Mississippi
Mississippi State baseball playing much better, but history also big at Tallahassee Regional
STARKVILLE — Noah Sullivan had just wrapped up his news conference on April 29.
It was one day after Mississippi State baseball fired coach Chris Lemonis in his seventh season. The Bulldogs dismantled Memphis 18-5 in seven innings at Dudy Noble Field the next day. The focus of the news conference with one of MSU’s leaders, instead of the actual game, was centered on the previous 24 hours during which Lemonis was out of his job and Justin Parker named the interim coach.
As Sullivan, the designated hitter, began to stand up to leave the room, he added one last message.
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“Don’t let the Dawgs get hot,” he said.
Mississippi State did just that.
The Bulldogs (34-21) are 9-2 since firing Lemonis. They won SEC series against Kentucky, Ole Miss and Missouri to play themselves into an NCAA tournament at-large bid.
MSU is the No. 3 seed in the Tallahassee Regional — a familiar postseason place. Mississippi State hasn’t played any other opponent more in the postseason than Florida State (38-14), the No. 9 national seed that’s matched up with No. 4 Bethune-Cookman (37-21). First MSU must play No. 2 Northeastern (48-9) on May 30 (6:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+) before possibly facing the Seminoles. But as history shows, playing Florida State has been a good omen for Mississippi State in the NCAA tournament.
“We hope history repeats itself,” Parker said. “And this time of year, even starting with Hoover, this is the time of the year where baseball can be magical and the moments can be special. We’ve talked a lot about that as a group.”
Why Mississippi State can use past for success at Tallahassee Regional
Outfielder Bryce Chance, a Ridgeland native, grew up a Mississippi State fan. The senior said he remembers well what happened the last time MSU was sent to the Tallahassee Regional.
It was 2018 when MSU also had an interim coach, Gary Henderson. The Bulldogs lost the first game of the regional and were down to their final strike against Florida State in an elimination game. Elijah MacNamee blasted a three-run, walk-off home run to keep the season alive. It sparked a run all the way to the College World Series.
Mississippi State also played in the Tallahassee Regional in 2007, which it won and later made the College World Series. The Bulldogs are 7-4 all-time against Florida State in the NCAA tournament, their most wins against any opponent in the tournament.
MSU assistant coach Jake Gautreau was on the 2018 staff. Chance said he asked Gautreau about that game in the dugout during practice on May 26.
“It was cool story, and obviously that radio call is stuck in your head from Jim Ellis every time I even think about Florida State,” Chance said. “It’s really cool growing up a Mississippi State fan. That’s a memory that sticks with you a lot.”
Why Mississippi State could be on the same path with Justin Parker
Mississippi State was projected outside of the NCAA tournament field at the time of Lemonis’ firing. It wasn’t by much, though. With three weeks remaining in the regular season, there was still time to salvage what was left.
After run-ruling Memphis, MSU also run-ruled Kentucky on the way to a sweep. It then lost the first game of the series to Ole Miss, but won the next two games to take the series. MSU closed the regular season with a blowout sweep of Missouri before losing 9-0 to Texas A&M in the first round of the SEC tournament.
“I wouldn’t say it’s much different,” shortstop Sawyer Reeves said. “I know that we all trust Parker in the same way. I’d say it’s business as usual. We know what the plan was at the start of the year. It’s kind of the same thing is to get to postseason ball, play the best ball we can and see how far we can go.”
The sample size is small, but Mississippi State has made marginal improvements in many places since Parker took over:
- Batting average improved from .300 to .307
- Slugging percentage is up from .521 to .537
- On-base percentage rose from .402 to .407
- Team ERA is down from 4.59 to 4.44
- Batting average against dropped from .231 to .228
- Fielding percentage is the same at .972
“As much as we’re preparing for other people there, they got their eye on us, too,” Parker said. “I’m not sure there’s anybody thrilled about seeing us in their regional.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi College baseball has won the series against West Florida for the first time ever
The Choctaws have been playing UWF since 2015
MC won the first two games and put on a bit of a comeback in game 3
Next: GSC at Delta St., then Conference Tournament
GEORGE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) — A George County High School senior is dead after an SUV hit him while bicycling on Highway 26 Friday night.
Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) officials said at 8:15 p.m. the MHP responded to a fatal crash on Highway 26 in George County.
Those officials said a Ford SUV traveling west on Highway 26 collided with 18-year-old Tyree Bradley of McLain, Mississippi, who was bicycling.
Bradley was fatally injured and died at the scene, MHP officials said.
The crash remains under investigation by the MHP.
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Some losses feel like they drag on longer than the box score suggests, and Mississippi State’s 3-1 opener at Texas A&M fits that category.
It wasn’t a blowout. It wasn’t a game where the Bulldogs looked outmatched.
It was just one of those nights where the early mistakes stuck around and the offense never quite found the swing that could shake them loose.
The frustrating part is how quickly the hole formed. Two solo homers and a wild pitch in the first two innings put Mississippi State behind 3-0, and that was basically the ballgame.
Against a top tier SEC team on the road, spotting three runs that early is a tough ask. The Bulldogs didn’t fold, but they also didn’t cash in when the door cracked open.
“I liked our fight. I think we’re really just working through some things offensively, and trying to stay together,” Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts said. “This team still believes, and we’re going to battle and fight every chance we get, and I think I saw a lot of that. I’m encouraged for what that means for us moving forward, but, you know, they’re a good hitting team, and we’ve got to be able to shut them down early. I don’t think Peja [Goold] had her best stuff, but she continued to battle out there and find ways to get outs.”
They had chances. Two runners stranded in the fifth. Two more in the sixth. Another in the seventh. Des Rivera finally got the Bulldogs on the board with an RBI single, but the big hit that usually shows up for this lineup never arrived.
It wasn’t a lack of traffic. It was a lack of finish.
If there was a bright spot, it came from the bullpen. Delainey Everett gave Mississippi State exactly what it needed after the rocky start.
“That was just a huge relief appearance by Delaney to keep us in it,” Ricketts said. “It’s really good to have her back and healthy these last few weeks because these are the moments where we really need her and rely on her. We know that she’s going to be a big part of the remainder of the season going forward as well.”
Three hitless innings, one baserunner, and a reminder that she’s quietly putting together a strong stretch.
There were individual positives too. Nadia Barbary keeps climbing the doubles list. Kiarra Sells keeps finding ways on base.
But the bigger picture is simple. Mississippi State is now 6-10 in the SEC, and the margin for error is shrinking. Nights like this one are the difference between climbing back into the race and staying stuck in the middle.
They get another shot this morning with the schedule bumped up for weather. The formula isn’t complicated.
Clean up the early innings, keep getting quality relief, and find one or two timely swings. The Bulldogs didn’t get them Friday. They’ll need them today.
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