The Bears traveled to Starkville, Mississippi, April 2 to take on the 2021 College World Series champions, Mississippi State, and won 7-6.
Junior pitcher Payton Windham got the start on the mound and it proved effective, only allowing one run on zero hits in the three innings he pitched.
That run came off of a walk from Bulldog (21-12, ASUN 6-6) senior infielder Amani Larry, who got to third base on multiple wild pitches, allowing for a sacrifice fly to put the Bulldogs up 1-0.
The pace stayed stagnant for the Bears’ (13-18. ASUN 4-8) offense through the first two innings, but the top of the third proved to be the place where they found their sweet spot.
Senior infielder Mason King started the third inning by being walked and watched as the Bulldogs’ defense picked up two quick outs on batters senior catcher/infielder A.J. Mendolia and sophomore outfielder Kade Seldomridge, stealing second in between outs.
The Bulldogs then loaded the bases by hitting junior infielder/catcher Bryce Cermenelli with a pitch and walking junior outfielder Drew Sturgeon.
Junior infielder Jagger Schattle was next up to the plate, where he waited until the second pitch to hit a line drive into right field, bringing home King and Cermenelli.
This left runners on first and third with two outs on the board, but this was no problem for junior catcher Casey Shipley, who sent a ball out of the park to take a 5-1 lead.
The Bears picked up their sixth run in the sixth inning after two doubles from Mendolia and Seldomridge.
Sophomore pitcher Coleman Macrae stepped in the fourth inning to continue the no-hitter, leaving a Bulldog baserunner stranded on third.
The Bears continued scoring through the fifth inning, when Sturgeon picked up an infield single and stole second base, while Shipley walked, putting two men on base.
Freshman outfielder Zeb Allen laid down a bunt single to load the bases, and pinch hitter junior infielder Jake Trabbie sent a ball into the outfield, allowing Sturgeon to score on the sacrifice fly.
The next three innings saw many base runners, but no one reached home on either side of the plate.
The bottom of the eighth inning finally shined a light of hope for the Bulldogs’ offense, as, after two walks, the Bulldogs scored their second run after back-to-back fielder’s choices allowed a runner to score from third.
Heading into the ninth inning, the Bears looked to head out of Starkville with a win off of
a no-hitter, but the Bulldogs put up a fight, starting the bottom of the ninth with a home run from junior infielder/outfielder Hunter Hines.
They then put two runners on base on a single from senior infielder/ outfielder Connor Hujsak and a walk from junior outfielder Bryce Chance.
This led the Bears to bring in closer sophomore pitcher Charlie Christensen. Facing his first batter, Christensen hit a single, advancing Chance and scoring Hujsak.
He then walked his second batter, which loaded the bases for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs sent out graduate student catcher Johnny Long, who shot a single into the outfield, scoring two and bringing the Bears’ lead down to just one.
Christensen picked up his first out on a ground ball but allowed the Bulldogs runners to advance to second and third.
With two runners in scoring position, Christensen intentionally walked sophomore infielder David Mershon, allowing for a force out at any base.
Not another ball reached the field of play as Christensen struck out the final two batters.
“It was really good to see Windy [Windham] get out there and give us a good, solid start,” coach Nick Harlan said to ucasports.com.
“His stuff looked good, I thought his poise on the mound was really good. And Chuck [Christensen] wanted the ball today; he wanted to come up big for his team. And when the pressure was on, he stayed completely calm, was very poised and made pitches when he had to,” Harlan said to ucasports.com.