Cincinnati Bearcats bats fall short vs. top seed Mississippi State

Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer Sun, May 31, 2026 at 5:26 AM UTC

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Back at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Mississippi, the stands were packed with 11,588 fans for top seed, No. 14 Mississippi State. The "Starkville Stampede" was rewarded as the Bulldogs chewed on the Cincinnati Bearcats, handing them a late-night 10-5 loss.

A day after winning by 10, the Bearcats were blistered for nine runs between the fifth and seventh innings as the Bulldogs broke a tie to pull away and eventually win by five.

The Cincinnati Bearcats faced the Mississippi State Bulldogs for the first time since 2015 in the Starkville Regional Saturday, May 30.

Reed Stallman was 3-for-5 for the Bulldogs, driving in three runs and Bryce Chance was also 3-for-5, driving in a run. Kevin Milewski had a two-run homer and Ace Reese a solo shot.

Cal Sefcik was the only Bearcat with two hits, while Ryan Tyranski drove in two runs.

UC's late rally kept it from being their worst loss of the season numerically. They trailed 10-1 in the seventh, but tacked on four runs late. Previously, they had eight-run losses at Oklahoma State and an eight-run loss to Arizona State in the Big 12 tournament.

Cincinnati Bearcats big innings are too late

Down 1-0 early after a Reese homer, UC tied the game in the second when senior Christian Mitchelle doubled in freshman Enzo Infelise, who had singled. The Bearcats plated two late runs in the eighth, but beyond that, UC's bats were stifled by Mississippi State's Tomas Valencius.

Valencius went 7.1 innings, allowing five hits, three runs, two walks, with 10 strikeouts. He walked off the field to a standing ovation, considering UC had 14 hits and a dozen runs the night before.

"I got out of the bullpen and the whole stadium went nuts," Valencius said on the SEC Network. "I couldn't even describe the feeling it was and the place that it put me in, but it put me somewhere else. That was truly special to go out there and play in front of these fans again."

UC added three hits and two runs off Mississippi State closer Ben Davis to make the game respectable.

UC drops to 38-21 and remains a victory away from tying a school record with 39 wins. Mississippi State goes to 42-17, scoring double-digit runs for the second straight game.

Effective starting pitching for Cincinnati Bearcats, but bullpen has issues

Like Nathan Taylor the night before, Logan Knight may not have been on his best vs. the Bulldogs, but he repeatedly escaped jams. About to have his first 1-2-3 inning to get out of the fourth, a throwing error by Christian Mitchelle kept it alive. Knight would give up a single and a walk, then give way to Adam Buczkowski with the bases loaded. Buczkowski coaxed a pop-up from Noah Sullivan to keep the game tied 1-1, going to the fifth.

Knight gave up six hits and a run with three walks and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings on 76 pitches. Catcher Jack Natili helped out with a key throw to Jackson Smith to catch Jacob Parker stealing in the third inning. Parker banged into Smith, causing Jordan Bischel to question the contact. Parker is 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, 40 pounds more than UC's Smith.

Buczkowski gave up three hits and three runs in 1.1 innings and Alex Gonzalez gave up three hits and four runs in the sixth inning. Hunter Johnson gave up two runs in the seventh. Brendin Oliver had UC's only three-up, three-down inning in the eighth.

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Redshirt freshman Ryan Tyranski and the Cincinnati Bearcats played in front of a sold-out crowd at Dudy Noble Field vs. top seed Mississippi State May 30.Mississippi State's Tomas Valencius silences Bearcats bats

Valencius came into the game with a 10-2 record and 120 strikeouts in 84 innings. By comparison, UC's No. 1 Taylor has 115 strikeouts in 90 innings. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound lefty Valencius recorded 12 straight outs between the second and sixth innings.

"We knew they were a great offense," Valencius said of UC. "They have a lot of power and good players. It was just applying pressure. You can't be scared of whoever we face. It was applying pressure with everything, getting strike one and letting the defense work."

1st meeting between Cincinnati Bearcats, Mississippi State in over 11 years

In February 2015, UC went to Starkville to play three early-season games against the Bulldogs and were swept 6-2, 19-5, and 16-7. Future major leaguers Ryan Noda (Orioles) and Ian Happ (Cubs) were part of the Bearcats lineup. UC is now 0-4 historically against the Bulldogs with Saturday night's defeat.

Sunday schedule for Cincinnati Bearcats

The Bearcats will play Louisiana as the Ragin' Cajuns rebounded from their 12-2 loss to the Bearcats on Friday with a 10-4 win to eliminate Lipscomb. The game will be at 3 p.m. (Eastern).

At 8 p.m. (Eastern), the winner of Sunday's early game will play the hungry, hometown Bulldogs. Should UC beat Louisiana and Mississippi State Sunday, a final game would take place Monday at a time to be determined.

Cincinnati Bearcats sophomore Derrick Pitts prepares for UC's game vs. top seed Mississippi State May 30 in the Starkville Regional.Cincinnati Bearcats, Mississippi State scoring summary

Bottom 1st – Ace Reese homered to center with one out. Mississippi State 1-0.

Top 2nd – Enzo Infelise a one-out single. Cal Sefcik singles off the right-field brick wall but is out at second. Christian Mitchelle doubles in Infelise. 1-1

Bottom 5th – Buczkowski gave up a walk, a single and walk to load the bases with two outs. Bryce Chance's infield single makes it 2-1. Gehrig Frei with a two-run single for 4-1 lead.

Bottom 6th – Alex Gonzalez hits Jacob Parker, walks Vytas Valencius, Reed Stallman's double gives Bulldogs a 5-1 lead. Gonzalez's wild pitch scores Valencius for a 6-1 lead. Kevin Milewski's two-run homer makes it 8-1.

Bottom 7th – Stallman with a two-run double off of Brendin Oliver. 10-1 Mississippi State

Top 8th – After two walks, Ryan Tyranski singles to cut the Bulldogs' lead to 10-2. Maddux Webb relieves and Jack Natili draws a bases-loaded walk to make it 10-3.

Top 9th – UC loaded the bases with Charlie Niehaus singling in one run. A Tyranski ground out plated the final run. UC loses 10-5.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC Bearcats baseball falls short to Mississippi State in Starkville

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Source: “AOL Sports”