Mississippi State baseball sits in a position where hosting isn’t an impossibility, but the Bulldogs have to start piling up some wins. Can that begin this weekend with a tough trip to Vanderbilt? Brian Hadad and Robbie Faulk discuss a huge series with major implications for the Diamond Dawgs.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WDAM) – A death investigation has been opened after deputies in Florida responded to a life-threatening call involving a recent Columbia Academy graduate.
WDAM’s sister station, WJHG, reported that the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said Shannon Thomas Tanner, 19, was expected to be taken off of life support Wednesday after being declared brain dead.
According to the incident report obtained by WJHG, on Sunday, May 18, deputies arrived at a home in Panama City Beach and were told that Tanner had been drinking alcohol.
The report says an investigator asked someone at the home what happened, with the person telling the investigator that Tanner was “drinking too much.” EMS reportedly treated Tanner on scene.
BCSO is investigating the death of a 19-year-old from Mississippi
The cause of the medical emergency has not been confirmed, and the investigation is ongoing.
According to a GoFundMe set up to help with funeral expenses, Tanner was on his senior trip after graduating from Columbia Academy.
Columbia Academy made a Facebook post expressing its condolences for the family, saying the recent graduate was “the kind of person who can make anyone laugh, light up a room with his personality and dance moves, and make others feel valued simply by being himself.”
Return to WDAM 7 for updates on this developing story.
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Mississippi State softball is one step away from reaching the program’s first Women’s College World Series.
But to get there, the Bulldogs (41-18) will have to get through one of the top programs in the sport.
MSU is facing Oklahoma (51-8), the No. 3 national seed, in the NCAA Tournament super regional. The best-of-three series begins May 22 (noon, ESPN2) at Love’s Field in Norman, Oklahoma.
Here is a scouting report and prediction for the super regional.
The Sooners breezed through the Norman Regional, outscoring Binghamton, Kansas and Michigan 28-1 in three games.
That wasn’t much of a surprise for a team that’s made nine consecutive Women’s College World Series and hasn’t missed a super regional since 2009. Oklahoma has won eight national championships, seven of them since 2013.
Oklahoma is 27-1 at home this season, with the only loss to Arkansas on April 18.
Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts played at Oklahoma from 2006-09 and then was a graduate assistant at Oklahoma from 2009-11.
MSU is 0-11 all time against Oklahoma.
The offense has been Oklahoma’s strength, especially from a power standpoint. The Sooners have hit 182 home runs in 2026, the second most in the country behind UCLA and 80 more than the next best SEC team.
Freshman Kendall Wells has 37 home runs, the most in program and SEC history. Four other players have at least 19 home runs.
The Sooners also rank first in the SEC in batting average and runs scored.
Oklahoma’s pitching staff ranks eighth in the SEC with a 3.02 ERA.
A big part of Mississippi State winning the Eugene Regional was Alyssa Faircloth’s dominant pitching. She threw 15⅔ shutout innings in the regional. That included a no-hitter against host Oregon and then another complete-game shutout against Saint Mary’s in the regional final.
The Troy transfer and SEC Newcomer of the Year has a 2.28 ERA and 16-7 record. Her 261 strikeouts are a single-season program record.
The Bulldogs, who rank third in the SEC in team ERA at 2.15, also have Peja Goold, who started the first game of the Eugene Regional. She has a 2.12 ERA and 15-10 record.
Oklahoma wins super regional 2-0: The Sooners are a big step up in competition. Faircloth and Goold give MSU a chance, but the offense will need to keep up.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
HOOVER, AL — There was an upset in the first game of the SEC Tournament.
No. 8 seed Mississippi State (39-16) will play No. 16 Missouri (24-30) in the second round after the Tigers defeated No. 9 Ole Miss 10-8 on May 19.
First pitch on May 20 will be at 9:30 a.m. The game will air on SEC Network.
The Bulldogs, led by new coach Brian O’Connor, did not play Missouri this season. They swept the Tigers last season, scoring 50 runs in the series.
Mississippi State versus Missouri in the SEC Tournament is at 9:30 a.m. CT on May 20. It is the first of four SEC Tournament games for the day.
The winner will play No. 1 Georgia (43-12) on May 21 at 3 p.m..
Mississippi State versus Missouri will air on SEC Network.
Streaming is available via Fubo.
All times Central
Championship Game: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner, 1 p.m. on ABC
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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