By JOEL COLEMAN
sports@starkvilledailynews.com
It was only a few minutes before Mississippi State’s Saturday night winner’s bracket game against Central Michigan in the Starkville Regional was set to begin. Because of NCAA postseason rules, the Bulldogs were slated to be the visiting team and hit first, despite being inside the friendly home confines of Dudy Noble Field.
Problem was, some MSU players didn’t realize it was their bat – not their glove – they needed as the game began.
“A couple of them, (like) Elijah (MacNamee) didn’t even realize we were the visitor until about two minutes before the game started,” MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said. “That’s probably a poor job on my part.”
No problem. The Bulldogs may not have been ready to hit, but they came out spraying the baseball all over the yard anyway.
MSU scored four runs in the first inning on the way to a 7-2 victory over Central Michigan that puts State only one win away from advancing to a super regional. A raucous crowd of 11,511 – the largest crowd to ever watch a regional game in Starkville – helped push the Bulldogs to their fast start.
“First inning, I told Rowdey (Jordan) when I got back in the dugout, I was like, ‘Dude, you’re going to step in the (batter’s) box and your feet are going to be shaking it’s so loud,’” MSU’s Tanner Allen said. “He started laughing, but I was right. This atmosphere and this place is unbelievable. When you get a lead and play with a lead like we did, it’s something special.”
Mississippi State (48-13) strung together seven consecutive first-inning hits to take control over the Chippewas (47-13). MacNamee, Jordan and Josh Hatcher all drove in runs in the inning – MacNamee on a two-run double and Jordan and Hatcher on run-scoring singles.
All the damage came off of Central Michigan starting pitcher Cameron Brown, who entered Saturday’s game a perfect 10-0 in his decisions this year.
“You really have to tip your hat to Mississippi State’s hitters,” Central Michigan head coach Jordan Bischel said. “Cam Brown, it’s the first time he’s lost this year. If you were sitting in the spot to see the pitches he was making, it’s not like he was throwing the ball down the middle. He made them earn every hit and they went out and got every one of them. It was an impressive display of hitting. They did a great job.”
The Bulldogs knocked Brown out of the game after only 2.1 innings. State got 13 hits and scored six total runs against him as MSU also added on runs in the third inning when Jordan and Hatcher delivered RBI singles again.
With MSU up 6-0, Bulldogs ace left-handed pitcher Ethan Small was in great shape. The Southeastern Conference’s Pitcher of the Year mowed through the Chippewas over the first five innings, not allowing a run.
Central Michigan finally got to Small in the sixth. Jason Sullivan cranked a two-run homer to right field off of Small to cut State’s lead to 6-2. It was an example of the perseverance and grittiness of the Chippewas, who had won 19 games in a row before Saturday.
Central Michigan wasn’t done putting a scare into MSU yet. In the seventh, off of Bulldog reliever Riley Self, the Chippewas loaded the bases with only one out courtesy of a pair of walks and a bunt single. That brought the tying run to the plate for Central Michigan.
Self wiggled out of the jam though by inducing an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play. That put a close to the last real threat the Chippewas presented.
In the ninth, MSU’s Tanner Allen put an exclamation point on the night’s proceedings when he crushed a solo homer to right to cap the scoring. The Dudy Noble crowd roared in approval.
The same fans that helped push State to the big early lead could relax. When Cole Gordon entered and recorded the game’s final three outs, the crowd could celebrate
“Obviously (the fans and atmosphere) has to take a toll on the other team,” Allen said. “(Central Michigan players) were saying, ‘We only have at the most 700 people in our stands.’ I was like, ‘Well we probably have around 12,000 here (Saturday).” Obviously it made a difference in the game.”
A similarly large crowd is expected Sunday as Mississippi State tries to claim the regional championship. The Bulldogs will send right-handed pitcher Peyton Plumlee to the mound to try and punch MSU’s ticket to a super regional in Starkville next weekend.
Sunday’s game is set for an 8 p.m. start. The Bulldogs will face the winner of a 2 p.m. game earlier in the day between Miami and Central Michigan.
Sitting at a perfect 2-0 in the regional, Mississippi State will get two chances to beat whichever team it faces. Should MSU lose on Sunday, a deciding game of the Starkville Regional would be played at 6 p.m. on Monday.
The Starkville Daily News Bulldog Beat 