STARKVILLE, Miss. (Hail State) – The No. 5 Mississippi State baseball program opened the home portion of its schedule with a 7-3 victory over Jackson State on Wednesday (Feb. 24) at Dudy Noble Field. Seven Bulldog pitchers combined to two-hit the Tigers, while the MSU offense pounded out 10 hits in the victory.

Kamren James opened the scoring with his second career home run, a two-run shot in the first inning. Drew McGowan and Landon Jordan added RBIs in the contest and a double steal accounted for the fifth run of the game. A pair of eighth innings runs capped the scoring for State.

A 4-for-5 night at the plate for James highlighted the offense’s 10 hits, as he produced five of the team’s seven runs – three RBIs and two runs scored. Tanner Allen reached base four times and scored three runs with a 2-for-3 night at the plate to go along with a walk and hit-by-pitch.

Seven Mississippi State pitchers combined to two-hit the Tigers and walk just one batter. Sophomore Brandon Smith (1-0) picked up the victory with two innings pitching in his first start since May 22, 2019 versus LSU at the SEC Tournament. Freshman Davis Rokose fired two clean innings with four strikeouts.

Relievers Chase Patrick (2/3 inning) and Xavier Lovett (one inning) also recorded scoreless outings, and Mikey Tepper made his collegiate debut and allowed one unearned run in 1 1/3 innings of work.