STARKVILLE — Brad Cumbest realizes what he’s about to say might not sound all that convincing.
Mississippi State won the 2021 College World Series, after all. How could this year’s Bulldogs top that?
Well, the senior outfielder thinks, they just might — hitting-wise, at least.
“I think we can be better than last year’s team,” Cumbest said Feb. 1. “You probably think I’m crazy, but we never played our best baseball last year.”
On its face, that assessment does seem a little strange. Mississippi State was dominant throughout the College World Series, scoring a total of 22 runs in the final two games to come back and beat Vanderbilt in the best-of-three championship series.
But the numbers don’t lie. All in all, the Bulldogs fell solidly in the middle of the pack offensively in the Southeastern Conference. They were seventh in the 14-team league in batting average, fifth in on-base percentage and ninth in slugging percentage.
Of course, catcher Logan Tanner said Mississippi State’s true performance couldn’t be measured by those statistics — especially not as MSU played for a championship at TD Ameritrade Park.
“I think we’re a lot better hitting team than the numbers said,” Tanner said. “We got hot at the right time, and the lineup was grooving during that time in Omaha. I think that we got hot at the right time. That’s all that really matters.”
Head coach Chris Lemonis still professed faith in his 2022 starting nine, and it’s easy to see why. Mississippi State returns plenty of patience and pop — Cumbest in left field, Kellum Clark in right, Kamren James at third base, Luke Hancock at first base and Logan Tanner behind the plate.
But it’s difficult to account for the losses the Bulldogs suffered after going out on top in 2021. Center fielder Rowdey Jordan and right fielder Tanner Allen turned pro after the season, in which Allen was named the SEC player of the year and Jordan was a second-team all-conference selection.
“It’s hard to replace Rowdey and Tanner,” Cumbest said. “They were starters from Day 1 they stepped on. So that experience and that leadership, we’re going to miss it this year, but I think we can step up and do it as a team.”
Clark, who took over the designated hitter role late last season, will take Allen’s spot in right. Center field will be a battle between senior Brayland Skinner — who started 21 games last year — and UAB transfer Jess Davis, a Rawlings/ABCA Gold Glove winner at the position in 2021.
Second base is also a competition after graduate transfer Scotty Dubrule finished his career with a solid season in Starkville. Dubrule got on base at a .384 clip, a high benchmark for either returner Tanner Leggett or Mercer transfer RJ Yeager to clear.
On-base percentage is no problem at first base, where Hancock posted a .393 mark with a discerning batting eye. Behind the plate, though, Tanner has a different objective: after hitting .287 in 2021, he wants to raise his average to a cool .330 this season.
It’s a high standard, but it’s nothing the junior from Lucedale can’t accomplish.
“It’s awesome having Logan Tanner,” Lemonis said. “I wish I had him every year. Having that really good defensive catcher who can change the game with his bat is huge.”
But even with Tanner, Jordan, Allen and more in last year’s dynamic lineup, Mississippi State struggled at times. The Bulldogs scored just three runs in two SEC tournament games — while giving up 25. They scored just two runs in their College World Series opener (a 2-1 win over Texas) and in Game 1 of the title series, an 8-2 loss to Vanderbilt.
That’s to be expected. In a 68-game season, no baseball team can have its offense firing on all cylinders all the time.
“It’s kind of hard to show up every day and be as good as we can possibly be,” James said.
But when it counted, Mississippi State did that. The Bulldogs overwhelmed Vanderbilt ace Kumar Rocker in the decisive third game as they rode an offensive wave to the first team national championship in school history.
MSU knows 2022 won’t look like 2021. But the Bulldogs know they have the firepower to make a similar run.
“I’m confident about the team we have and the lineup we have,” James said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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