The Bulldog Box Score and More: MacLeod Pitches State Past Alabama

When Christian MacLeod is living up to his billing as Mississippi State's ace and Landon Sims is his usual dominant self out of the Bulldog bullpen, that's just about an unbeatable recipe for MSU. That proved to be the case on Thursday night.

MacLeod hurled seven stellar innings and Sims slammed the door on Alabama as the No. 10 Bulldogs took a 4-2 win over the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa.

While the MSU bats had moments late in the game, MacLeod and Sims laid the foundation for the Bulldog victory. MacLeod allowed just two runs and five hits over his seven innings of work. He struck out 10. Sims then solidified things for State with scoreless eighth and ninth innings.

Despite MSU's brilliance from the mound, the Bulldogs did find themselves in danger. State's bats were silenced in the early going by Alabama starter Tyler Ras. That allowed the Crimson Tide to take a 1-0 lead in the fifth on Jackson Tate's solo home run to right field that just snuck over the wall. 

The score held until the seventh when State's offense finally came through. A leadoff walk from Scotty Dubrule sparked the rally. Kellum Clark followed with a game-tying RBI double to center. Two batters later, with runners on the corners and still nobody out, Lane Forsythe delivered an infield single up the middle that plated Clark and gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead. After Rowdey Jordan flied out to right for the first out of the inning, Tanner Allen then delivered a two-run double to the left-centerfield gap that broke the game open a bit.

Alabama did get one run back off MacLeod in the seventh. But Sims entered and navigated a little trouble in the eighth – stranding runners on the corners – then worked a perfect ninth, striking out the side in order to lock down MSU's triumph.

The victory improved State to 38-13 overall this season and moved the Bulldogs to 18-10 in Southeastern Conference play. It also put State in the driver's seat to secure a Top-4 seed and opening-round bye for next week's SEC Tournament as MSU moved into fourth place in the overall SEC standings, a game ahead of Florida, with just two games left. The Gators fell 6-1 to Arkansas on Thursday.

MSU will attempt to clinch this weekend's three-game series on Friday when the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide meet at 6 p.m.

Alright, let's take a quick look at Thursday's stats, game MVPs and the Moment of the Game:

Mississippi State at Alabama box score

MSU Offensive MVP: RF Tanner Allen

Allen was one of only two Bulldogs with more than one hit on Thursday, along with Clark. But Allen gets the nod here for his two-run double that broke the game open and stretched State's lead from 2-1 out to 4-1. There's more on that hit coming in just a minute, but here's what Allen's coach had to say about it.

"Tanner does what Tanner does," Lemonis said during his postgame interview on the MSU Radio Network. "That's just his typical swing. It kind of opened up the ballgame and let us breathe a little bit."

MSU Pitching MVP: SP Christian MacLeod

A week after struggling against Missouri, MacLeod once again looked like an ace on Thursday night. The left-hander allowed only five hits and two runs over his seven innings and he struck out 10. It was a splendid showing for the southpaw.

"He was really good," Lemonis said. "He gave up a home run that a lot of nights is not a home run, then he gives up another run on [a hit that] bounces through the infield. But he was really good against a good lineup."

Moment of the Game: Allen provides the breathing room

Mississippi State had already taken a 2-1 lead by the time Allen stepped up to the plate in the seventh inning. But the game felt far from secure. Allen then gave the Bulldogs the breathing room that – with star reliever Landon Sims lurking – almost felt like the hit that cemented the win for MSU. Here's a look at Allen's critical swing:

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