/State’s in a familiar position, backs to wall; can the Bulldogs rebound once more

State’s in a familiar position, backs to wall; can the Bulldogs rebound once more

There has never been anything like it for the 2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs. Ever. It won’t be easy to advance to the College World Series championship round. Oregon State, one of the top-ranked teams in the country, won Friday’s contest 12-2. This kept the Beavers’ hopes alive for their third national title, and the first since 2007. State would have reached the championship round if it had defeated the Beavers on Friday. Although the Bulldogs led 1-0 early on, they were outclassed throughout the game. Oregon State threw 15 strikes off four State pitchers and batted around twice to win their third consecutive CWS victory. The same two teams will face off Saturday at 7 p.m., and the winner will advance to Monday’s opening game in a best-of-3 championship series against Arkansas. State fans can find comfort in knowing that the Bulldogs are at their best when backed up in a corner. The rest is history. They won 25 of 37 games after a 14-15 win. They won the next four do-or-die games and lost to Oklahoma, 20-10, in their first Tallahassee Regional game. State won the rubber match at Vandy’s field after Vanderbilt had drawn the best-of-3 Super Regional series. State has been in a win-or loser game five times during this post-season. They have won five of the five games. The sixth game is Saturday. “It’s something we’re used too,” Jake Mangum, State centerfielder and leader, said. “We’ve been there a lot. We’ll come out tomorrow ready to compete and win a ballgame.” Of all those backs-against-the-wall situations, this could well be the most difficult. With the win, Oregon State moved to 52-11-1. The Beaver hitters seem like they are all waiting for the line drive. Omaha’s Beavers are batting.377. They scored 37 runs in the last three games and 43 runs in four tournament games. They hit, hit, and hit again. Ethan Small is charged with stopping all the smashing. Small, a third year sophomore left-hander, pitched seven scoreless innings for the Bulldogs in State’s CWS opener. Pat Casey, Oregon State coach, said that Small is “really good.” “I saw him throw against Vandy, and the other night I saw him throw. I’ve seen him on tape. He’s clearly one of the best …. players. He was a great player against Washington. Small was playing catch while the Bulldogs were practicing batting. Someone hit a line drive down the line and struck Small flush on the arm. Small fell and was quickly surrounded and assisted by his teammates and medical personnel. He later said that it wasn’t a big deal and that he had just taken a few Tylenol. It only hurt for a few minutes. Post-game, he had a wrap around the arm. He laughed and said, “Just for looks.” It looks cool,” Henderson said. Henderson stated, “I saw it… yeah. It was incredible.” “I don’t know what else to say. Henderson stated that kids believe they’re bulletproof. He also tells his players all the time that they must protect themselves from being in contact with balls during practice. Small stated that he could have pitched Friday and will definitely pitch Saturday. He is excited for the challenge, which is a great one. Small stated that Oregon State is capable of swinging it as well as any other team, but they don’t seem to be incredibly special. “I mean, we put them on eleven times for free today. When you look at it, they shouldn’t have scored as many runs. When Henderson was asked about the Beavers’ hitters, Henderson shrugged. He said, “They are exceptional players and they do a great job of making mistakes.” He said, however, that if you make good pitches, you can get them out.” This is Small’s plan. Small knows that the Bulldogs have been in similar situations before. Small stated, “I mean, our backs were against a wall pretty much throughout the entire year.” “We have always joked about how we don’t do things the easy way. We don’t. We won’t make it dramatic. It will be close tomorrow, and we’ll pull this off.” The good news is that State has Small available. Oregon State’s pitching is utterly lacking. Casey said that he is still not certain on a starter and said, “We’re going to have to put it together and get it through it.”