Mississippi State baseball falls to Tennessee in tense SEC tournament elimination game

HOOVER, Ala. — Hoover Metropolitan Stadium has seen its share of fireworks since it became the regular home of the SEC baseball tournament in 1998. Mississippi State and Tennessee added another chapter to drama with a tension-filled elimination game Friday.

Ultimately, No. 1 seed UT emerged with a 6-5 victory over No. 5 seed MSU to extend the Vols' stay in Hoover.

The deciding blow came in the eighth inning when, with the game tied at 5, Tennessee first baseman Blake Burke launched a solo home run against relief pitcher Tyler Davis. It was the first run allowed by Davis since a March 29 outing at Florida.

The Vols (48-11) advance to face No. 8 seed Vanderbilt (38-20) in the semifinals on Saturday (3:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network). The remainder of the conference tournament is single elimination.

The Bulldogs (38-21) await to see their NCAA tournament fate.

Tensions flare between Mississippi State and Tennessee

Contested ball calls to MSU’s Bryce Chance in the fifth inning fueled dissent from Tennessee’s side. A strike call on a check swing attempt from MSU’s David Mershon led to some displeasure from Mississippi State’s dugout shortly after.

Those tensions against the officiating escalated quickly as Tennessee coach Tony Vitello made a pitching change following a Connor Hujsak hit that tied the game at 3.

After words were exchanged between players and coaches, MSU hitting coach Jake Gautreau emerged from the dugout and went toward the mound. Tennessee players Cal Stark and Christian Moore also got involved, though no ejections were issued and both teams largely remained near their respective dugouts.

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Mississippi State’s Pico Kohn fends off trouble in start

Left-handed pitcher Pico Kohn made his eighth appearance and seventh start of the season Friday. Across 3⅓ innings, he faced trouble but kept MSU in a manageable spot.

Kohn allowed five hits and two walks, and was charged with two runs — one in the third inning and one in the fourth. He stranded six Vols on the bases in the first three innings before Cole Cheatham, who replaced Kohn in the fourth, stranded another.

The outing makes Kohn (3.63 ERA) an apparent candidate to be a starter for Mississippi State should he be needed in the third or fourth game of a regional.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State baseball eliminated by Tennessee in SEC tournament