SB Nation - Mississippi St. Bulldogs

MSU's Unsung Hero: Demarcus Henderson

Metal Building Dawg — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:24:53 -0000

Remember May 12th? It was Mother's Day and the Diamond Dawgs were playing in Oxford. After losing the first two games of the series State was down 6-0 going into the 6th inning. Things looked bleak. The hope of hosting a Regional was slipping through our fingers. But things turned around that afternoon as the Bulldogs scored five runs in the 6th and two more in the 7th to take a 7-6 lead they would not relinquish. Since that game MSU has been on a tear: 14-3 over the last 17 including that one. One of the key contributors that has been doing it under the radar is Demarcus Henderson.

I got this email from a friend on May 6th with the subject line "Demarcus Henderson":

What is his average in SEC play this year? Can't be good.

My response: just .170, and only .250 overall. The fact was Henderson was in a slump. He couldn't get anything to fall and on top of that he led the team in grounding into double plays.

In Oxford Demarcus began his tear with runners in scoring position. In the Game 2 loss, he singled with runners on the corners for his 13th RBI. The next day, as a part of the big comeback mentioned above, he singled with the bases loaded to score the 2nd of 5 runs in that 6th inning.

Henderson struggled for much of the season in a platoon with Jacob Robson. Hendu would start vs. lefties, Robson vs. righties. Neither one was producing very much, and you could say the Freshman, Robson, had more moments than Henderson, the Junior. But Robson's last start would be against Oral Roberts on May 14th as Henderson took advantage of his starts vs. four straight LHP in the South Carolina series and Game 1 of the SEC Tournament vs. Missouri. From then on he's been producing, especially in key moments. Here are ABs during this 17-game run with runners in scoring position.

Game	Inning	Score	RISP	Outs	Result
OM	6th	1-6	2nd & 3rd	1	single, RBI
OM	7th	5-6	2nd & 3rd	1	strikeout
OM	9th	7-6	3rd	2	groundout
USC	6th	1-2	2nd & 3rd	1	fielder's choice
USC	2nd	0-1	2nd	1	single, RBI
USC	6th	2-1	2nd	1	single
USC	8th	4-3	2nd	1	single, RBI
Mizzou	6th	1-1	3rd	1	groundout
USC	1st	1-0	3rd	2	single, RBI
USC	3rd	2-0	3rd	1	flyout
USC	7th	3-3	3rd	2	strikeout
USC	9th	4-3	2nd & 3rd	2	single, RBI
A&M	5th	3-2	2nd & 3rd	1	walk
Vandy	5th	4-13	2nd & 3rd	0	groundout, RBI
UCA	6th	2-2	2nd	1	single
UCA	2nd	0-0	3rd	2	single, RBI
Virginia	1st	2-0	3rd	2	feilder's choice
Virginia	3rd	3-3	3rd	1	sac fly, RBI
Virginia	4th	4-3	2nd	2	strikeout
Virginia	7th	6-3	3rd	1	flyout
Oregon St.	2nd	1-2	2nd & 3rd	0	single, RBI
Indiana	6th	1-3	2nd	1	single
Indiana	8th	2-3	2nd	1	single, RBI

During this stretch, Henderson has started 16 of the 17 games and gone 11 for 21 (.524) with runners in scoring position with 10 RBI. Since Game 2 of the South Carolina series, he has started all 14 games and gone 10 for 17 with RISP (.588) - in the 6th inning or later during those games he is 6 for 9.

Demarcus' season average has climbed from that .250 mark up to .281. He has no power to speak of with only three of his 47 hits going for doubles, and he has no home runs or triples. But he is clutch.

Wes Rea is getting a lot of the attention for his late game heroics and deservedly so, but don't forget about Demarcus.

Fifty Shades of (Wes) Rea: A Prologue

tbradenbishop — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:00:10 -0000

#35, Sophomore, 1st baseman, 6'5", 272 pounds.

Wes Rea, the Gulfport native and Harrison Central alum, has become a household name the last few weeks. But he's been an MSU fan-favorite for a while.

BRAWNS: The economics major was a two-sport all-state standout while at Harrison Central. He was an all-state, all-coast, and Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozen member his senior season after batting .478 with 39 RBIs, 18 doubles, two triples, and 14 bombs in 34 games. He was a two-time all-state honoree and rated as one of the nation's top offensive line prospects in high school football. He was selected to play offensive guard in the Mississippi/Alabama High School All-Star game in Mobile in 2010.

