Mississippi State baseball vs. St. John's score, highlights: MSU wins NCAA Tournament opener

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A skid of more than two years without postseason play has come to an end for Mississippi State baseball.

The Bulldogs (38-21) are in the Charlottesville Regional of the NCAA Tournament where they open play Friday. As the No. 2 seed, Mississippi State is slated to face No. 3 seed St. John's (37-16-1).

Action in Charlottesville includes No. 1 seed and host Virginia (41-15) along with No. 4 seed Penn (24-23).

MORE: Buy tickets for Mississippi State baseball in the Charlottesville Regional

Mississippi State has failed to advance beyond the regular season since its 2021 national championship run. However, after winning 17 conference games in this year's regular season and winning two contests in the SEC tournament, the Bulldogs delivered a résumé worthy of postseason baseball.

St. John's comes to Charlottesville off a Big East tournament title. This year marks the first NCAA Tournament bid for the Red Storm since 2018.

Friday's meeting marks the first in history between Mississippi State and St. John's.

MORE: Watch Mississippi State baseball vs. St. John's with ESPN+ (subscribe now)

Mississippi State baseball vs. St. John's score updates

FINAL: Mississippi State 5, St. John's 2: Dakota Jordan wins it for Mississippi State in the 10th

St. John's couldn't rob this one. After the Red Storm intentionally walked David Mershon to pitch to Dakota Jordan, the Bulldogs' slugger drove a three-run, walk-off homer to break a 1-for-27 skid and send Mississippi State to the 1-0 game.

Ninth inning: Mississippi State's Amani Larry robbed of walk-off homer

St. John's Garrett Scavelli leaped in front of the left-field wall and brought back what looked like a walk-off home run off the bat of Mississippi State's Amani Larry, helping to send the game to extra innings.

Ninth inning: Mississippi State goes to the bullpen

The Bulldogs lifted Khal Stephen for lefthander Tyler Davis, who worked around a two-out hit-by-pitch to send the game to the bottom of the ninth and give the Bulldogs a chance for a walk-off win.

Eighth inning: Khal Stephen strikes out three

Khal Stephen whiffed three St. John's batters in the eighth to bring his total to nine on the night and hold serve in the pitchers' duel, working around a two-out bunt single.

Seventh inning: Mississippi State wastes a double from Logan Kohler

Logan Kohler has three of the Bulldogs' five hits on the night against St. John's ace Xavier Kolhosser. Mississippi State couldn't cash in his second double of the game in a 2-2 contest in the seventh.

Sixth inning: Khal Stephen escapes St. John's threat

A one-out double by Garrett Scavelli gave St. John's some rare traffic, but Khal Stephen induced a pop-out and nabbed his sixth strikeout of the night to keep the game tied.

Fourth inning: St. John's ties it up on Marty Higgins' single

St. John's takes advantage of its first real threat, with Marty Higgins lining a two-out, two-run single up the middle to score a pair of runs and knot the game at 2-2.

Third inning: Another scoreless frame for Mississippi State's Khal Stephen

St. John's registers its first hit against Khal Stephen, but Anthony Brienza is thrown out by MSU left fielder Bryce Chance trying to stretch a single into a double. Stephen has thrown just 32 pitches.

Second inning: Logan Kohler gives the Bulldogs the lead

Mississippi State strikes first as Logan Kohler sits back and drives a two-run, opposite-field homer. It's No. 6 on the season for MSU's third baseman to make it 2-0 Bulldogs.

Second inning: Khal Stephen starts strong for Mississippi State

Khal Stephen strikes out a pair in the second inning to bring his total to three. He's retired the first six St. John's hitters he's faced.

What channel is Mississippi State vs St. John's on today?

• Streaming: ESPN+

Mississippi State vs St. John's start time

• Friday: 6 p.m.

Mississippi State vs St. John's prediction

Mississippi State beats St. John's, 4-2: MSU's offense comes into the Charlottesville Regional off a sluggish offensive showing at the SEC tournament. Against a quality St. John's pitching staff, scoring could be difficult. However, with Khal Stephen on the mound, Mississippi State is hard to pick against.

Mississippi State vs St. John's location

Mississippi State and St. John's are playing at Davenport Field in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Mississippi State vs St. John's lineups

Mississippi State lineup

• LF Bryce Chance

• SS David Mershon

• RF Dakota Jordan

• 1B Hunter Hines

• CF Connor Hujsak

• 2B Amani Larry

• 3B Logan Kohler

• DH Aaron Downs

• C Joe Powell

• SP Khal Stephen

St. John's lineup

• CF Jackson Tucker

• LF Garrett Scavelli

• 3B Blake Mayberry

• C Jimmy Keenan

• 1B Marty Higgins

• DH Paul Orbon

• RF Ben Beauchamp

• SS Luke Orbon

• 2B Anthony Brienza

Mississippi State vs St. John's tickets

A limited number of general admission and reserved tickets are available to purchase through UVA.

Tickets can also be purchased through a third-party at StubHub.com.

Mississippi State baseball schedule 2024

View the 2024 schedule for Mississippi State here.

St. John's baseball schedule 2024

View the 2024 schedule for St. John's here.

Mississippi State baseball roster

View Mississippi State's 2024 roster here.

St. John's baseball roster

View the St. John's 2024 roster here.

Charlottesville Regional schedule

All times CDT

Friday’s games

Game 1: No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 4 Penn, 11 a.m., ESPN+

Game 2: No. 2 Mississippi State vs. No. 3 St. John's, 6 p.m., ESPN+

Saturday games

Game 3: St. John's vs. Penn, 11 a.m., ESPN+

Game 4: Virginia vs. Mississippi State, 5 p.m., ACC Network

Sunday games

Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 11 a.m., TBD

Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 5 p.m., TBD

Monday game

Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (if necessary), TBD

Charlottesville Regional bracket

Charlottesville Regional odds

Mississippi State baseball is favored (-450) to beat St. John's on Friday, according to BetMGM.

Virginia (-110) is a slight favorite to win the Charlottesville Regional. MSU is close behind (+110). St. John's (+1400) and Penn (+3000) are longshots.

Charlottesville Regional tickets

A limited number of general admission and reserved tickets are available to purchase through UVA.

Tickets can also be purchased through a third-party at StubHub.com.

2024 College World Series bracket

2024 NCAA baseball tournament odds

Mississippi State is a longshot to win the College World Series (+4000), according to BetMGM.

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State vs St. John's score updates in NCAA baseball regional