STARKVILLE — Landon Sims’ parents offered to take him to Omaha when Mississippi State beat Stanford in NCAA Super Regionals in 2019.
The recent South Forsyth High School graduate and MSU signee told them to save the money.
“I have a really good feeling that we might take a trip or two to Omaha while I’m here,” Sims told them.
Two years later, Sims got to play a leading role in proving his prediction right.
The lockdown reliever closed things out as Mississippi State (45-16) used a six-run second inning to power past Notre Dame (34-13) on Monday night, 11-7, to punch its ticket to the College World Series. The Bulldogs beat the Fighting Irish in Games 1 and 3 of the Starkville Super Regional to make their third straight CWS — becoming the only team in the country who can say that.
“It is a relief,” Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis said, “but we’ve got work still to do.”
They did it Monday in the fashion that came to characterize Mississippi State through the ups and downs of an often nerve-racking 2021 campaign. A resilient offense. Gritty pitching performances. And with everything on the line, another win and another special moment at Dudy Noble Field.
Catcher Logan Tanner had the big hit with a three-run homer as the Bulldogs broke a 1-1 tie with six runs against four Notre Dame pitchers in their lengthy second inning. The sophomore, who finished 2 for 4 with a double and a sacrifice fly, held up the maroon sign with “#Omadawgs” lettered in white as the Bulldogs congregated near the pitcher’s mound to celebrate.
“I felt like I put a pretty good swing on it, and it went out,” he said of the three-run blast against reliever Alex Rao. “I kind of blacked out after that.”
They couldn’t have done it without Sims, who entered for the top of the sixth and finished out the game on the mound, allowing just two runs. The sophomore was touched for a two-run home run by Notre Dame star Niko Kavadas in the seventh, but he kept the Irish scoreless for the next two innings to come up big once again for the Bulldogs.
Left-hander Houston Harding and righty Stone Simmons paved the path to the lights-out closer, as Harding gave up just two runs in the first four innings while Simmons was charged with three in the fifth.
Harding said he found out roughly an hour after Sunday’s game he’d earned the start Monday.
“Coach Foxhall called and asked if I was busy today around 6 p.m.,” Harding said. “I told him I wasn’t.”
With Harding delivering a solid performance and Mississippi State’s offense in peak form, the Bulldogs had all the cushion they needed. SEC player of the year Tanner Allen homered to center in the third, and left fielder Brad Cumbest and designated hitter Kellum Clark had back-to-back RBI doubles in the fourth.
MSU finished with 12 hits on the night, including at least one from every starter but center fielder Rowdey Jordan and shortstop Lane Forsythe.
Jordan still made his presence known, scoring on an error in the first inning and robbing Notre Dame right fielder Brooks Coetzee with a diving catch in the gap in left-center in the second. He and Allen, playing their final games at Dudy Noble Field, came up big one last time — as their teammates and coaches expected.
Lemonis said a pregame conversation reached a clear conclusion: “There’s no way Tanner and Rowdey are going out with an L in this ballpark.”
They didn’t, even when things got tough. Irish left fielder Ryan Cole singled home a run in the fifth against Simmons, and designated hitter Carter Putz added a two-run double. But the Furman transfer got the final two outs of the inning to hold a 10-5 lead.
After second baseman Scotty Dubrule got a run back on an infield single in the bottom of the inning, the near-capacity crowd at Dudy Noble roared. Whitesnake blared from the speakers.
Sims was ready to go, and he quickly pitched a 1-2-3 sixth. But Kavadas blasted a mistake pitch over the stands in right field for his 22nd round-tripper of the season, plating two runs in the seventh with the longest homer Sims can remember giving up.
“Hats off to that guy,” Sims said. “If there’s anybody right now I’d not be extremely mad about giving up a home run to, it’s him.”
If Sims was rattled, he didn’t show it. He got two more outs to close out the inning, then struck out the side in order in the eighth.
Nerves tightened as center fielder Spencer Myers and Cole each singled to open the ninth. But Sims struck out second baseman Jared Miller, and Kavadas shot the ball on the ground to second. Dubrule fed Forsythe for the forceout. Then it was on to first — and on to Omaha.
With the crowd at its loudest level of the night, first baseman Josh Hatcher fired his glove into the night sky. Sims and Tanner met in an embrace between the mound and the plate. Caps scattered all over the infield as the dogpile — well, Dawgpile — began and joy soaked into the still-packed stands.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Tanner said as the mass of bodies converged. “The first couple seconds are fun, then it gets a little crowded — a little uncomfortable, to say the least.”
The Bulldogs will have a few days to celebrate, but they’ll be headed north and west before long. Mississippi State will open its College World Series run by facing No. 2 overall seed Texas. at 6 p.m. Sunday at TD Ameritrade Park. Virginia and No. 3 Tennessee round out MSU’s four-team bracket.
“I think we’ve got as good a chance as anybody,” Harding said.
This story will be updated.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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