BRAINS: He was also a member of the National Honor Society and recipient of his high school's football academic award. He completed high school with a 3.9 GPA, and finished 11th in his senior class.

EXPERIENCE: Wes sat out the 2011 season as a freshman redshirt to rehab an injured shoulder. But he was selected to the 2011 SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll. In 2012, he started at first base in 63 of the 64 games. He hit .249 and led the team with 41 RBIs. He also led the SEC with a school-record 636 putouts and 58 double plays fielded.

PRESENT: Thus far, Rea is batting .296 through 54 games this season. During his 186 at-bats, he has 55 hits, 11 doubles, seven homers, 40 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .468. Not the most amazing numbers but the kid has been Mr. Clutch as of recent. He can also catch grounders, and slippery chairs, from "Kenny" Holder from across the diamond.

MSU baseball has a couple more days off before they face the winner of Oregon State-Indiana Friday afternoon.

Wes' reversation has been set at TD Ameritrade, and his little black book is filled. A trip to the College World Series finals is on the line.

Where there's a will, there's a Rea.

#HailState

Dawgs Move to 2-0 in CWS; Beat the Hoosiers, 5-4

winstoncountysfinest — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:40:16 -0000

State fans could feel it again. Despite the fact that the ball fell in their way for once on Saturday with the final out, it appeared any luck had run out and State was heading to the losers bracket. Just don't tell the Bulldogs they were supposed to lose. State used a three-run rally in the eighth capped by a Trey Porter two-run single to take out the Indiana Hoosiers and move the Bulldogs to the Friday ball game forcing the winner of Indiana and Oregon State to beat them twice.

The game started very similar to Saturday. Adam Frazier led it off with a base hit on the first pitch he saw and Alex Detz was immediately hit in the back by a pitch, the Bulldogs were in business. Frazier would come in on a fielder's choice by Renfroe, but ill-advised base running had Detz thrown out trying to get to third. Another blunder had Renfroe out on a Pirtle groundout and a Wes Rea strikeout ended the inning with only a 1-0 hole for Indiana to get out of.

State (50-18) would lose the lead in the second inning and go down in the ball game 3-1 and the offense wasn't helping State out. Runners inherited bases, but could not move around the paths and it seemed that it just wasn't the old Dawgs' day.

That's when they proved everyone wrong once again. Things started to finally click offensively with a base hit from Pirtle with one out in the sixth. A wild pitch moved Pirtle into scoring position, and Rea came through with the RBI to get State back within one. C.T. Bradford would take a pitch in the back and Demarcus Henderson followed it up with a single to load the bases.

After a Nick Ammirati flyout, John Cohen had a decision to make and went with senior Trey Porter who has been used very little as of late. He would immediately get the attention of the 25,000+ fans at TD Ameritrade as well as the millions watching at home as he drove one deep to right center field where it died a slow and painful death in the glove of the center fielder for a loud out and the bases stayed loaded. It would not be the only noise he would make, however.

While the bats were waking up, so was MSU reliever Chad Girodo. After giving up a run in his first inning of relief, Girordo (9-1) would light up the mound to strike out 10 batters in 6.1 innings and keep MSU in the hunt.

After a quick three-up-three-down seventh inning for State, they had to go to work for a second-straight game in the eighth. MSU was coming off of a game one where they brought two runs home in the eighth to come back from a one-run deficit and defeat the Oregon State Beavers. They would need that production once again this game and that is what they got.

Pirtle started things off with more consistency. The juco transfer, carrying a 41-game streak of reaching base, sent a ball through the hole to start it off. Rea then stepped to the plate in a familiar situation having brought home the winning runs in the eighth last ball game on a double. Rea smashed a base hit on a perfectly executed hit and run and State had runners at the corners with no outs trailing 3-2.

After Bradford struck out, the pressure was on young Demarcus Henderson. Henderson quickly fell behind 0-2 in the count but battled back before sending a shot right in front of the right fielder to tie the ball game at three. Ammirati would ground out, and once again it was up to pinch hitter Porter. Porter, facing a 3-1 count crushed a ball into right field and pushed himself into MSU folklore with a two run single and a 5-3 Bulldog lead.

