TALLAHASSEE, Fla — JP France came to Mississippi State to be a starting pitcher. For a myriad of reasons — winter forearm tightness and a team need in the bullpen among them — he did not do that, taking one start in February and transitioning to long relief for the rest of the season.

Over three months later, France was given that coveted opportunity in MSU’s biggest game of the season. His fiance, Stephanie Davis, made the trip from Louisiana for the game and mulled around pregame with her future mother-in-law with a quiet confidence.

She’s seen France rise to the biggest of occasions before — that’s how they met — and she watched him do it again Monday.

France’s seven innings of two-hit, one-run pitching — and four runs for good measure in the top of the ninth inning — carried the Bulldogs (35-26) to the Tallahassee Regional championship with a 8-1 win over Oklahoma. It sends MSU to a Super Regional against Vanderbilt and makes it the only school to win back-to-back regionals after losing the first game in both of them.

Davis is unable to explain why France takes on the most tense of moments with the best results. By how he approached his first start in months with the season on the line, the Lulling, Louisiana, native may be immune to pressure.

“I had the approach like I did at Tulane, like I did the first start I had at the beginning of the season,” France said.

That went all the way down to his pregame bullpen session, his first sign that he had all of his pitches working and a hint that his command would follow. When France saw those things carry over to the game, all he needed was a reliable defense, and that’s what he got. His seven innings contained just five strikeouts, relying on six flyouts and nine groundouts to tame the Sooners (38-25).

He set the tone early: in retiring the first inning in order, he forced all three tor groundout to second baseman Hunter Stovall. From there, he progressed with no hesitation — even after a second-inning leadoff strikeout victim still reached base, later scoring the only run France would allow. France let that go and moved forward with conviction, much like his decision to transfer to MSU.

France had every reason to feel comfortable at Tulane: he had two years of starting under his belt and he proposed to Davis on the field the day before he graduated from Tulane. His fit at Tulane is what introduced him to Davis: they met after France helped the Green Wave dominate Davis’ hometown LSU Tigers.

When he hit the graduate transfer market, he was a hot commodity — MSU was not the only Southeastern Conference school pursuing him. His visit to MSU was all he needed. Davis was all for it.

“Naturally, as a fiance, I just wanted to be supportive. When he told me he was going to Mississippi State, I didn’t think there was a better place for him to play.

“I think between me and his parents, we wanted to support his decision.”

As France’s mother Kim told The Dispatch, in her son’s short time there, “Starkville has become a part of him and he has become a part of Starkville.”

France is most comfortable in more rural settings, where hunting and fishing are easy to find. France had to carve a niche for himself in New Orleans to be as comfortable as possible with the Green Wave, finding places that weren’t so crowded.

The experience has been everything France could have possibly asked for.

“He loves this program, he says nothing but great things,” Davis said. “(Starkville is) very school-oriented and he likes that.”

Both Kim France and Davis think JP’s more rural tendencies will make him a perfect fit for some of the small towns on the minor league baseball circuit, which France will likely join soon. The timing is yet to be determined, given he can’t join until MSU’s season ends, but whenever the time comes, Davis is ready to join him.

Baseball is their only priority. France and Davis have been engaged for over a year and still don’t have a date set; Davis isn’t all that anxious to set one, either.

“My standpoint is, ‘JP, we’re young. You need to seize every opportunity you can, the wedding can come later,'” Davis said. “I’m here for the ride.”

Thanks to France’s excellence on Monday, that ride as a Bulldog will last a little bit longer.

Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson