STARKVILLE — The third weekend of May saved the Mississippi State baseball team’s season.
MSU entered that weekend 12-15 in the Southeastern Conference with No. 1 Florida coming to Dudy Noble Field. The opportunity for a resume and a Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) boost was obvious. The sweep that followed not only solidified MSU’s place in the NCAA tournament despite a loss to LSU in the first round of the SEC tournament.
On Monday, MSU received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament’s Tallahassee Regional hosted by Florida State. MSU (31-25) will take on No. 3 seed Oklahoma (36-23) at 11 a.m. Friday (ESPNU) at Dick Howser Stadium.
MSU is part of a field that has just one team (Texas A&M) with a sub-.500 conference record. Kentucky, which went 13-17 in the SEC regular season, missed out on the tournament despite a RPI of 30 largely because of its sub-.500 league record.
“Being .500 or close to .500 in one conference doesn’t necessarily get you into the tournament, but in a Power 5 conference the resume is much stronger and it merits that your program is one of the better ones in the country,” South Carolina Athletic Director and selection committee chair Ray Tanner said on a teleconference. “Kentucky has a good team, but the sub-.500, the four games under, it stood out to the committee. If it had been one or two, it may not has been as big, but it was four, and five when you factor in the SEC tournament.”
Given MSU lost to LSU in the SEC tournament, it most likely would have made the NCAA tournament if it had won two games against Florida. But the idea of a .500 conference record wasn’t lost on MSU entering that weekend.
“That was our goal going into the season: going .500. It’s tough to keep you out of the tournament,” junior center fielder Jake Mangum said. “How much can happen in just a couple of games in this league, it shows you a lot. I do feel bad for Kentucky. They were a really good ball club.”
MSU’s sweep of Florida raised its record to 9-1 against teams that are playing host to regionals. MSU swept Arkansas and Florida and went 3-1 against Ole Miss. That still leaves MSU with a 22-24 record against other opponents and with losses to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and McNeese State, both below 150 in RPI, and Utah Valley (247 RPI) to explain. The Bulldogs also lost four of their first five SEC series.
MSU’s 12-6 mark down the stretch, which included a 6-3 mark in its last nine, was the difference.
“Mississippi State is a team that finished very, very strong,” Tanner said, referencing Andy Cannizaro’s resignation in February and Gary Henderson taking over as interim head coach. “They had a transition in the season that was taken into account. They won games on the field in the toughest conference in America.”
Said Henderson, “We’re not the first team to have a season like that, but we did and I think what you have to focus on rather than what you weren’t able to do is what you were able to do. We stepped up against the best teams in the country.”
Henderson believes MSU will be up for the challenge that includes facing Oklahoma and possibly going through FSU (43-17), which is playing host to its eighth-consecutive regional and its 20th regional in the last 22 years.
“We’re excited,” he said. “From where we were in the middle of February to where we are now, we’re pretty pumped up, fired up.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.