In the bottom of the ninth, though, things got hairy for the Bulldog pen. As Girodo began to tire, his pitches began to hang giving up a loud out to center and then a double deep to center that bounced off the wall and had two runners in scoring position. A ground out brought in a run and had Indiana just 90 feet away from tying the game. Cue: Jonathan Holder to get the final out and that's what he did, in dramatic fashion.

Holder took a slow roller off the bat on just his second pitch and threw it low (very low) but it was picked out of the dirt in what looked like a much easier play for Rea.

State got a three-hit ball game by Pirtle going 3-for-5 and scoring two of the Bulldogs five runs in the game. Rea and Henderson also had multi-hit games and scored a run a piece. But the hero of the game was Porter, putting a charge in the bat in his two appearances, finishing 1-for-2 with two game-winning RBIs.

MSU had strong pitching from Trevor Fitts and Girodo as they combined for 8.2 inning giving up seven hits and four runs striking out an MSU CWS record, 14 batters. Girodo got his ninth win in relief and Holder moved his school-record to 20 saves this season.

Now the Dawgs rest their entire pitching rotation for three days and await the winner of Indiana and Oregon State in an elimination game to be played Wednesday. Yes, State fans, your Bulldogs are one win away from playing for a National Championship.

Bulldog Chewies

GIVIN' EM FITTS: Trevor Fitts only threw 2.1 innings on Monday night but he did damage while in the game. While giving up two runs and two hits, Fitts got a season-best and career-high-tying four strikeouts in seven total outs.
GIRODO-MO: Chad Girodo struggled in his first innings and last inning of work giving up four runs with three credited to him, but he was money in all of the innings in between. The senior southpaw struck out 10 batters in 6.1 innings and earned the win to move to 9-1 on the year. He has now struck out 32 batters in his last three games spanning 18.1 innings and he's struck out 10 or more batters in three-straight appearances.
OKKK: The Bulldog pitching staff combined for 14 strikeouts as a team which is the most for an MSU staff in the CWS. The strikeouts were a direct correlation of what the MSU bullpen has been able to do this season. They are now 33-5 on the year with 23 saves in 320.1 innings, over half of the wins and innings that have been pitched this season.
WE LOVE TO CALL HIM BIG PAPA: Wes Rea had another huge day at the plate. After striking out his first two at bats, Rea recorded back-to-back big hits coming in the sixth and eighth innings when MSU was making their comeback. He was 2-for-5 at the plate and has recorded back-to-back multi-hit games. He has 15 multi-hit games on the year and five in 12 postseason games. He's also 11-for-30 at the plate in the postseason.
FIRST-PITCH FRAZIER: Leading off has been an easy job for Frazier all year long and he showed how easy it was on the first pitch he saw, sending it through for a base hit. He extended his school record to 105 and now sits tied at the top of the NCAA list in hits this season with only Alex Bregman from LSU within reach of him, one hit back.
PIRTLE-POWER: After a uneventful non conference start, Brett Pirtle turned into a consistently productive hitter and he hasn't stopped. He got on base in the first on a fielders choice, but would end up knocking the ball around the park for a 3-for-5 day scoring two runs on his own. He has now reached base safely in 41 consecutive games. His three-hit day was only the third of the season.
RENFROE KNOWS... HOW TO PLAY BASEBALL: Renfroe continues to be good at baseball as he once again recorded a hit. He got on base in the ninth with a smash up the middle and ended the day 1-for-4. It was the 51st game Hunter has hit in out of 63 games. He is currently in the middle of a nine-game hitting streak.
CUT. EM. DOWHOLY CRAP IS IT OVER? YES!: Well Jonathan Holder didn't make it easy again, but he got the Bulldogs a save against the only batter he faced on a tough pick out of the dirt by Rea. The save was the 20th of the year, extending his school record, and his 29th overall. He has now tied Van Johnson for first all-time in career saves... In TWO years.
POSTSEASON GRINDIN': MSU now has rolled off nine wins this postseason. Their run through the SEC Tournament, Starkville Regional, Charlottesville Super Regional and now College World Series has State at 10-2 this postseason. The 10 wins are the most postseason wins in school history bettering the 9-4 postseason by the 1990 squad. State improved to 50-18 giving them their first 50-win season since that 1990 year and just the fourth 50-win year in school history. They can do no worse than tie the school record in games played with 71.

