Entering the home of the current No. 7 and defending national champions Mississippi State Bulldogs? No problem for the Northern Kentucky Norse.
The Norse scored five-straight runs after an early 2-0 deficit before wrapping up a 7-6 upset in Starkville on Friday.
Junior pitcher Kyle Klingenbeck pitched six full innings, allowing just three runs on three hits and a pair of walks with five strikeouts. Klingenbeck improved to 1-1 for the young season.
Trailing 2-0, the Norse scored three runs in the top of the third inning on a single from Manny Vorhees and a two-run double by Ryan Glass. Vorhees was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, two runs and the RBI.
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Bryson Lonsbury entered with runners on in the eighth inning and prevented the Bulldogs from rallying. Lonsbury pitched two complete innings, allowing just one hit and a walk.
Mississippi State starter Landon Sims dropped his mark to 0-2 after allowing four runs (one earned) on six hits in five innings.
"I'm very proud of our guys and staff," head coach Dizzy Peyton said, according to the Norse. "We have worked very hard for this moment and many more to come. They believe in themselves, and our process. They played their hearts out and left it all out on the field tonight. But that doesn't surprise me, that's the way we play. But the win was very special against a very good team."
The victory was the first for Peyton as a head coach, taking over the program after 17 years as an assistant coach.
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Northern Kentucky improved to 1-3 as Mississippi State dropped to 2-3. The series continues on Saturday at 3 p.m. and is available to be streamed on ESPN+.
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