Mississippi State beat Lipscomb 10-1 in the opener of its NCAA regional on Friday, according to the box score.
Pitcher Duke Stone (7-3) struck out 10 across six scoreless innings, the box score shows. Freshman Jacob Parker, who chose college after being selected in the 19th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks last year, had an RBI single in the fourth and later hit a home run in the sixth, his 14th of the season, according to the box score.
The Bulldogs scored three runs in the fourth, added one in the sixth and broke the game open with a five-run seventh while keeping Lipscomb off the scoreboard until the ninth, the box score shows. Vytas Valincius had three hits and two RBIs, Ace Reese had two hits and one RBI, and Gehrig Frei hit his 10th home run of the season.
Lipscomb scored its lone run in the ninth when Blake Carter delivered an RBI single off Mississippi State reliever Jack Gleason, according to the box score. Mississippi State finished with 10 hits and five walks; Lipscomb had six hits and two walks.
Mississippi State advances to the winner’s bracket and will play the winner of No. 2 Cincinnati and No. 3 Louisiana on Saturday at 8 p.m., the tournament schedule shows. Lipscomb will face the loser of that game on Saturday at 3 p.m. in an elimination matchup, the schedule shows.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