Q & A with The Crimson Quarry

Metal Building Dawg — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:00:10 -0000

1. This is Indiana's first trip to Omaha - how excited is the fan base about this?

The fan base is truly paying attention to baseball for the first time this year. But this isn't just a Johnny Come Lately phenomenon. We built a new stadium (the last one was from 1946 and embarrassing to behold) and the crowds have been pretty steady all year. Add in the great late season success and baseball being between the end of basketball and the start of basketball and the fans are paying attention. I think it's great to see and hopefully something that will continue into the future. Our Capital One Cup hopes hang on the performance of the baseball team this week.

2. What is the strength of the Indiana team - hitting, pitching, fielding and why?

Indiana's strength is their hitting. 1-9 they don't really give any pitcher a break. If you take a batter off every single guy can punish you, some more than others. The pitching has been great all year, but has started to show some cracks against stronger competition. I would still put it in a strength category, depending on which guy you get on which days. The real weakness comes with the defense. We have a tendency to make the worst plays at the worst times.

3. What hitter(s) are hot for IU right now?

Kyle Schwarber may be a top 10 hitter in the nation right now. The sophomore has slugged 18 home runs on the year and I don't recall him having a bad at bat for the last month or so. If the game is on the line, I want Kyle Schwarber swinging the bat. The guy hitting behind him hasn't been too shabby either. Sam Travis in the post season (B1G tournament, regionals, super regionals) has nearly doubled his season output in both home runs and extra base hits. Putting those two back to back in the order makes for a very shaky crew to face off against. The Hoosiers have scored in the first inning in 50% of their games. That has a ton to do with the 2-3-4 spots being so tough to get through without a scrape.

4. What pitchers are doing well right now, starting and relieving? Who should we watch out for coming out of the bullpen?

Aaron Slegers has been our ace while not being our ace all year. Joey DeNato has been tabbed as the guy to lead the staff in a series, but the 6'10" Slegers has been the better pitcher. Despite his size he's a finesse guy painting corners and topping out around 89 mph. Glanville compared him to Chris Young (formerly of the Padres) and I think that's a great comparison. Because of his size the ball still gets on hitters very quickly. The mid-week starter and true freshman Will Coursen-Carr has great stuff and if he's hitting his spots with any consistency could be a real trouble maker in long relief. Ryan Halstead has been steady as a closer but he's not the super intimidating well this game is over type guy that some other teams in Omaha can trot out.

5. If we were to meet up in Omaha, how badly would y'all want to beat us just because we are from the SEC, or do you even care and the Big Ten hate of the SEC is overblown?

Meh, it's not football. We only hate the SEC when it comes to football because of the obviously biases in the whole bowl selection crap. I think the new playoff scenario will temper some of that. But, no, not really looking towards beating you because you're SEC. Just want to beat you. I'd say the conference rivalry is overblown. Most of us up here don't really know who the power conferences are in baseball.

The long road to the first row in right field: the Jimmy Jon Josey story

thecristilmethod — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:08:40 -0000

MY ROAD TO OMAHA...

It started in 1970 when I was a twelve year old who loved playing baseball more than anything, so much so that I would get teased by my brother (one year older, but in years the league covered two years of age groups we played on the same team) when I would choose to stay home to play a summer league baseball game, rather than go on the annual trips to Biloxi (for either the Veterinarian Convention or Municipal Convention). Our Dad was the local veterinarian in Starkville where he was born, and also served on Starkville's Board of Alderman for sixteen years. I was always eager to read the Starkville Daily News to see if my name was in the paper for getting hits and for our team winning. In fact, one year when I stayed home to play and my brother on the same team chose to go to Biloxi, I got the game winning hit, but to my surprise, my brother was written up as getting the game winning hit! He wasn't even in town! Much less did he have the passion I did for baseball (though in truth, he was a better player).

