OMAHA, Neb. — The official, if boring, designation for the four-team grouping in which Mississippi State landed at the College World Series is “Bracket 2.”

Bulldogs coach Chris Lemonis calls it by a different name.

“I feel like we’re in the pitchers’ bracket,” Lemonis said Thursday morning.

Sure, Vanderbilt aces Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter are on the other side of things. So are N.C. State starters Reid Johnston and Sam Highfill. But with the overall pitching depth Texas, Virginia and the Bulldogs all possess, Lemonis and his staff have spent plenty of time scouting the arms MSU has faced — particularly in the bullpen.

“At this point in the tournament, that’s what you’re going to get a lot of,” he said.

Mississippi State was no exception. After starter Christian MacLeod recorded just four outs in Tuesday’s winners’ bracket game against the Cavaliers, the Bulldogs’ relief corps combined to allow just one run over 7.2 strong innings to hang in the game. It paid off as MSU rallied for six runs in the eighth and hung on for a 6-5 win.

And by virtue of that win, Mississippi State got additional rest to let its well-taxed pitchers recuperate. Lemonis pointed to closer Landon Sims, who combined to pitch 4.1 innings across both games, as a player who will benefit from two full days without a game.

“That’s where the extra day really pays off,” Lemonis said.

He said everyone should be ready to go for Friday’s contest against the Longhorns but declined to name a starter. Left-hander Houston Harding is the logical choice, but the Bulldogs likely won’t announce who will take the ball until the starting lineup is released an hour or so before the game.

Mississippi State will need Harding to provide length and stability to its starting rotation after MacLeod’s abbreviated outing Tuesday.

“The other night, he wasn’t able to find his stuff, and then he fell behind,” Lemonis said. “Then you’re on the biggest stage of your life trying to find it, and he just couldn’t find it.”

It was the second straight poor performance from MacLeod after allowing seven runs — six earned — against Notre Dame in Super Regionals. Early errors hurt the left-hander in that start in Starkville, but David LaManna’s three-run homer in the fourth was a big blow.

Still, Lemonis stuck by his young pitcher, saying he hopes to see better from MacLeod in upcoming practices.

“We don’t have too many options at starter, and he’s one of the better ones in the country,” Lemonis said.

Sims fits that description at closer, too. With Kevin Kopps and Arkansas out of the running, he’s the best reliever in the country still playing, and the Bulldogs have leaned heavily on him.

The sophomore told Lemonis on Tuesday his powerful right arm had three outs in it. When the game got close with one inning to go, the Bulldogs skipper turned to his right-hand man: pitching coach Scott Foxhall.

“Run down and ask him if we can have four, because it’s always hard to get out of the eighth,” Lemonis instructed.

Sims complied, getting the final out of the eighth on one pitch and getting through a 1-2-3 ninth. In doing so, he set up the Bulldogs in prime position to qualify for the best-of-three championship series, which they can do with a win either Friday or Saturday.

But Texas, which beat Virginia 6-2 late Thursday night, has its own collection of arms that could serve the Longhorns well in their quest to beat MSU in two straight games.

Texas reliever Cole Quintanilla has a team-leading 1.29 ERA in 35 innings pitched, and Aaron Nixon — tops on the club in saves with eight — has a 2.35 mark. Both pitched Thursday in the victory over Virginia.

The Longhorns started Pete Hansen (1.79 ERA) on Thursday night, making him unavailable for the weekend, but ace Ty Madden could line up to face the Bulldogs once again.

But Lemonis insisted his team isn’t hung up on the machinations of the bracket as the Bulldogs look to take care of business. With three more wins, they’d bring home their first national championship, so it’s one win at a time as long as the Bulldogs remain in Omaha.

“We’re just focused on winning the next one and getting our pitching lined up and scouting reports lined up and having a good practice,” Lemonis said.

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.