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.

Watch Mississippi State vs Northeastern live on ESPN+ (subscribe here)

“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.”

MORE: Why Mississippi State baseball can — and can’t — win the College World Series

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_.