In a notable game during the Tallahassee Regional, Mississippi State surged past Northeastern with a decisive 11-2 victory on Friday night, ending Northeastern’s NCAA-leading 27-game winning streak. Joe Powell was instrumental in this win, driving in four runs, including a significant two-run homer. Freshman Ryan McPherson also played a crucial role, delivering four innings of scoreless relief pitching.
This loss marked the end of Northeastern’s impressive run of victories, which began after their last loss on April 6 against Campbell. Mississippi State took a firm grip on the game in the third inning when Powell launched a shot off the scoreboard, securing a 7-2 lead. This homer set a new single-season record for Mississippi State, bringing their total to 98 home runs. In the ninth inning, Noah Sullivan added to that tally with Mississippi State’s 99th home run.
Additional contributions to Mississippi State’s score came from Gatlin Sanders, who doubled in a run in the eighth inning after Ross Highfill had done the same, making it an 8-2 scoreline. Notably, this was Sanders’ 41st hit of the season and a rare extra-base hit for him, marking just his fifth.
Looking forward, Mississippi State, now with a 35-21 record, is set to face off against host Florida State on Saturday. Meanwhile, Northeastern, standing at 48-10, will compete in a must-win matchup against Bethune-Cookman to keep their tournament hopes alive.
The reliability of Mississippi State’s pitching was evident in McPherson and starter Ben Davis not allowing any Northeastern leadoff batters to reach base, limiting the Huskies to a mere five hits. This was their lowest total since April 29. Northeastern’s 27-game win streak was the longest in the NCAA since 2021, matching Fairfield’s streak from that year.
In a twist of fate, Mississippi State also witnessed the end of a significant streak during the game; Ace Reese went 0 for 4, thereby snapping his personal 22-game hit streak, which was the third longest current streak in the NCAA.