Through adversity, long games, State finds ways to win
It was about 2:15 a.m. early Saturday morning when Mississippi State head baseball coach Andy Cannizaro walked off the diamond at Dudy Noble Field.
His Bulldogs had just finished off a series sweep of Alabama with one of the wildest games ever played in Starkville or anywhere else.
Despite the late (or early) hour, there was a bounce in Cannizaro’s step. His team, the group that has battled through countless injuries and all kinds of adversity, once again found a way to do what they somewhat miraculously keep on doing – winning.
“What a night,” Cannizaro said. “We started the game (Friday). We end it (on Saturday). Just an incredible way to continue to fight and fight and fight. This victory symbolizes everything our team is about right now.”
A total of 43 players played in the nearly six-hour-long game, which was the second game of a doubleheader. The first game, a 4-3 Bulldog victory, lasted nearly three and a half hours.
Then, in the nightcap, MSU was no-hit for five innings and was down 5-0. State scored nine times in the sixth inning, then blew that lead and headed to extra innings tied 9-9. In the 11th, Alabama scored three times. MSU matched it in the home half to keep the game going, aided by a routine, would-be-game-ending pop out in the infield that the Crimson Tide inexplicably couldn’t catch. The tying run scored on that play.
An inning later, the Bulldogs got the walk-off win on a Luke Alexander RBI single.
The victory moved MSU to 28-14 overall. The Bulldogs are 13-5 in Southeastern Conference play. They’re off to their best league start since
the 1989 team went 16-2 in its first 18 conference games.
With just 12 SEC games left this year, State is at the top of the league standings and has given itself the chance to repeat as SEC champions.
It’s pretty remarkable the Bulldogs are in this spot.
Lineup regulars Jake Mangum and Hunter Stovall have each missed time and been hampered by injuries at points this year. Around a dozen MSU pitchers are either out for the season, dealing with some kind of ailment or are just back from an injury.
Five pitching wins this season have been earned by players who began the 2017 campaign
primarily as position players. Mangum has two victories from the mound. Cole Gordon also has two. Brant Blaylock, who hadn’t pitched a single time the last three years before last week, earned the win in the marathon series finale against Alabama.
“This is a team that’s shorthanded, but we’re just tough guys, every single one
of us,” Alexander said. “We’re just tough as nails. We just deserve a win like (the last Alabama game) to sweep and keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
At this point, it appears MSU’s success isn’t just some stroke of luck. Despite all the Bulldogs have dealt with and are dealing with, this appears to be a State team with something
special about it.
There’s only about a month left in the regular season. Who knows if all the adversity will finally catch up to MSU at some point? Yet if this past weekend was any indication, if the Bulldogs are at any juncture going down, they’re going down swinging.
“We have boxing gloves that we bring out every day,”
Cannizaro said. “We constantly talk about throwing punches, fighting, not giving up, constantly attacking and constantly doing things to help win the ballgame. We’re not going to win every game, but if we’re going to lose, we’re going to make the other team play great to beat us. I’m so beyond happy and proud for our guys.”