HOOVER, AL — Mississippi State baseball won its first game of the SEC Tournament on a run rule to reach the quarterfinals.
The No. 8 seed Bulldogs (40-16) defeated No. 16 Missouri 12-2 in seven innings in the second round on May 20. It was one day after the Tigers (24-31) upset No. 9 Ole Miss in the first round for its first SEC Tournament win since in 2017.
The win for MSU, based on the latest NCAA Tournament projections, should solidify any doubts that it won’t host a regional at Dudy Noble Field.
Mississippi State will play No. 1 seed Georgia (43-12) on May 21 (3 p.m., SEC Network). Georgia swept Mississippi State in Starkville in April.
Tomas Valincius rebounded from his worst start of the season
The Bulldogs started ace pitcher Tomas Valincius after he allowed a season-high six earned runs at Texas A&M on May 14.
Valincius surrendered a Missouri solo home run in the first inning to Kam Durnin. Otherwise, he rarely found trouble in his start. The only other Missouri run came on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.
Valincius conceded five hits, no walks and eight strikeouts in six innings and 78 pitches.
Ben Davis closed the game with a shutout seventh inning.
Vytas Valincius hit two home runs in an inning
The Bulldogs blew the game open with eight runs in the sixth inning.
It started with Vytas Valincius, Tomas’ older brother, who hit a solo home run on the first pitch of the inning. He went back to bat with two outs and blasted a three-run homer.
Mississippi State had five hits in the inning, one walk and one hit by pitch.
Mississippi State broke program home run record again
Valincius’ first home run was Mississippi State’s 104th of the season, breaking the program’s single-season record. It is the second consecutive season that MSU has broken its home run record.
The 2025 and 2026 seasons are the only two 100-home run seasons in program history.
Ace Reese leads Mississippi State with 20 home runs.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State baseball run rules Missouri with Valincius brothers
