“It's been a rough couple weeks” - Mississippi State OF Dakota Jordan speaks on working every day with hitting coach Jake Gautreau

Mississippi State outfielder Dakota Jordan was the star of the show when his team beat St. Johns 5-2 to open play at the Charlottesville Regional of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. The player's walk-off three-run home run in the 10th inning propelled the Bulldogs to victory at Davenport Field.

After the game, Jordan spoke about his challenging past few weeks at Mississippi State and how he has been working regularly with Bulldogs hitting coach Jake Gautreau.

"It's been a rough, rough couple weeks, but it's either you can just sit back and take it or you can go to work every day," Jordan said.

“I just thanked God for being in this opportunity. It was big. I can’t do anything but smile. It takes so much pressure off of me. I just try to go up there and do my best and try not to think about everything,” Jordan added.

Before his homer, Johnson was in the biggest slump of his college career with just one of his last 26 at the plate with 11 strikeouts.

Dakota Jordan and Mississippi State will aim to build on their opening win in NCAA tournament

On the back of his match-winning home run, Dakota Jordan will hope that his bad patch has finally come to an end. The outfielder is a vital cog in the Mississippi State lineup and will have to be at his best if the team is to make a deep run in the postseason.

The Bulldogs will now face Virginia in their second game of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

Here's a look at the results from Friday's games in the Charlottesville regional, along with the schedule for remaining matchups in the regional:

Friday, May 31

Game 1: Virginia 4 vs. Penn 2
Game 2: Mississippi State 5 vs. John's 2

Saturday, June 1

Game 3: Penn vs. St. John's, 11 a.m., ESPN+
Game 4: Mississippi State vs Virginia, 5 p.m., ACC Network

Sunday, June 2

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, June 3

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