Born and reared in Starkville, I intently followed Mississippi State Baseball and couldn't wait for a radio broadcast to come on and live each pitch with the baseball team. When they were out of town or I couldn't make it to Dudy Noble, just a couple of miles from the house, Coaches D'Armi and Gregory had elevated the team to national prominence, and I begged Mom to take me to Gastonia NC to cheer my Bulldogs. It was such a heart breaker to lose two ball games by one run and not make it to some place called Omaha, but I knew I wanted to be with my Bulldogs. In 1971, Mom promised me that if my Bulldogs made it to Omaha again, that we would go. I remember greeting the team, my cowbell in hand, as they exited the team bus, returning this time victorious from their Gastonia Regional play. It was such a treat that I had never known the privileges of growing up in Starkville and being able to follow Miss State sports. I thought everyone had the same experiences. I never even knew you could choose a college to attend. I just thought everyone went to a kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, high school and then university right where they lived!

I had no idea what it would take for my Mom to drive me to Omaha. I just knew we would get to go cheer for my Dawgs, but I do remember we looked at the game days and times State would play and how long it would take to get there. Packed and ready to go, we had decided with the double elimination style play that if we won either of the first or second games, we could start the trip and we could get there to watch at least one game. To my depressed disappointment, the team was unable to pull out that one win and we didn't make the trip.

Poor Mom, I think she hurt more than I. She saw her baby boy sink to his mental lows, as he did with any Miss State sporting loss, and that continues to this day. I think being born in Starkville and growing up there, I must have gotten some shot as soon as I exited my mother's womb, it must have been a "Bulldog Mania Injection," because I have this deep seeded desire to be with my Bulldogs wherever they go, and family members can testify to my mood swings for the past fifty-five years.

Countless seasons passed when I would remind Mom that she promised she would take me to Omaha the next time my Bulldogs went, and we wouldn't wait for the first win. Graduating from Mississippi State in May 1979, and starting my professional career on June 4, it was not the right timing to take time off to attend the 2nd CWS appearance. Wedding and honeymoon plans for September 1981 were the highlight of my life, and when the 3rd CWS came along, there was no vacation time remaining to commit to an Omaha trip. The other five opportunities all had their holdbacks from making the trip with different employment obligations and responsibilities.

We almost lost Mom a couple months ago when the doctor indicated she would likely not leave the hospital this time after years of pneumonia occurrences and various ills that plagued the most wonderful and loving Mom a kid (or adult) could ask for. Mom committed her life to serving our Creator and Savior Jesus Christ. She was an amazing woman that served in the U.S. Marine Corps, keeping four children in line, all learning by her example and covered by her prayers. Mom heard from God more than anyone I know because she stayed in His Word. Just take a look at her Bible and you can see the size appears to have doubled from all the turning, marking and digesting God's Word into her very own being. She not only studied His Word, but she put it into practice when she heard a calling to join up with YWAM (Youth With a Mission) later in life, and traveled the world, even attending several Olympics to share God, Jesus and what the Bible has to say to us as we travel this temporary earth, and head to an eternal life to come.

After a month in the hospital, Mom, the stubborn Marine, proved to the doctor that he didn't know her and her will to prove him wrong, as well as me, as I had released her to go be with our Creator and Lord of her life.

Not until my daughter told me she would be mad at me if I didn't go to Omaha this year and that I had to go, did I realize that maybe Mom was also holding on to know that one commitment she made forty-two years ago was fulfilled, and to see that her baby boy got to go to Omaha. My wonderful wife of almost thirty-two years agreed to make the trip with me since Mom is now physically incapable. But, Lord willing, we will celebrate Mom's 90th birthday this June 30th.

A two hour delay leaving Jackson would normally have me upset and uptight, as it would cause us to miss our connection in Chicago, but I was more calm and at ease than normal, as we thought we would at least catch a flight Saturday morning to get to the opening game of the 2013 CWS. Arriving in Chicago, we found a flight available that would get us to Lincoln (fifty miles from Omaha) only three hours later than originally planned, and to our delight, we were able to witness a beautiful light display across the skies from the storm passing through as we flew from Chicago to Lincoln. The delay allowed us to drive from Lincoln to Omaha right behind the storm, free from any bad weather that would have been encountered with my original plans.

