STARKVILLE — There was no dog pile after Ryan Rigby flipped the baseball to Nathaniel Lowe at first base to record the last out.
The Mississippi State baseball team had reason to celebrate Sunday night after a 4-0 victory against Louisiana Tech helped it win the Starkville Regional and advance to the NCAA tournament’s Super Regionals. Nobody would have blamed MSU if it showed emotion and basked in the moment.
But that wasn’t the case because MSU has higher aspirations.
“We talked a lot after the game that we have a bigger mission,” MSU sophomore captain Brent Rooker said. “Winning a regional was not our goal at the beginning of the year. Our goal is to win a national championship, and we haven’t accomplished that yet.”
MSU beat Southeast Missouri State (9-5), Cal State Fullerton (4-1), and Louisiana Tech to sweep the Starkville Regional. No. 6 national seed and No. 4 MSU (44-16-1) will play host to Arizona (42-21) at 6 p.m. Friday in Game 1 of the Starkville Super Regional. Game 2 will be at 6 p.m. Saturday. If needed, Game 3 will be at 6 p.m. Sunday.
Arizona beat Louisiana-Lafayette 6-3 and 3-1 Monday to win the Lafayette Regional.
Rooker said MSU treated the regional like a business meeting. It showed as MSU trailed once in three games, but MSU erased a three-run deficit to SEMO thanks to two home runs by Rooker.
MSU coach John Cohen talked with his staff before the Louisiana Tech game about how the team would celebrate if it won. He was fine with the players dog piling and soaking up the moment. But when he saw how they responded, he was impressed.
“I was so proud of the fact they handled it in such a business-like fashion when they won this thing,” Cohen said. “They know that they have a bigger goal in mind. They’re really set on these goals, and it’s fun to watch them accomplish them.”
MSU finished 24-30 (8-22 in the Southeastern Conference) last season and missed the postseason. That didn’t sit well with the players, and many of the Bulldogs who were returning in 2016 had big summers. Cohen added some new pieces with big-time freshmen and junior college signees like Jack Kruger and Nathaniel Lowe. The combination helped MSU win the SEC regular-season championship outright for the first time since 1989.
“I’m really proud of these kids because they’ve come so far,” Cohen said. “We have a core of guys who still do have a chip on their shoulder. They want to show the world that they’re better than what happened a year ago.”
Cohen said he expected his team to have the same attitude it had Sunday in front of 9,092 fans at Dudy Noble Field on Monday at practice. Cohen said practices have been business-like and intense, which is a primary reason the Bulldogs are two wins away from the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Arizona, which has won 10 of its last 11, stands in the way. The Bulldogs know they will need to have the same business-like attitude this weekend to take another step closer to an even bigger celebration.
“When we accomplish that goal (winning a national title), we will celebrate and we will dog pile,” Rooker said.
n In other baseball news, Cohen said Reid Humphreys’ right hand is “OK” and isn’t broken.
Humphreys took a pitch off his right hand from Louisiana Tech pitcher Braden Bristo in the second inning Sunday before being removed from the game.
Humphreys, who plays left field and pitches, had an X-ray Monday. Cohen said the junior is day to day.
The Brandon native is batting .317 with five home runs and 44 RBIs. He is 0-1 with a 5.48 ERA and seven saves.
n Junior right-hander Dakota Hudson was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s National Pitcher of the Month for May.
Hudson went 3-1 with a 0.86 ERA in 31 1/3 innings. He threw back-to-back complete-game shutouts against Auburn and Arkansas.
The Dunlap, Tennessee, native allowed 27 hits, walked four, and struck out 33.
Hudson was named a semifinalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the best amateur baseball player in the country, last week. He was named first-team All-Southeastern Conference and earned second-team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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