OMAHA, Neb. — The joy and jubilation of victory and the pain and agony of defeat directly converged in the outfield of TD Ameritrade Park Thursday night.
In center field, senior Jake Mangum sat speechless.
Seconds after Drew Campbell’s walk-off single landed just a few feet in front of him, Mangum tucked his knees to his chest with his head down as he lay motionless on the grass. His illustrious career at MSU was over.
“Mississippi State baseball, it’s literally a part of me,” he said in the postgame press conference. “I hate it ended this way, but it is what it is. I absolutely hate it for the guys.”
Thirty yards to his right, classmate Elijah MacNamee crouched with his head similarly tilted toward the turf.
It was absolute stillness.
“I’m just sitting there thinking there’s no way I ever get to put this jersey on ever again,” MacNamee said with his eyes swollen from tears.
To their right, a mosh-pit ensued as Louisville (51-17) celebrated its 4-3 victory over Mississippi State (52-15) in Thursday’s College World Series elimination game.
The Bulldogs came to the bottom of the ninth guarding a 3-2 lead and were three outs away from meeting Vanderbilt in the national semifinals.
Senior Cole Gordon, who recorded 11 saves this season, walked the leadoff batter in the ninth inning and a failed pickoff attempt put a man on second base with no outs.
Danny Oriente brought the tying run home with a single to left, advancing to second on the relay throw. Then Campbell drove in the winning run with a walk-off single.
“You get in a situation like that, those last three outs are hard to get,” Gordon said after the game. “If you make mistakes like I did, that’s what happens.”
For MSU, the night started strong. An RBI double from sophomore Rowdey Jordan plated sophomore Justin Foscue in the top of the fourth inning to open the scoring.
An RBI single from junior Gunner Halter on the following at bat sent Foscue home, making it 2-0.
Sophomore Tanner Allen added the insurance run with an RBI single in the seventh to make it 3-0.
On the mound, freshman starter JT Ginn had not pitched since the Starkville Regional opener against Southern University due to lingering arm soreness. It didn’t show.
Ginn tossed a stellar six innings of three-hit ball.
When the bullpen took over, it quickly unraveled.
Senior Jared Liebelt, the normally sure-handed righty walked the first two batters he faced. A single from Jake Snider loaded the bases.
Two batters later, Campbell delivered a single through the left side plated Tyler Fitzgerald.
The Cardinals added another run, to make it 3-2, on an RBI fielder’s choice from Justin Lavey as he narrowly beat a throw to first that would have ended the frame.
MSU had entered Omaha this season with an attitude of settling unfinished business, a year after the team made an unlikely run to the national semifinals.
Allen, also emotional after the game, lamented the sting of falling short of a national title this time around.
“This was the team to do it,” Allen said. “But it didn’t happen.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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