Diamond Dawgs hoping history repeats itself in Tallahassee with Regional looming

Less than an hour after Mississippi State players and coaches saw their destination for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, memory lane came rushing back inside the Dudy Noble Field dugout.

Senior outfielder Bryce Chance and several of his teammates sat in a group shooting the breeze with Assistant Head Coach Jake Gautreau and talked about the last time a State team made the trek to Tallahassee, Fla. Only Gautreau and trainer Jason Wire remain from the team that made that magical run to Omaha, Neb., and the College World Series seven years ago, but the memories still resonate.

MSU nearly went two and que in the Regional after losing a 9-6 lead against Oklahoma in game one and getting beat down late in a 20-10 loss to the Sooners. In an elimination game against homestanding Florida State and the lethal changeup of Drew Parrish, State looked all but cooked in the postseason.

In the first 8.0 innings, Parrish carved the Bulldog offense up. He surrendered just three hits and no walks while holding State scoreless, and even a 2-0 lead felt insurmountable heading into the ninth inning. A weather delay would seemingly change everything as head coach Mike Martin decided to keep Parrish in the game despite sitting for well over an hour and throwing over 100 pitches.

After walking Jake Mangum to leadoff the inning, Parrish retired Rowdey Jordan and Tanner Allen without any issues. Hunter Stovall would keep the game alive with a full count walk and handed the ball off to Elijah MacNamee. Down to his last strike and out, MacNamee showed why baseball can be one of the greatest games in sports.

A three-run home run off the scoreboard in left field sent the State players into a frenzy and fans everywhere followed. A young Chance had just finished a baseball game but was intently following. The future Bulldog won’t forget how he felt or where he was.

“It was a cool story and the radio call from Jim Ellis is stuck in your head anytime I even think about Florida State,” Chance said. “It was really cool and growing up a Mississippi State fan, it’s a memory that sticks with you a lot.”

Parker looking for magical run from State team

What followed was an improbable run that will be talked about in Starkville and beyond for many years to come. State held off a rally to beat Samford and then knocked off Oklahoma the next day to force a decisive Regional Final. A stellar pitching outing would lead to an 8-1 win and MSU had fought back out of the loser’s bracket for the second year in a row to advance to the Super Regional round.

Justin Parker has had some similar conversations as Chance with Gautreau and others that follow State baseball about that trip to Tallahassee in 2018. While he’d much prefer a less stressful advancement, he’d love for the same result to follow this year.

“We hope history repeats itself. This time of year, starting with Hoover, this is the time where baseball can be magical and moments can be special. We’ve talked a lot about that as a group,” Parker said. “Our focus has been mostly about being the best version of ourselves. It hasn’t been about ‘the hay is in the barn’, ‘let’s just rest up’ or ‘we are what we are’. It’s been ‘push’.”

State (34-21) has a tall task of winning the Regional with one of the nation’s best arms in Jamie Arnold and bats in Alex Lodise from Florida State. But before State could even get to the home team on Saturday or beyond, there’s a tough task ahead of them on Friday night.

The Bulldogs will take on a Northeastern team that leads the country in wins (48) and has the nation’s longest winning streak (27 games). They’re the best pitching staff in the country on paper and their offense is second nationally in stolen bases with 192. Chance and his teammates knew that the road would not be easy.

“The teams that we play are very good. At this point in college baseball, you’ve built a resume that has gotten you into a Regional and you’re good enough to be in a Regional and play with whoever is in that Regional. You can’t overlook anybody,” Chance said.

“Obviously, we’re going to Tallahassee where Florida State is, but the first game is one of the more important games we’re going to play. Being able to get in the winner’s bracket is really important, especially in Regional play.”

To advance to a Super Regional for the first time since the 2021 National Championship season, some more magic needs to happen in Tallahassee for State.

There are plenty of signs that it could happen as this team has followed a very similar path as the one of 2018. Like that ’18 team, this year’s squad made a coaching change midseason and has been running things with the assistants. That crew also dug itself a hole in SEC play only to work back to .500. That team also finished one-and-done at the SEC Tournament.

Despite all of the similarities, it’s a new year faced with new challenges. The goal of competing for and winning a national title still holds true.

“There’s definitely similarities, but at the same time we’re writing our own story,” Chance said. “It’s cool to compare, but you’ve got to find our own way to do what they did.”