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Tico's ace work and Bryce Chance 5 RBI outing fuels Game 1 win over Tigers

Mississippi State beat writer Colin Dammsby: Colin Damms05/08/26Colintheshots95

Mississippi State took Game One of its series with No. 6 Auburn at Dudy Noble Field on Thursday night, dominating early to knock out the Tigers’ top starter.

The Bulldogs improved to 38-12 with the win, 15-10 in SEC play, and set themselves up with a chance to take the series against a Top 10 opponent on Friday.

Bulldog starter Tomas Valincius was immaculate through four innings. He went 12 up, 12 down with nine strikeouts as his side built a lead and knocked out Auburn’s top arm, Jake Marciano. He didn’t give up a hit until the fifth inning, a runner who eventually scored to get one back for the Tigers.

The Bulldog bats got going early as well, scoring four runs on two outs in the first inning and adding another RBI hit in the third. Bryce Chance hit his second grand slam in as many SEC games to open the scoring. It was also his second home run of the season. Vytas Valincius added the fifth run on a two-out base hit, getting Noah Sullivan home after he hit one up the middle and stole a base to get in scoring position.

Auburn reliever LJ Cormier was the first out of the bullpen, taking over for Marciano in the third inning, and brought stability to the game for the Tigers despite giving up a run. Still, he got bogged down with a high pitch count and the Bulldogs eventually got another on him. Sullivan got a base hit in the fifth inning and got home on a two-out RBI double by Chance.

The five RBIs for Chance made it nine in two games for the senior. His production with two outs has been a boost for the Bulldogs all year

The Tigers pulled Cormier in the sixth inning after giving up a walk, bringing out Ethan Harden. The lefty had only thrown five innings on the season and gave up a two-run shot to Gehrig Frei to make it 8-1.

Valincius tried to go the full seven innings, but gave up a two-run home run on his last batter. He left with 6.2 innings pitched, 13 strikeouts and three earned runs. He handed an 8-3 lead to freshman Jack Bauer, who threw just one pitch to get the final out of the seventh. A solo shot from Jacob Parker and a sac fly from Ryder Woodson made it 10-3 in the bottom half, but the Bulldogs couldn’t tally enough for the run-rule.

The Bulldogs closed out easily enough with Bauer, who was hitting 98 and 99 miles per hour on some strikeout pitches. It was fitting that the game ended with a flyout into the glove of Chance to clinch Game One.

Game Two begins on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

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