Hatfield1013

Tolu Smith on telling his family he’d been converted to a standard contract: “My mom was crying, granny was crying, everybody was crying. Just seeing that almost made me cry. Seeing those tears of joy, seeing the work I’ve put in and trusting God. That’s all it’s been.”

Run it back Bulldogs🤞🏾

Mississippi State holds off UAB tonight 5-3, buoyed by two-run home runs from Ace Reese and Jacob Parker in the 1st and 3rd innings, then an RBI single from Gehrig Frei for a critical run in the 7th. A bevy of seven pitchers, starting with Chris Billingsley, held the Blazers to single runs in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th, with a double play in the 9th, the only one by State all night, clinching the victory. As baseball fans, we always seem to want our teams to win easily, have a five-run lead late so you can't be tied even by a grand slam. But, does winning easily and run-ruling really prepare you for challenges? When you play a quality opponent like UAB tonight, who doesn't let you run away, hangs in and challenges you, the game hangs in the balance until you make a winning play, what does that do for you? And make no mistake, UAB is a quality opponent. They came in having won nine in a row, 7-2 in their conference. It's where Ron Polk hung out and volunteer-coached for a dozen years before returning to Mississippi State. It may have been just what the Bulldogs needed for their psyche and confidence to navigate challenges with another tough SEC opponent coming in. Here are comments below from Coach Oak. We'll also hear from Jacob Parker and Chris Billingsley, two newcomers in February, not newcomers anymore, they're difference makers in April, May, and June.

Win column

PARKER POWER

Handy Nasty 🤣🤣

When your son gets to do the Play Ball at the game and you are instantly transplanted back to all of the times your dad took you to the same ballpark.

It’s truly insane how good this team is. Our stats are still off the charts, but there are still obvious areas of improvement that everyone knows.

@DudyNobleField I am inside you! #HailState

@RobsRankings Need to get the taste out of my mouth from last weekend tonight @RobsRankings

Runs Allowed Per Game

@HailStateClub47 Why not tag coach oak since you are so much better at lineup configuration than him and Coach Mac?

We might need to consider moving Bryce Chance to 1st or 2nd in the order and having Jacob Parker hitting 3-5. Against Power 4 teams + USM, Reece is hitting .197 with an OBP of .296 with a SLG of .437. Chance is hitting .407 in those games and Parker is leading the team 1.140 OPS.

𝗠𝗜𝗗𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗣 𝗔𝗧 𝗗𝗨𝗗𝗬 𝗡𝗢𝗕𝗟𝗘 🆚: UAB 🏟️: Dudy Noble Field 📍: Starkville, MS 🕕: 6 PM CT 📺: SEC Network + 💻: hailst.at/41jU2iA 📻: hailst.at/4sfDLpN 📊: hailst.at/4cvyt4Q 🎟️: hailst.at/4mprZbd #HailState

Since attendance at Mississippi State baseball is being talked again, perhaps some clarification and background is in order. At @CollegeBaseCNT (previously CWS247), we’ve talked about a primary early factor, being one of the first schools in the SEC to install lights, with an article I wrote to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first night game at Dudy Noble on April 15, 2022. cws247.wordpress.com/2022/04/07/dut… It’s not the only reason, though. The popularity of college baseball on the MSU campus probably dates back to the opening of Dudy Noble Field in 1967, following two SEC Championship seasons 1965-66 in nearby Columbus while DNF was constructed. It was helped to a higher level by another pair of SEC crowns 1970-71. Photos from those SEC playoffs show a packed house and folks hanging over the fence. It was this community support that led to one of the first, if not the first, NCAA district playoffs/regionals hosted on a college campus, although State wasn’t a part as venerable Head Coach Paul Gregory neared retirement after the four SEC titles and CWS trip. Who was a part, though, and won the first regional was Georgia Southern, with an up-and-coming young coach, Ron Polk. That was how Mississippi State first came to know him, and foremost among the stories told about this year's Ring of Honor was how influential inductee Alex Grammas was in making it possible for Polk to be a resident, not a visitor, at MSU. So you see, it’s a timeline of sorts to develop a tradition, a culture as it’s been called, of baseball attendance and support. No one ingredient went into the dynamite turnouts and no one point of origin stood alone. The 25-mile commutes of fans to Columbus for the two trophy years, a spanking new campus field for the next season, the 1970-71 SEC repeats and the first CWS trip, the playoff hosting years 1973-75, the Polk arrival, and most certainly the Thunder and Lightning arrival, that was followed by the house they built and was eventually outgrown itself, to the current "Carnegie Hall" of college baseball. They've all contributed a part along the way. The commendable runners-up can have their flattering attempts at emulation, the so-called gurus can have their population theories; hey y'all come on in, the college baseball water (yeah, baseball water!) is fine, and Mississippi State will have the records, including a serious chance at the first 17,000 campus crowd ever later this year. Just remember, like a diamond itself, it takes a while to produce, and MSU didn't wake up one morning and find it under third base. It's been six decades in the making, and the end is nowhere in sight.

BRENT ROOKER WALK-OFF HOMER! The @Athletics win a thriller!

Takeaways from State being swept by Georgia (VIP) 247sports.com/college/missis…

Three Diamond Dawgs that are definitely deserving of this prestigious honor!

Buck Showalter, Chris Stratton, and Alex Grammas. Officially members of the Ron Polk Ring of Honor.

Dad of the year 😂