STARKVILLE — Mississippi State continued its push toward an NCAA Tournament national seed with another series victory.

Amani Larry hit two home runs and Hunter Hines hit one as the Bulldogs beat Missouri 8-2 on Friday to win their final Southeastern Conference series of the season.

Jurrangelo Cijntje had nine strikeouts, and allowed only three hits and one walk in seven innings to earn his eighth win. Brooks Auger finished up with two innings of scoreless relief.

Cijntje gave up a solo home run to Trevor Austin that tied the game 1-1 in the top of the fourth inning, and then Mississippi State surged ahead for good with two runs in the bottom of the fourth and four in the fifth.

An RBI single by Logan Kohler put the Bulldogs back in front, and Joe Powell hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1. In the fifth inning, Dakota Jordan hit an RBI double and Larry a three-run home run for a 7-1 lead.
Larry’s second homer was a solo shot in the eighth inning.

Mississippi State (36-18, 17-12 SEC) has won four of its last five weekend series and 10 of 14 conference games since mid-April. The hot streak has carried it into contention for one of 16 national seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

First, the Bulldogs will finish this series against Missouri (22-32, 8-21) and the regular season Saturday at 2 p.m. After that, it’s off to the SEC Tournament that begins Tuesday in Hoover, Alabama.