crucial game. 

"Third game is huge," Lemonis said. "I just challenged the team… you are fighting to host a regional."