CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Dakota Jordan hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning and Mississippi State beat St. John’s 5-2 for a dramatic win in the Charlottesville Regional on Friday.
The Bulldogs (39-21) will take on Virginia which advanced by beating Pennsylvania earlier in the day.
Jordan, a sophomore and projected first-round MLB selection, batted .333 for the season but entered the at-bat 1 for his last 26. He was 0 for 4 on the night with three strikeouts. In the last at-bat, Jordan fell to 0-2 in the count against St. John’s reliever Lou Marinaro before evening the count. The right hander then went the opposite direction to end the contest.
Mississippi State’s Armani Larry just missed ending the game with what would’ve been a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth when Red Storm left fielder Garrett Scavelli made a leaping catch at the wall for the second out of the inning.
After the play, Marinaro came on in relief of Xavier Kolhosser to record the third out, striking out Logan Kohler to send it to extra innings.
Kohler went 3 for 4 and his two-run homer in the second gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. Mississippi State knotted it at 2-all in the fourth on a two-run single by first baseman Marty Higgins.
Mississippi State (38-21) is in the NCAA Tournament for the 40th time in program history and the first time since 2021.
St. John’s fell to 37-17-1. The Red Storm will play to stay alive in Saturday’s elimination game against Penn.
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