“That’s Baseball”: 2018 Bulldogs Break Through Super Barrier

OMAHA, Neb. (WCBI) — The 2016 Mississippi State baseball team is in the running for one the best teams in Bulldogs history.

Finishing with a record of 44-18, 21-9 in the SEC, along with a conference title…was upset in Starkville in heartbreaking fashion to Arizona in two games.

In 2017, the Bulldogs battled through injury, and were carried by one the best single-season performances in college baseball history to finish 40-27, 17-13 in the SEC. That year, Mississippi State did the impossible, losing its first game in the Hattiesburg Regional to reel off four straight wins, and advance to the Super Regionals…but ran into an LSU buzzsaw that ended up in the National Championship.

And then there’s 2018. A promising, young coach embarrassingly resigns just three games into the season, the Bulldogs start 2-7 in SEC play, struggling at the plate and questions circling about the future. And yet…

It’s the 2018 Mississippi State baseball team that broke the trend. After two straight Super Regional losses, the Bulldogs broke through, and advanced to Omaha for the first time since 2013.

“All three teams I’ve been a part of at Mississippi State have all been tough,” junior centerfielder Jake Mangum explained, “it’s just this team was able to get those last two wins.”

“There’s a little chip on this team’s shoulder,” redshirt junior RHP Cole Gordon said.

“We were doubted for a lot of the year, questioned, made fun of, all that kind of stuff that kind of fuels your fire a little bit.”

Whether it’s a stroke of good fortune, clutch situational hitting, or simply destiny for this Mississippi State team, Gary Henderson agrees with the old adage, “That’s Baseball.”

“Sometimes, you’ve got guys on base, and you hit a ball as hard as it can be hit, and it turns into a double play,” Henderson said, “other times you get jammed or capped and the ball falls in and it’s a two-run double.

“It’s a unique sport. It’s got a life of its own at times, and sometimes it seems like you can’t stop it.”

Mississippi State faces off against Washington in its first game of the College World Series at 7 PM CT. Game can be watched on ESPN.