OMAHA, Neb. — It was not the season anticipated from him from a personal performance standpoint, but as he looks back on his Mississippi State baseball career, the 2018 season will be Konnor Pilkington’s most prominent memory.
The former MSU starting pitcher looked back on his career with The Dispatch after the Bulldogs were knocked out of the College World Series with a 5-2 loss to Oregon State. Pilkington confirmed to The Dispatch he will accept an offer from the Chicago White Sox after being drafted in the third round earlier this month.
“That entire season. Everyone doubted us, people didn’t think we were going to make a SEC tournament run. We proved a lot of people wrong, I feel like,” Pilkington said. “I’ve made a lot of memories in my years here at Mississippi State.”
As Pilkington leaves MSU, he can rest assured that he accomplished a specific goal: a trip to the College World Series. Two consecutive Super Regional losses were driving motivating factors for Pilkington and fellow junior Jake Mangum for the season, and Pilkington can now leave saying he has been to Omaha and pitched there once.
“It’s a huge accomplishment,” Pilkington said. “It’s kind of different whenever you don’t make the World Series and then you get here, you’ve done this big accomplishment, but once you’re here you might as well try to win the whole thing. I thank the guys, the coaches, the support staff and everything, they showed a lot of fight this year with everything we’ve been through as a team.
“Every single coach I’ve had, I’ve learned something from. I can’t say enough for everyone that has been here at Mississippi State and helped me along the way.”
Uncertainty still roams for two more players of note, starting pitcher Ethan Small and second baseman Hunter Stovall.
Small was MSU’s best starting pitcher by statistics, which was ultimately rewarded with the Friday night slot during the Super Regional: a 3.20 earned run average and 122 strikeouts over 101 1/3 innings, allowing a .239 batting average. He was drafted in the 26th round by the Minnesota Twins; the Twins’ success or lack thereof in signing other draft picks will influence how much money the Twins can offer Small, and the picture of what that offer will be is unlikely to take shape for at least a few days.
“We’ll talk about it. I’ll see what they have and we’ll go from there,” Small told The Dispatch after the Saturday loss. “If I knew, I would tell you, I just don’t know right now.”
Small admitted the loss and his role in it, pitching 4 2/3 with seven hits and five runs allowed, leaves him longing more more.
Stovall was drafted in the 21st round by the Colorado Rockies after hitting .321 as a junior, manning the cleanup role for the home stretch of the season. His 16 doubles, four triples and two home runs helped him slug .429 and he is considered to be one of the best defensive second baseman in college baseball.
Record book update
Mangum has already decided that he will return for a senior season as a Bulldog. He will do so with his name well-entrenched in the record books with a shot to get into rarified air.
When MSU updates its record book in between seasons, it will feature Mangum’s name more prominently than ever before. It begins with the thing that got him there in the first place: at-bats.
Mangum’s 288 at-bats in 2018 is second in single-season school history, behind only Adam Frazier’s 304 from 2013. Mangum now stands at 288 career at-bats; if he has 288 again next season, he would be well beyond the current record of 998 set by Jeffrey Rea (2004-07).
Mangum is also chasing Rea’s record for career hits. Having just finished the fifth 100-hit season in school history with 101 hits, his 274 career hits are ninth in school history. Mangum now needs 61 hits to break the school record (Rea, 335) and 78 to break the Southeastern Conference record (LSU’s Eddy Furniss, 352).
Mangum could also find himself in the top 10 in school history in runs scored and stolen bases at the end of his senior season. He has now scored 154 times in his carer after 63 as a junior; if he scored 63 again next season, his 217 career runs would be No. 6 in school history. His 14 steals this season have him at 34 for his career, needing just six more to break into the top 10 in school history.
He is already in the top 10 in school history in both single-season doubles and career doubles, having doubled 22 times (tied for eighth in school history) for 49 in his career. He is three doubles away from a tie for seventh in school history and is 22 away from the school record of 71 set by Travis Chapman from 1997 to 2000.
Mangum has now played in 195 games as a Bulldog after 68 games in 2018; he needs 57 games as a senior to break the career games record set by Burke Masters from 1987-90.
Mangum has a shot to alter the record books in 2018, but Pilkington will not have that shot. Luckily, his name will still be in the record books.
He ended his MSU career with 260 strikeouts, which ranks 10th in school history, and he is also tied for 10th in school history with 46 career starts, tying Don Mundie from 1979-81.
Finally, Tanner Allen’s five triples in his freshman season are now part of a nine-way tie for fifth in school history.
Skelton’s nice ending note
A resounding one time this season, Oregon State second baseman and No. 4 pick in the draft Nick Madrigal has been caught stealing. The man who did it: MSU catcher Dustin Skelton.
It was the end of a season that brought the playing time he always sought. His bat did go cold at the end of the season, his batting average dropping from .269 at the end of the Tallahassee Regional to .238 by season’s end, but he caught all but one of MSU’s postseason games, ultimately starting 38 times after just 17 starts as a freshman. He started 13 conference games compared to just two last season.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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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 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
