BILOXI — It was just after 8 p.m. as Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis rounded a corner in the underbelly of MGM Park for postgame media availability.
With the bright lights of the Beau Rivage and Hard Rock Casinos gleaming over the playing field, Lemonis’ squad had just earned a midweek sweep of No. 4 Texas Tech in the minor league home of the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers.
Lemonis hadn’t looked at his phone since an hour before the game, and he still hadn’t peeked at it when Assistant Director of Communications Greg Campbell greeted him in the subterranean hallway.
“Hey man, a lot’s gone on since y’all started playing baseball,” Campbell informed him.
Unbeknownst to Lemonis and most of the Bulldogs, the United States had found itself in the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis. In a matter of days, it would bring a complete halt to all normalcy society generally enjoys.
“You’re just sitting there like, ‘Wow, this is really happening,'” Lemonis later told The Dispatch.
‘I ain’t going to quit living’
Following a Tuesday night walloping of Texas Tech, MSU headed into the second leg of its Gulf Coast tour riding high.
Despite the NCAA’s warnings against attending major sporting events due to COVID-19 concerns, over 6,000 fans packed the stands at MGM Park as the Bulldogs went for a series sweep of the Red Raiders on March 11.
“I’m not freaking out about it,” Picayune resident Chad Goss told The Dispatch as he entered the gates. “When it’s time for me to go, it’s time for me to go. I ain’t going to quit living.”
Hosting a hitters meeting in a room beneath the stadium, MSU assistant coach Jake Gautreau had gathered his position players for one final run down of the night’s scouting report. Rumblings on Twitter and in the news had coaches and players uncertain what the future might hold, but Gautreau’s group remained lighthearted.
Looking over at junior outfielder Rowdey Jordan, Gautreau jabbed at his leadoff hitter without knowledge of the weight his words would carry in future days.
“I said something like, ‘Well, you better get a lot of hits tonight. It might be the last at-bats of the season,'” Gautreau recounted. “And we laughed about it because that’s where we were at mentally. We didn’t think it was real.”
Leading 1-0 in the early stages of the game, Gautreau left the dugout and headed under the stadium around the third inning.
Someone beneath the bleachers proclaimed one league had already canceled competition for the rest of the season due to the coronavirus. The possibility of playing that weekend’s series against Arkansas without fans had also quickly become a major discussion amongst MSU athletic administrators.
With COVID-19’s impact on the sports world spreading like wildfire immediately below the playing surface in Biloxi, the Bulldogs and Red Raiders continued to do battle on the field above.
On the mound, Southeastern Louisiana graduate transfer Carlisle Koestler kept the hard-hitting Texas Tech bats at bay — allowing just four hits and one earned run in five innings of work — while junior Josh Hatcher’s rocketed seventh-inning double off the Yuengling Lager sign in right center field gave the Bulldogs a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Standing on second base, Hatcher celebrated with an air guitar strum toward the dugout that would’ve made Jimi Hendrix jealous as the crowd roared in approval.
“Man, for some people this is the only Mississippi State game they see because they live down here on the coast,” Lemonis said postgame. “And for us to come out here and play well in an unbelievable environment was a lot of fun.”
Stark realities
As the on-field shenanigans and celebrations came to a close following the Bulldogs’ 3-2 win over the Red Raiders, Lemonis and select players completed postgame media obligations and headed for the bus.
Once there, Lemonis gave the team a brief rundown on the instant impact COVID-19, though information was limited. Moments later the buses fired up and headed back to Starkville to face an uncertain future.
“It was a crazy couple days, you know, just because of the fear of the unknown right now that’s out there,” Lemonis said.
Back at the Margaritaville Resort, where the Bulldogs had stayed the past four days, Gautreau and his family retired to their hotel room for the night, planning to make the over three-hour trek back to northeast Mississippi the following morning.
Flipping on the television, Gautreau was informed of the NBA’s decision to postpone games. A stark reality began to set in.
“I thought ‘OK, this is a pretty big deal, and if the NBA is canceling their season, I would assume that we’re not gonna be playing baseball,'” he said.
‘It’ll never be the same thing as the 2020 team’
Once back in Starkville, Lemonis held a team meeting at Dudy Noble Field the following day.
While the gathering was in part to reassure the players and keep them informed, a sinking feeling amongst the coaches had emerged that the season was on the precipice of cancellation.
That afternoon, the NCAA announced it would cancel the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournament in addition to spring sports.
In the days to follow, the Bulldogs scattered to their varying homes across the country. A few remained in Starkville for the time being, but the team was effectively broken up.
In a span of 48 hours, Mississippi State had gone from twice downing a top-five team to watching its season end due to a global pandemic.
And though those involved are now wholly aware of the present climate and why the season had to be called off, there remains a sting that this year’s squad never got the closure it hoped for — closure the Bulldogs earnestly believed would manifest itself in a return trip to the College World Series.
“We really didn’t get a chance for the 2020 Bulldogs to have their hugs and say their goodbyes,” pitching coach Scott Foxhall told The Dispatch. “There’s going to be a lot of guys back in our program, but it’ll never be the same thing as the 2020 team.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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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 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