Having purchased a general admission ticket book by phone, we arrived at the box office at noon to pick them up. There were no upgrades to reserved seating as I had hoped we might find, as the game turned out to be a sellout of some 24,400+. As we hurried to get back to the other side of the stadium where the general admission unreserved and non-guaranteed seating line had already formed, we saw that as we were on our way to the box office, the line now stretched down the street even further. We were guided almost half way around the stadium before being led up steps to enter a gate to the stadium. We were on the left field side, and my heart was telling me to sit behind Hunter Renfroe in right field. Plus the Bulldogs were the visiting team in the first base dugout and I wanted to be as close as possible. My wife thought I was crazy to make us venture a fast paced walk all the way around the outfield general admission seating to get to the other side. As I peered for front row seats, they appeared to all be taken, but I decided to just go for it down the last aisle before the Bulldog bullpen in right field. Approaching the bottom row, I saw what looked like one available seat and I asked the gentlemen (three men from the area; a Rice fan, a TX A&M fan and a CWS fan) if there was room for just two. They, along with the MSU students sitting on the other side of the open area, were kind enough to allow us sitting between them.

The game was exciting but as well as nerve racking for me who lives and dies with almost every pitch. My wife who is always cool, calm and collected asked me at the start of the 8th inning if I was nervous and my response was, "How could you tell?" Wes Rea blessed us with another Miss State style two out rally charm and a 2 RBI double to go back ahead. I was using just about every superstitious sitting, leaning movement that I could think of without going noticed by my wife, as she laughs at us baseball-diehard-knows-it-makes-a-difference types!

With two outs and Beavers on first and second in the bottom of the ninth, I was more nervous than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Believe it or not, just a couple of pitches before the last of the game, I was thinking "Ok, I need to be ready to yell at Hunter that he has room so he won't be afraid of crashing into the wall..." I don't care what you say or think but that thought absolutely 100% came to my mind! I had already rehearsed in my mind "You got room.....you got room!" It was just a natural thought from playing baseball and growing up watching my Dawgs play. To my surprise on that last pitch I heard the crack of the bat, looked up and didn't see it at first. When I saw the ball coming right at me, the first response in my mind was, "I got it, I got it," and started preparing my hands to catch it. Then the next sick feeling was, "NO, I don't want to catch it because then we lose the game!" It seemed like an eternity that the ball was flying right straight at me, as I didn't want to catch the ball or even be around the HR ball that gave the win to the Beavers. I was getting that depressed feeling, so I decided to blow and blow as hard as I could (ok, I'll admit the blowing is a made up part). I never even saw Hunter make his break for the ball or his run to catch it. As a baseballer, I was intently set on the ball and the thought of catching it or what can I do to not catch it so it won't be a HR....can I knock it back into the field of play, what can I do, what can I do... Then it was as if the ball just stopped and dropped out of sight, and I heard that wonderful sound a defensive baseball player loves as the ball hits the leather. I didn't even know Hunter was right below me to make the catch!

The next moment is history as captured by a photographer as I, along with others, lifted our arms high in excitement of the Win, and you can notice my wife, the cool, calm and collected woman that is just looking at Hunter, thinking that was a nice catch..... No matter where we go from here, Mom your Baby Boy made it to Omaha, and somehow I believe you had a hand and a prayer in my enjoyment and the memory being captured forever!

Reliving the longest eight seconds in MSU history

thecristilmethod — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 13:01:40 -0000

Alright State fans, the first thing I want you to do is close your eyes. Now that they're closed, I want you to imagine a time in MSU's sports history where State was in a big spot and had a chance to win a huge game, but came up short. I think of Kara Lawson going coast to coast against State's women in 2003, or Demarcus Cousins against State in 2010. 2011 football against Auburn, 2009 vs. LSU. I could go on and on and on and on, but you get the picture: so many times as State fans, we've been taken to the brink of extreme celebration, only to be violently tossed back into the dark depths of despair.

So that's why the final out of Saturday's Mississippi State - Oregon State game took about five years off of all of our lives. Up until the 8th, most of us likely thought we were headed to the losers bracket with a tough road ahead. And then Wes Rea happened, and we reversed course to the side of hedging on hope. And even though our All-American closer had a bit of a dicey 9th inning, we still found ourselves with one out to get. One out between us and something that has been so rare for us in Omaha: a win. And with two on and two out, this happened:

WHAT IN SWEET MARY JONATHAN ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE US A HEART ATTACK?!

It was at that moment that I simultaneously began to slowly weep and jump for joy all while removing my shirt and doing the Wobble dance. It took my body and my mind a good minute to process what had just happened. HAD State just stared defeat directly in the face and walked away? We had, thank goodness. Now, let's take a frame by frame look at what we all were most likely thinking (or at least what I was):

All right, let's go Jonathan. We've got two outs, and yeah I know there are two on, but we can do this. Okay, he just hung a curve ball to Haynes, but he won't do that again, never. Let's just get one pitch, ONE PITCH and get this victory.

