Box Score FIRST PITCH
Score: Mississippi State 9 | Queens 3
Records: Mississippi State (11-4 overall, 0-0 SEC) | Queens (2-13 overall, 0-0 ASUN)
Location: Dudy Noble Field at Polk-Dement Stadium (Starkville, Miss.)
 
The Short Story:
Despite a career-high three-hit performance from senior Caleb Stewart, the Queens University of Charlotte baseball team dropped the series finale at Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs offense rattled off 14 hits while Queens sprayed six hits on the day.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Mississippi State jumped on the board in the first inning with a two-out rally. Ace Reese got the rally started with a two-out single through the right side before Noah Sullivan flared an RBI double down the right field line that was barely missed by a diving Jake Barbour to bring Reese around to score.
-Queens turned to the bullpen in the second inning and the Bulldogs jumped on the new arm as Aaron Downs belted a solo shot to right field to lead off the inning. Mississippi State got back-to-back singles up the middle before Ace Reese ripped an RBI single to right center. Reeves swiped second to put both runners in scoring position and Bryce Chance capitalized with a two-run single through the left side to extend the Mississippi State lead to 5-0.
-In the bottom of the third inning, Mississippi State added a run on a leadoff solo shot from Aaron Downs, his second home run of the game.
-The Bulldogs were held in check in the fourth, but added a run in the bottom of the fifth inning by capitalizing on a Queens error. With runners on first and third and two outs, Ross Highfill singled to third base to bring across the run, but the Royals got out of the inning cutting down Sanders trying to advance from first to third on the play.
-In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Bulldogs capitalized on a leadoff double from _ Reeves. A lineout to left field advanced Reeves to third and an infield groundout brought across the eighth bulldogs run.
-Queens answered in the top of the seventh inning when Caleb Stewart belted a deep fly ball that bounced off the top of the wall at Dude Noble Field. The senior earned a triple before coming across to score on a wild pitch. The Royals would continue to threaten putting runners on first and second, but a strikeout and groundout ended the threat as the Bulldogs maintained their 8-1 advantage.
-Mississippi State rounded out their scoring in the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-out RBI single to left field from Gehrig Frei. Queens wouldn't back down scoring two runs in the top of the ninth. Caleb Stewart got the inning started with his third hit of the day with a single to center field. The next two Royals would be retired, but Jacob Grimes reached on a dropped third strike which plated Stewart. A passed ball advanced Grimes to second and Tyler Peters delivered an RBI single down the right field line to score Grimes.

BY THE NUMBERS
-Senior Caleb Stewart paced the Royals offense with a 3-for-3 day at the plate, including two runs scored. The outfielder turned in his second multi-hit performance of the weekend series with a career-day at the plate.
-Freshman Lenox Lively posted a 1-for-4 day at the dish as he recorded a hit in 2-of-3 games this weekend.
-Justin Hudson and Tyler Peters rounded out the offense with a 1-for-4 day at the plate.
-Jack Renaud made his first start of the season and totaled 1.0 inning allowing one run on two hits.
-Derek Westfall made his sixth appearance of the season and tossed a quality 3.1 innings allowing just two runs on four hits while striking out a pair.
-Four Bulldogs tallied multi-hit games as Aaron Downs led the charge for the second straight game with a 2-for-3 day, including two home runs, two RBI, and three runs scored.
-Karson Ligon improved to 2-1 on the year for Mississippi State after tossing 5.0 scoreless innings allowing two hits and striking out nine Royals.
-Queens got their leadoff man on in 5-of-9 innings, but the Bulldogs pitching staff limited the damage every inning. Offensively, Mississippi State capitalized in those situations hitting .353 with runners on base.

NEXT UP
Queens and Mississippi State will wrap up the three-game series on Sunday, March 9^th at Dude Noble Field at 2:00 PM ET. The game will be broadcast on SECN+. Fans can purchase their tickets in advance by visiting the Queens Athletics website.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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