STARKVILLE, Miss. (Interstat) — The Mississippi State Bulldogs unleashed a relentless offensive attack, scoring in each of the first five innings, to rout the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles 12-0 in a non-conference matchup Tuesday night at Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium.

The game was effectively decided in a decisive third inning where the Bulldogs sent nine men to the plate and scored five runs, turning a comfortable lead into an insurmountable one. The victory improved Mississippi State’s record to 21-4, while Southern Mississippi fell to 19-6.

Mississippi State center fielder Aidan Teel, who had been in a minor slump, broke out emphatically, going a perfect 4-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and four runs scored. His two-run homer to right field in the third inning capped the Bulldogs’ biggest rally of the night.

The Bulldogs set the tone immediately against Southern Mississippi starter Thomas Crabtree. Teel led off the bottom of the first with a single, and after a walk loaded the bases, Gehrig Frei delivered a two-run single up the middle. A pitching change to JW Armistead did not stem the tide, as Bryce Woodson greeted him with an RBI single to make it 3-0.

After a quiet second inning that saw Mississippi State add a run on an RBI single by Hunter Sullivan, the Bulldogs broke the game open in the third. Frei singled and stole second before Woodson walked. Jacob Parker then launched a three-run homer down the right field line off reliever Dylan Causey to extend the lead to 7-0. Following a single by Logan Milewski, Teel hammered his two-run shot off Kevin Landry, pushing the advantage to 9-0.

The most important sequence of the game was that bottom of the third inning, where Mississippi State transformed a 4-0 contest into a 9-0 blowout, capitalizing on every opportunity and silencing any potential Golden Eagle momentum.

Mississippi State added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Woodson drove in his second run of the game with a single in the fourth, and in the fifth, Sullivan and Ross Stallman drew walks before Stallman laced a two-run single to center, accounting for the final 12-0 margin.

The Bulldogs’ offensive output was supported by a committee of pitchers who combined on the seven-hit shutout. Starter Chris Billingsley earned the win with two scoreless innings. Jack Bauer, Jack Gleason, Parker Rhodes and Maddox Miller followed with scoreless relief, striking out 10 Golden Eagles batters collectively over the final five frames. Southern Mississippi used eight pitchers in the loss.

Southern Mississippi, which had won seven of its last eight games including a 7-6 victory over these same Bulldogs on March 3 in Hattiesburg, never threatened. The Golden Eagles put multiple runners on base only in the fourth and seventh innings but failed to score, stranding seven runners total. Joey Urban had three of Southern Mississippi’s seven hits.

The Bulldogs’ 14-hit performance and dominant pitching provided a stark contrast to Interstat’s pregame projection, which had forecast a narrow 7-6 Mississippi State victory and gave the Bulldogs a 55 percent probability to win.

Mississippi State will open a Southeastern Conference series on the road at Mississippi on Friday. Southern Mississippi returns home to begin a Sun Belt Conference series against Appalachian State on Friday.