Oh crap, I think he hung it.

Yep, he definitely hung it. ARE YOU SERIOUS? He got every bit of that pitch. That's it, that's the ballgame. It's over. That ball will land in Iowa tomorrow with a flight tracking number and six stewardesses. I absolutely cannot believe that we would get a huge hit from Rea only to lose like this. This is why it sucks to be an MSU fan.

Yep, there it goes. No doubt about that one. I am going to be sick to my stomach. This really isn't happening. It can't be. I am a ball of anger and sadness and tears. Someone hold me.

[Renfroe continues to sprint towards the outfield fence] [vomits]

Wait, does he have a chance to catch that? No, surely not. But he looks like he thinks he does. Is there a chance we get saved here?

DID HE JUST CATCH THAT BALL?!?!?! DID HE?! [makes high pitched sound somewhere between a child crying and a Michael Jackson falsetto]

[.25 seconds later] wait, are we sure he caught it?]

That's all the confirmation I need!!!!!! He caught it! It happened! State fans finally stared defeat directly in the face and yelled "NOT TODAY"! This is the greatest day ever to be a Bulldog. And if people ask, I'll just tell them I knew he was going to catch it the whole time.

Hail State

Wes Rea, Mississippi State open College World Series with 5-4 win over No. 3 Oregon State

tbradenbishop — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 01:06:41 -0000

How close was it? This close (God bless your well-oiled glove, Mr. Renfroe):

Oregon State battled as hard as any team could until this final out. But Jonathan Holder's (19th save) nasty garbage could not be touched. His 28 saves in two years are just one back of tying the school record of 29 by the legendary Van Johnson.

Both Holder and Ross Mitchell (13-0), who went 2.2 innings only allowing three hits, gave the Bulldogs the much-needed defense at the right time. MSU starter Kendall Graveman went 4.2 innings giving up six hits, four runs, two earned, while striking out two and only walking one. Not the best day, but certainly not the worst.

Oregon State's freshman ace Andrew Moore held the Bulldogs at-bay for seven innings, only allowing four runs on six total hits. Pac-12 player of the year Michael Conforto finished 4-4 with an RBI double. Major props to that kid. He's good... really good.

Adam Frazier continues to do Adam Frazier things. He started the game with a leadoff double to tie Brian Wiese's 1998 single season hits record with 103. It was also his team-leading 20th double of the year. He later broke the record to stand alone in the MSU record books with 104 hits. He is one of only four players in MSU history with 100+ hits (Wiese, Tommy Raffo, and Richard Lee).

Brett Pirtle also continued his reaching base safely streak to 40 consecutive games when he was hit by a pitch (20th time which is third-most in the SEC and top 30 in the nation) in the third inning.

Today's victory was the first MSU win in Omaha since 1998, when the Bulldogs defeated Florida, 14-13. It's also MSU baseball's eighth school win in the College World Series.

Two stories highlight this game: Wes Rea's heroics and Mississippi State's unreal bullpen.

Wes Rea finished the day 2-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. His right-center field, two out double in the top of the 8th plated Alex Detz and Hunter Renfroe to put the Dawgs on top, 5-4.

MSU's bullpen continues to blow minds. They are 32-5 with 22 saves through 314 innings and an ERA just under two runs. Try finding another sets of guys in the nation with outrageous numbers like that.

The Bulldogs advance to the winners bracket to face the winner of the Louisville-Indiana game Monday at 7 p.m. State could easily see OSU again, possibly even Wednesday of next week.

The No. 3 seeded Beavers (50-11) will take on the loser of the Louisville-Indiana game in an elimination contest Monday afternoon.

Isn't this fun?

#HailState

UPDATE (Saturday, June 15th at 11:32 p.m.):

MSU will face Indiana Monday at 7 p.m. Central. The Hoosiers (49-14), a team very much like State, defeated Louisville, 2-0. No word yet on who Tracy Smith will get to pitch for IU. Same goes for John Cohen but look for Trevor Fitts or possibly Luis Pollorena. Heck, who's pitching the fifth inning is typically more important than the first for MSU. REMINDER: If State wins Monday, they're off until Friday.