High expectations are the norm in Starkville.
On Friday, the Bulldogs rallied and then had to hold on for a 9-6 opening-day victory over Wright State in Starkville.
MSU fell behind 5-2 but managed to come from behind like they did so many times during their College World Series runs the past two seasons, much of the delight of the 9,509 on hand at Dudy Noble Field.
Landon Jordan was a perfect 2 for 2 with a pair of singles.
Looking Ahead
Even though mainstays Jake Mangum and Elijah MacNamee — plus 2019 breakout Dustin Skelton — are gone, Mississippi State returns all the other key pieces of an offense that ranked fifth in the nation in batting and 11th in scoring a year ago.
The Bulldogs began the season 16-1 heading into conference play. Their 20-10 finish in the SEC was good to tie for first place with Arkansas in the West. They went 1-2 in the SEC Tournament before cruising through the regional and super regional en route to Omaha.
Speaking of hard to replace guys, State loses its best pitcher from last year’s 55-win team Ethan Small. Who’s the Bulldogs new Friday night guy? That will be the hard-throwing sophomore JT Ginn.
He has already been a first-round pick (No. 30 overall) out of high school), and last year Ginn struck out 105 batters in 861/3 innings, while walking just 19 batters and limiting opposing hitters to a .220 average.
Also gone is starting pitcher Peyton Plumlee so the remainder of the starting rotation is unproven but very talented. Look for 6-foot-3, 215-pound southpaw Christian MacLeod to be called on as well as Eric Cerantola.
Under the direction of coach Chris Lemonis, Mississippi State has the offensive firepower, defensive playmakers and pitching depth to make a run at Omaha for the third year in a row if some of its young arms mature. He’ll be followed by three stars in Jordan Westburg, Tanner Allen and Justin Foscue.
The Bulldogs ranked ninth in the SEC in home runs per game last year but ranked third in the conference (and 19th nationally) in slugging, largely because they led the nation with 166 doubles. Allen, Foscue and Westburg are doubles machines who each topped the 20-doubles mark in 2019, while Jordan chipped in 15.
The Bulldogs were dominant in run differential last season as they outscored their opponents 530-269. Allen had 96 hits in 2019, which ranked fourth overall in the nation. And 31 of those went for extra bases. Foscue hit. 331 with 14 home runs, 60 runs batted in and 66 runs scored as he took a huge jump forward in his sophomore season. Westburg also had a huge sophomore season as he hit .294 with six home runs, 66 runs batted in, and had a .402 on-base percentage.
Mississippi State will have some tough test in non-conference play as they will play Wright State, Oregon State, Long Beach State and Texas Tech prior to SEC play.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
