COLUMN: Diamond Dawgs have chance for postseason redemption away from Dudy Noble
While disappointing to most that follow the maroon and white, Sunday night shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise.
Word began to get around on Sunday afternoon that Mississippi State would likely not be getting a hosting spot in Starkville for the NCAA baseball tournament. State had ample opportunities to put their hosting fate in lockdown but the Bulldogs didn’t take care of their business.
State lost seven games in a non-conference schedule that was ranked 132 nationally. None of those losses were particularly “good” for State. It included a game to Air Force (114 RPI) and Central Arkansas (207) and two to Austin Peay (154) as State put itself in a bind.
On top of the losses to non-conference team, State had countless close games that they just missed. The Bulldogs dropped 12 of 21 games this year by one run and only four losses all season came by more than three runs. Getting just half of those one-run losses might have been enough to even make the Bulldogs a National Seed, but it was not to be.
Despite the rough non-conference slate and the close defeats, the Bulldogs fought. MSU won 17 regular season SEC games and three more against conference opponents in the Governor’s Cup game against Ole Miss and in the SEC Tournament. As much as it was State not taking care of business, the Bulldogs still had a massive argument over host teams Arizona and East Carolina.
The Wildcats of Arizona did win the Pac-12 regular season and conference tournament, but had an RPI at 31 and just three Quad I wins all season. East Carolina also won its regular season but lost 12 games to teams ranked 80 or worse in the RPI and had just five Quad I wins all season.
This past week, the Pirates lost two games to No. 95 Wichita State and both games were by 10 runs. In a third game against Wichita, ECU was down by two runs in the final inning before coming back to get the win. With an Athletic Director on the baseball committee, there’s no question the Pirates had the upper hand in the war room.
Amidst the protesting on Sunday night, the reality is that there is no changing State’s fate. The Bulldogs are going on the road and Dudy Noble Field sits empty for a third-straight season.
The standard was set when the stadium was built in 2019 that it was built for hosting Regionals. State dogpiled at Dudy Noble in 2019 and 2021 as it clinched a trip to the College World Series. After two-straight seasons at home, this year was a chance to lock it in again, but it’s not going to happen. So, what’s next?
For this particular team, maybe the best thing for them is to play somewhere else. The pressure of playing in Starkville can be intense and this unit has struggled to put things together offensively in recent weeks. Playing with an even bigger chip on its shoulder could be just what the doctor ordered for a program that is trying to find itself again after a couple of years in the wilderness.
It’s not what fans want and it’s certainly not what the players and coaches want, but it might be what they need. We’ll see where the road takes the Bulldogs these next couple of weeks, but it sure is good to be talking baseball again in June. Some special runs have come away from Dudy Noble and this 2024 edition is going to have a chance to make one of its own.
The post COLUMN: Diamond Dawgs have chance for postseason redemption away from Dudy Noble appeared first on On3.
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