HATTIESBURG — Jacob Billingsley took the ball Monday night and did not give it back until Mississippi State was headed for a do-or-die championship game.
Billingsley — whose previous career-long outing was five-plus innings — threw a complete game and the Bulldogs beat Southern Miss 8-1 in the first regional championship game.
Billingsley gave up six hits and walked four, but struck out four and left eight batters on base.
MSU and Southern Miss will play again Monday night at Pete Taylor Park to determine the regional champion.
Mississippi State supported Billingsley (2-3) well with a five-run third inning. The highlight was Josh Lovelady hitting a three-run home run, the first of his career.
Brent Rooker hit a two-run home run in the sixth, his 22nd of the season.
Colt Smith (6-2) took the loss for Southern Miss, giving up three runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings. He also walked two batters.
BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH
Freshman Alex Nelms came on to pitch the eighth and gave up a walk, but nothing else. On to the ninth.
MSU LEADS 8-1
TOP OF THE EIGHTH
Jacob Billingsley puts down USM 1-2-3, is three outs away from a complete game, and more importantly MSU is three outs away from forcing a winner-takes-all game later tonight.
BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH
MSU pouring it on. Hunter Vansau scores on a sac fly to center off the bat of Josh Lovelady.
TOP OF THE SEVENTH
Can we talk about the job Billingsley has done here? Seven innings, five hits, three walks, three strikeouts and one run scored. Hell of an effort.
BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH
Brent Rooker out here doing Brent Rooker things — hits a two-run home run to the deepest part of the park to make it a 7-1 game for MSU. That is his 22nd home run this season.
Seems like a good time to point this out:
TOP OF THE SIXTH
Billingsley finishes off the sixth inning — a 1-2-3 frame for him — with a Tracy Hadley looking at strike 3. Billingsley walks back to the dugout staring into USM's own dugout.
BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH
Nothing doing in that inning for MSU, and we're through five innings here with MSU holding on to a four-run lead.
TOP OF THE FIFTH
Dylan Burdeaux breaks out of his slump with a base hit, but otherwise Jacob Billingsley just keeps on moving. He's now at his longest outing of the year.
BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH
Ryan Gridley with the two-out double, but Cody Brown grounds out to the first baseman to end the inning.
TOP OF THE FOURTH
Wow. Billingsley strikes out Cole Donaldson, and gets Matthew Guidy to line into a F6, 6-4 double play to end the threat. Huge opportunity loss for Southern Miss.
Bases loaded with no outs: Wallner walks, Slater singles and Hadley walks on four pitches.
BOTTOM OF THE THIRD
Josh Lovelady with a three-run bomb off the billboard in left. Five-run inning and counting for the Bulldogs.
Keys balks in a run.
Scott Berry not messing around. With runners on second and third and two outs, Colt Smith gives way for J.C. Keys.
Mississippi State is seeing Colt Smith's pitches really well, when he can get them over the strike zone. He walked Ryan Gridley with one out, and then gave up a single up the middle to Cody Brown.
Jake Mangum drops a single into left field, and we have a tie game. Runners on the corners, one out.
TIE GAME: 1-1
TOP OF THE THIRD
Dylan Burdeaux's slump continues with an inning-opening groundout that makes him 0 for his last 23 at-bats, and is followed by two more USM batters Jacob Billingsley retires.
USM LEADS 1-0
BOTTOM OF THE SECOND
Mississippi State puts two on, but Colt Smith gets a 6-3 groundout from Hunter Stovall to end the inning. Top of the lineup due for USM — Dylan Burdeaux, Mason Irby and Taylor Braley.
TOP OF THE SECOND
A much better half of the inning from the MSU perspective: USM did not get a ball out of the infield, and goes down 1-2-3.
BOTTOM OF THE FIRST
Ryan Gridley comes up with a two-out double to left field against USM starter Colt Smith. And Cody Brown followed that up with an infield single. But Smith gets out of it by coaxing a fly out from Jake Mangum.
TOP OF THE FIRST
Southern Miss scores first.
Hunter Slater's single up the middle drives in Mason Irby from third base.
USM had success against MSU starter Jacob Billingsley there. Irby singled, Taylor Braley walked and Matt Wallner moved Irby to third with the 3-6 fielder's choice.
BASEBALL! BASEBALL! WE'RE GOING TO PLAY BASEBALL!
Starting lineups are being introduced, the sun is shining and we should get ready in just a few moments.
4:26 P.M. UPDATE: A 5:45 p.m. first pitch has now been scheduled. I remain dubious, but sure why not?
First pitch is allegedly in 23 minutes, but the tarp has been back on the field for a little while now as another storm came through. It included lightning, so the stadium was cleared for a second time.
Dig in folks. Gonna be a while.
We have been told up here in the press box a 3:30 p.m. first pitch.
Still no word on start time, but at 2:10 p.m. we did get the grounds crew beginning to take the tarp off the infield.
The game is in a delay, with start time TBD. There's a storm cell coming and they didn't want pitchers to warm up and then have to stop. More updates as they become available.
HATTIESBURG — We finally get what we came here for: Mississippi State vs. Southern Miss.
The first time for this matchup took until the fourth day of the Hattiesburg Regional, but it's high-stakes: today is the regional championship. First pitch is at 1 p.m., with Southern Miss needing one win to move on to Baton Rouge and face LSU in the Super Regional. If Mississippi State wins the teams will play again at 6 p.m.
The pitching matchup: Southern Miss will go with junior righthander Colt Smith. He's 6-1 with a 3.08 ERA, giving up 64 hits and 15 walks in 64 1/3 innings this season. He's struck out 41 batters this year in 22 appearances (five starts). Southern Miss moved him into the rotation midway through the season, and now he gets the ball in what is (for now) the biggest game of the season.
Mississippi State counters with Jacob Billingsley, a redshirt junior righthander. Billingsley is 1-3 with a 5.15 ERA. In 14 appearances (11 starts) he's thrown 43 2/3 innings, given up 35 hits and 33 walks and struck out 47 batters. We all know MSU's pitching situation: if Billingsley can get into the fifth MSU will probably take it and hand the ball over to a all hands on deck-bullpen.
And now the lineups, first with the designated home team Bulldogs:
Mississippi State (38-25)
1. Hunter Stovall, 2B
2. Brent Rooker, 1B
3. Ryan Gridley, SS
4. Cody Brown, 3B
5. Jake Mangum, CF
6. Hunter Vansau, RF
7. Elijah MacNamee, LF
8. Josh Lovelady, C
9. Cole Gordon, DH
Southern Miss (50-14)
1. Dylan Burdeaux, 1B
2. Mason Irby, RF
3. Taylor Braley, DH
4. Matt Wallner, CF
5. Hunter Slater, LF
6. Tracy Hadley, 3B
7. Cole Donaldson, C
8. Matthew Guidry, 2B
9. LeeMarcus Boyd, SS