With pressure mounting on the coaching staff and the team to perform to the Mississippi State standard, the Bulldogs welcomed South Carolina to Dudy Noble Field for a three-game series beginning Friday afternoon. Unless you’re naive or live under a rock, the tension surrounding the coaching staff, particularly Coach Lemonis, has reached an all-time high, making the environment around the program toxic where the fan base and the program are on two different planets. The Bulldogs needed to win the weekend series to quiet some of that noise as they focus on finishing strong and positioning Mississippi State to return to a Regional.

Despite dropping the first game on Friday to the Gamecocks 7-3, the Bulldogs responded on Saturday and Sunday with the fire that Bulldog nation has longed to see from this program since winning the national championship in 2021. Following that loss on Friday night, the conversation on social media, the message boards, and various other platforms created a must-win situation for the Bulldogs as Saturday rolled around. Mississippi State responded with two wins, with Saturday’s final coming in at 11-4 in favor of the Bulldogs, while they held Gamecocks scoreless on Sunday as Mississippi State rolled to a 6-0 win for the first Southeastern Conference series win of the season.

Despite what some may say, what we learned on Saturday and Sunday from Mississippi State might be the springboard for a strong April that will set up an exciting May filled with a late-season run in Hoover at the SEC Tournament.

Let’s start with the combined positives from Saturday and Sunday while flushing the weird Friday night loss down the drain. In the two wins, Mississippi State combined for 17 runs while outscoring the Gamecocks 17-4. Once again, this shows that the Bulldogs have the potential on the roster to be a deadly offensive team over the next two months as they try to position themselves on the right side of the bubble and maybe just maybe put together a wild two-month ride to get back into the conversation for a Regional hosting situation at the Dude.

Second, the bats of Ace Reese and Noah Sullivan are waking up from a bit of a slow start as they turn the corner to living up to preseason expectations from the two, while guys like Hunter Hines, Bryce Chance, and Dylan Cupp are right there for the taking. It’s only a matter of when, but when those core guys combine for quality at-bats, the Bulldogs could easily score some runs quickly, resulting in more wins in the final two months.

Third, the pitching on Saturday and Sunday was lights out for the Bulldogs. The unit gave the Gamecocks four runs on Saturday while the combination of Karson Ligon and Stone Simmons pitched a complete game shutout. On a typical week, Pico Kohn gives the Bulldogs a solid start on Friday while the weekend goes iffy, but the Bulldogs showed that Pico is not the only talented starter they have this season with a deep bullpen to go with.

Lastly, sometimes in baseball, you need a conference series win to get things rolling for the rest of the final two months of the regular season. There was something different about the guys starting on Saturday and then finishing the deal on Sunday; there was a fire in the dugout not seen before this season. With a manageable conference schedule remaining, the Bulldogs have the potential to go from near the bottom of the standings to the upper tier within the next two months.

Mississippi State will head to the state of Alabama with a midweek against UAB on Tuesday before taking on the Crimson Tide in a three-game slate beginning on Friday.

Photo Credits- Mississippi State Baseball on X