Hoover after dark.

Those three words are all too familiar for Mississippi State and Vandy as they faced off again in the SEC Tournament. For whatever reason, when the Bulldogs and Commodores face in the postseason, expect the weird, crazy, and stuff that doesn’t make sense. Getting to the winner’s bracket game on Wednesday night seemed unheard of when the Tournament started on Tuesday, yet these two powerhouse programs found a way to set the scene for an experience of Hoover After Dark. The winner would advance to Saturday, and they will await either Tennessee or the loser of this game. On Friday night, the loser would have to turn around and face one of the most potent offensives in the SEC, the Tennessee Volunteers.

Vanderbilt seized the initiative with a flurry of hits, propelling themselves to an early 2-0 lead over Mississippi State in the top half of the third inning. The Commodores continued their offensive onslaught, adding two more runs over the next few innings, establishing a commanding 4-1 lead in their favor as the game approached the bottom half of the 9th inning.

Down to their final three outs, Mississippi State put together a late game, sure, but fell just short of another miraculous comeback by a margin of 4-3, falling to the losers bracket, where they will play the Tennessee Volunteers on Friday night.

Facing Tennessee will be challenging for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, given their horrendous offensive slump. Sure, they’ve won a pair of low-scoring games in Hoover, but the Bulldogs have been terrible on the offensive side. Dakota Jordan and Hunter Hines have gone for zero hits during the three-game stint in Hoover.

Some fans are calling to bench either Hunter Hines or Dakota Jordan, if not both. However, one swing of a bat can change the entire dynamic of this Mississippi State Baseball team. Mississippi State has had the defensive numbers to win and even discovered a May hero in Connor Hujsak. However, the Bulldogs can only go as far as Dakota Jordan and Hunter Hines can take them.

That said, the Mississippi State coaching staff has a decision to make on Friday night against Tennessee. Yesterday, they moved Hunter Hines to the bottom of the lineup, trying to add spark to his bat, but to no avail. For Dakota Jordan, the problem isn’t making contact; it’s the constant sulking after a strikeout and taking third-strike pitches. Mississippi State will need both guys to change things on Friday night or fix them before the NCAA Regionals start.

From a matchup standpoint, Tennessee has one of the best offensive teams in the country, with an entire lineup that can light up a scoreboard. Mississippi State will need to jump on the Volunteers early and then rely on their pitching to finish the job.

As of this morning, D1 Baseball has Mississippi State as a two-seed just outside of the hosting tier playing in the Indiana State Regional. A win over Tennessee on Friday night would likely put the Bulldogs back on the line to host a Starkville Regional for the first time since winning the National Championship in 2021. Make no doubt about it: the margin for error for Mississippi State is razor thin, and the Bulldogs need to find a way to win on Friday night against Tennessee to keep the hosting dream alive.

Mississippi State and Tennessee will be the second game of the day, with an estimated start time of 6:30.