Super Again: Bulldogs Heading Back To Omaha

June 10, 2019

STARKVILLE, Miss. (Miss. St. Athletics) – Omaha. Somewhere in middle America…

Senior Peyton Plumlee gave the No. 5 Mississippi State baseball program all it could ask for in his start on the mound and senior Elijah MacNamee sent the 11,597 fans at Dudy Noble Field into a frenzy with his ninth-inning, three-run home run in an 8-1 victory over No. 3 Stanford that earned the program its 11th trip to the College World Series.

It was the 27th comeback win of the year and fourth in the NCAA postseason for MSU, as Stanford struck with the first run of the game. State answered back with four runs in the third and one in the fourth, before the three-run ninth inning capped the 8-1 victory.

Clinching its 11th trip to the College World Series on June 9 marks the third time in program history the Diamond Dawgs dogpiled on its way to Omaha on the date. Ironically enough, it did so first in 2007, then six years later in. 2013 and now six years later in 2019.

With its 51st win of the season, the 2019 edition is tied for No. 2 on the MSU single-season charts with the 2013 squad. Only the 1989 team that won 54 games has won more in program history.

Plumlee (7-4) allowed a leadoff home run to Kyle Stowers, before settling in and not allowing another hit until a two-out, seventh-inning single. In all, Plumlee tossed 6 2/3 innings and allowed the one run on a pair of hits. He walked one and struck out six.

Senior Jared Liebelt tossed 1 1/3 innings scoreless, before handing off to graduate student Cole Cordon threw a perfect ninth inning to seal the journey to Omaha. Both Gordon and Liebelt each struck out two.

The Diamond Dawg pitching staff allowed just one run to mark the 27th time in 2019 that it allowed two-or-fewer runs in a game.

Eight of the nine MSU starters collected a hit in the game, with senior Marshall Gilbert, senior Jake Mangum and junior Dustin Skelton all collecting two hits. Skelton tripled and drove in three RBIs, while Gilbert had a pair of singles and scored twice. MacNamee walked twice, scored two runs and delivered three RBIs on his seventh home run of the season.