NCAA Tournament hopes in peril for defending champ Bulldogs
Defending national champion Mississippi State, which has made it to the last three College World Series as one of the final eight teams standing, will be hard-pressed to even make an NCAA regional this year after losing three straight at home to Florida over the weekend.
Mississippi State (25-23, 9-15 SEC) has lost five in a row and is last in the SEC West and 102nd in the RPI with conference series remaining against Texas A&M on the road and Tennessee at home.
MSU is in danger of becoming the fifth national champion since 2007, and first since Coastal Carolina in 2017, to not make the following NCAA Tournament.
“We all know we’re going to have to go on a crazy run and we’re more than capable,” second baseman RJ Yeager said. “I think everybody believes we can and we’re ready to get back after it.”
MSU has run into hard luck on multiple fronts. Landon Sims, promoted to No. 1 starter after being sensational out of the bullpen last year, was the first of three pitchers to sustain elbow injuries requiring Tommy John surgery. Stone Simmons and Brooks Auger followed. The healthy relievers have combined for a 6.98 ERA.
The Florida series illustrated the struggle. The teams were tied 1-1 Sunday before the Bulldogs gave up a combined five runs in the eighth and ninth innings in a 6-2 loss. Saturday's game was tied 3-3 entering the ninth before the Bulldogs allowed six runs and lost 9-3.
“We just haven't been good late in that bullpen,” coach Chris Lemonis said. “It comes back to get you. It's been tough. Sometimes you lose when you play good all game and then you lose it at the very end. It's demoralizing a little bit.”
MSU is the SEC's top defensive team, and it has put up good power numbers. Yeager, a graduate transfer from Mercer, and freshman Hunter Hines have combined for 30 of the Bulldogs' 84 homers in 48 games. MSU totaled 75 in 68 games last year.
There's been a lack of timely hitting, though. The Bulldogs were 7 of 32 (.218) with runners in scoring position in the three games against Florida; they left a combined 19 runners on base in the Friday and Saturday losses.
The Bulldogs lost their top two hitters from the championship team in Tanner Allen and Rowdey Jordan. They also lost a first-round draft pick and CWS Most Outstanding Player in staff ace Will Bednar and another 100-strikeout pitcher in Christian MacLeod.
“It's tough for guys who have had to step up in a different job," Lemonis said. “When you lose somebody, it pushes everybody forward and puts everybody in a different spot. There’s been some adjustment to that and we probably haven’t adjusted as well as we should.”
IN THE POLLS
Oregon State has taken over the top ranking in two major polls, ending Tennessee's six-week run as the consensus No. 1.
D1Baseball.com still has the Volunteers (42-6) on top of its ratings after they dropped two of three at Kentucky for their first series loss of the season. Oregon State (38-9) is No. 2 after extending its win streak to six games with a sweep of Oregon. Oklahoma State (34-13) is No. 3 after a nonconference sweep of Southeast Missouri State ran the Cowboys' win streak to seven in a row.
Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball newspaper have Oregon State, Tennessee and Oklahoma State as their top three.
DEALING DIRTBAG
Juaron Watts-Brown pitched Long Beach State's first nine-inning no-hitter in a 4-0 win over UC Riverside on Sunday. Watts-Brown struck out 16, one shy of the school record and most by a Dirtbags pitcher since 2004. The only baserunner he allowed came on a fourth-inning walk.
LBSU has had one other no-hitter, by Chris Mathewson and Darren McCaughan in 2015.
MASHING MELENDEZ
Texas' Ivan Melendez homered three times in a doubleheader sweep at West Virginia on Saturday and ran his season total to 25. With five regular-season games and the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments, Melendez is poised to break Kyle Russell's record of 28 in 2007.
LIONS ROARING
Columbia's three-game sweep at Cornell ran its nation-best win streak to 19 games and qualified the Lions for the Ivy League playoffs for the third straight time. The Lions were 7-13 when their program-record streak began April 2. They've swept five straight Ivy League weekends, and their 15 straight conference wins also are a school record.
CARDINALS HAVING A BALL
Ball State (32-14) has been dominant in stringing together 11 straight wins. The Cardinals have outscored the competition 100-30 and opponents have batted just .193 during the streak.
Junior left-hander Tyler Schweitzer (8-2) has allowed one earned run over 20 1/3 innings in his last three starts and struck out 22.
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