Coach change does not stop MSU winning
Sometimes when there is a coaching change, there is a little bit of a drop off from one year to the next.
That hasn't been the case for the Mississippi State Bulldogs in baseball.
After John Cohen decided to pursue the athletic director position at MSU and step down as baseball coach, he brought in LSU assistant Andy Cannizaro as his replacement.
The Bulldogs haven't missed a beat in the transition.
Cannizaro has kept the winning going in Starkville as the defending Southeastern Conference champions are in a position to do it again with only two league series remaining in the regular season.
At 16-8 in the conference, the Bulldogs are actually one game better now than they were after 24 games last season. MSU was 15-9 in 2016 following a sweep of Missouri.
Of course that State team went on to win six more games to close out the SEC slate at 21-9 and secure the regular season league crown. State swept the final three conference series with Auburn and Arkansas being the other victims along with Missouri.
Nothing much has changed with the Bulldogs under Cannizaro's leadership. They still attack each game with the fight and determination worthy of their nickname.
MSU is coming off taking two out of three games from Texas A&M on the road, which was very impressive. After losing the first game 9-2 on Thursday, the Bulldogs scratched and
clawed their way to 5-1 and 4-3 victories in the final two outings.
To drop the first game with its best pitcher on the mound in Konnor Pilkington, it really says something about the makeup of this MSU team to bounce back and find a way to win the series.
The Aggies are a very good team, but the Bulldogs proved they were pretty good also.
Of course, MSU still has some work to do over the next couple of weeks if it's to duplicate the celebration of May 21, 2016. The next series is at Georgia on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, then a big set with LSU at home looms at the end.
If the Bulldogs are get through that and lock up back-to-back SEC titles, Cannizaro should be the conference coach of the year in my mind.
What Cannizaro has done is amazing. He came into the year with no Dakota Hudson, Austin Sexton or Zac Houston on the pitching staff. MSU also lost hurlers Blake Smith, Ryan Rigby and others during the season due to injury.
Some pretty potent bats like Nathaniel Lowe, Jack Kruger and Reid Humphreys also departed the Bulldogs after last year.
It's been pretty fun to see this MSU lineup and pitching rotation develop under the watchful eyes of Cannizaro and pitching coach Gary Henderson.
They have certainly pushed all of the right buttons so far.
Danny P. Smith is sports editor and columnist for the Starkville Daily News. The opinions in this column are his and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Daily News or its staff.