The Super Regional opener between Mississippi State and Stanford was delayed by five hours due to threatening weather on Saturday. This gave the maroon-clad, partisan crowd plenty of time to eat and get even more excited than usual. It got very scary for all the fans. Ethan Small, the State ace, gave up Maverick Hardley’s sharp single to left after striking out Stanford’s first batter. Brandon Wulff was the next Stanford batter. He laced a blistering grounder, which was a perfect double-play ball that passed through Marshall Gilbert’s third baseman. A walk loaded the bases and brought to the plate Stanford’s muscular slugger Andrew Daschbach. He has 17 home runs and 30 additional base hits. Daschbach lifted a fly ball that was just about to cross the right-centerfield fence. It may have landed in one of those grills. Jake Mangum, a man who loves this type of baseball, leapt high and reached for the glove. He then took the ball and scored a grand slam. Although one run was scored, three more were not. Small was able to get out of the inning with one run, one groundball (and a great play by Gilbert) instead of 4-0. Small’s six-inning, gutsy performance and career-high 117-pitch score, along with some nice fielding plays, and excellent bullpen work would prove to be key hits. The key moment in State’s victory over Stanford 6-2 was clearly Mangum’s acrobatic robbery on Daschbach. The game’s outcome would have been very different if Stanford had taken a 4-0 lead in the top of the first innings. Small stated, “My neck nearly snapped, turning around and watching it.” It was gone, I thought. It was a fantastic catch by Jake.” Dustin Skelton, the catcher who would hit two doubles and had the best view, also made the catch. He said, “Yeah. Off the bat, it seemed gone.” He got a lot more metal on it. Jake made a great catch.” The Bulldogs would tie the game with one run in their second innings, then take a lead of two runs with two more in the third. They would extend it to 6-1 with three more runs to the fourth. They did what they did: The history of NCAA Super Regionals shows that the team winning the first game advances almost 80 percent of all the time. Mangum was a huge catch. State is still in Omaha, but this does not mean State has won. Stanford is now at 45-13 and it’s a great team. State could have won without Mangum’s help, but that is not to say they would not have. This is to say that a Stanford grandslam and a deficit of 4-0 would have dampened the festive atmosphere and made it a difficult uphill climb for a Bulldog win. Mangum has added another chapter to his story. He broke the SEC all time hits record, advanced to the NCAA Tournament four more times under four different coaches, won the C Spire Ferriss Trophy two times, stole the hearts of State fans and made more highlights show defensive plays in SEC history. Here’s the deal: Mangum began pointing at second base as soon as he had grabbed the ball and landed it. This indicated that Wulff was leaving early. Although replays indicated Wulff may have seen the ball, Mangum pointed at second base. It is unclear how Mangum could have spotted it considering the feat of athleticism he was performing at that time. Chris Lemonis, State coach, said that Jake told him after the game that it was the first time he had ever robbed a home run. “It was hard for me to believe that he had made so many great plays. He just helps you win games in so many different ways.” Small was making his final Dudy Noble appearance. Small is known for his dominant pitching performances that help his team win. He struggled at first, but he recovered and fought his way through Stanford’s strong lineup. Small stated that the biggest challenge was to fight himself, especially in the beginning. He won the fight and won his 10th game against only two defeats. This is an incredible record considering he always takes on the ace of the opposing team. It’s a great thing to have clutch hitters on your team. Skelton is a great catcher. He frames pitches and steals strike strikes inside and outside. It helps to have a centerfielder who can run down any ball in the park, including one that was out, and it also helps. Lemonis stated that Jack Eagan, a junior pitcher from Wautoma (Wisconsin), was “stable” late on Saturday night after he suffered an undetermined medical event in the dugout prior to the seventh. Eagan was reportedly conscious again and was removed from the dugout after the game was delayed several minutes. The scene was so sad: Stanford coach David Esquer wrapped his arm around Skelton during the delay. He clearly wanted to comfort him. Esquer said, “At this point, it’s not Mississippi State against Stanford. It’s everyone coming together to pray for another player. They seemed really concerned so we just wanted them to pray for him.” *** Game two in the Stanford-State Super Regional will be played at 8 p.m. on Sunday (ESPNU). The third game will be played at 6:15 p.m. Monday. It would be televised on ESPN2.