TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Tensity and nervousness don’t lend themselves to the ease needed to survive three days of tense playoff baseball. Faced with that task, the Mississippi State baseball team chose the ease, as evidenced by the worshipped banana accompanying the team through its final two games.
The so-called Rally Banana, brought to life by freshman third baseman Jordan Westburg’s use of it captured by the television broadcast, was just one example of a team playing with no fear as it won the Tallahassee Regional. It was no phased when it lost game one, ripping off four straight wins capped by Monday’s 8-1 victory over Oklahoma (38-25).
“It’s a baseball game. We’re out here to have fun,” second baseman Hunter Stovall said. He also thinks the adversity of the early-season resignation of Andy Cannizaro forced the team to mature quickly, with the team’s current ease under pressure being rooted in that adversity.
For others, Elijah MacNamee provided that transformative moment. That’s how it was for freshman third baseman Justin Foscue, in the hours before he walked off the Florida State game Saturday with a three-run home run.
“Everybody’s doing their thing, but Elijah was the only one that’s saying, ‘Guys, just believe. Just believe, we can do this,'” Foscue said. “Once he did that, once he was the one that hit the walkoff home run, it sparked me and I bet that sparked everybody else.”
Skelton the ironman
Sophomore catcher Dustin Skelton spent his Sunday catching 327 pitches, doing so over two games lasting a combined 7 hours, 25 minutes, and still found the energy in his legs to tally four hits.
One day later, Skelton still had the energy to spike the ball celebrating Riley Self’s strikeout to end the eighth. He still had the energy to, in the next half inning, hit a ball hard down the right field line, pause at first base and pick up the speed on the way to second base as he realized the bounce off the wall was enough for an extra base.
Skelton was the warrior of MSU’s Tallahassee Regional win, catching four of the five games and being rewarded handsomely for it, going 8-for-14 (.571) with five RBI and five runs scored. The weekend saw his season average go from .222 to .269 and two of his eight extra-base hits for the season.
MacNamee the MVP
For his game-winning home run against Florida State and 8-for-22 hitting (.363) for the weekend, MacNamee was named the Tallahassee Regional MVP and named to the All-Tournament Team in the outfield. MacNamee hit three home runs and drove in eight runs over the five games.
MSU (35-26) also claimed the entire outfield on the All-Tournament Team, as center fielder Jake Mangum and left fielder Rowdey Jordan joined MacNamee, plus Skelton and pitcher JP France.
France appeared in the regional three times, ending with his seven-inning start in the championship game, holding Oklahoma to one run and two hits. Mangum went 8-for-22 (.363) with three walks, seven runs and five RBI; Jordan went 10-for-22 (.454) with six RBI, five runs and two walks.
Shorthanded Sooners
Oklahoma entered the Tallahassee Regional down its two best outfielders and two of its better hitters, Steele Walker and Kyler Murray. Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson labeled both of them day-to-day before the tournament and after every game when asked.
Neither of them ultimately played in the regional, sending Oklahoma to more at-bats for bench players in its final game of the season.
“We’d never use it as an excuse,” Johnson said. “Talent is never enough, but selfless is. I thought our guys were selfless, they never used it as an excuse, those guys kept battling and battling. They came up against a good opponent and got beat.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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