Next Game: Mississippi Valley State 3/22/2016 | 6:30 PM

No. 15 Mississippi State fell down early and could not recover, dropping a 12-6 decision to No. 2 Vanderbilt Sunday in a Southeastern Conference baseball game played at Hawkins Field.

Vanderbilt (17-3, 1-2 SEC) scored three unearned runs in the first inning, thanks in part to three MSU errors. The Commodores stretched the lead to 8-1 before the Bulldogs tried to rally. Vanderbilt then put the contest away with three insurance runs in the home half of the eighth inning.

Thanks to a 2-1, 13-inning win Friday and a 5-4 win Saturday, the Bulldogs did clinch the weekend series in Nashville for the first time since 2002.

MSU (14-6-1, 2-1 SEC) got the board in the third inning on an RBI-single by Jack Kruger .

In the fourth inning, the Bulldogs closed within 8-3 on a two-run single by Jake Mangum . The Bulldogs scored an inning later on a Ryan Gridley RBI-double and a passed ball. MSU stranded two base runners in that at-bat as well.

A Hunter Stovall RBI-single in the seventh inning had the Bulldogs back within 8-6. The Commodores then put the contest away with a single score in the seventh inning and three more scores in the eighth inning.

Daniel Brown (2-1) drew the start and took the loss. Brown pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing nine hits and eight runs (five earned), with five strikeouts and a walk. Keegan James was masterful in relief, allowing three hits in 3 2/3 innings with a string of 10 straight retired batters. Vance Tatum , Blake Smith , Ethan Small and Reid Humphreys pitched in relief.

MSU finished with 11 hits, including multi-hit games by Mangum and Humphreys.

Vanderbilt finished with 14 hits. Jason Delay had three hits, while Jeren Kendall, Tyler Campbell, Bryan Reynolds and Ethan Paul each had two hits. Kyle Wright (4-0) got the win.

MSU will play host to Mississippi Valley State at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.