The fanfare refused to die.
As senior center fielder Jake Mangum stood atop first base at Dudy Noble Field on Saturday afternoon, a grounds crew member arose from the visiting dugout and handed him the physical base.
Mangum held it high above his head in victory.
The crowd roared while an auto-tuned version of “Your Love” by The Outfield — Mangum’s walk-up song — blasted around the park.
Moments earlier, the Pearl native had broken Eddy Furniss’ all-time Southeastern Conference hits record in perhaps the most on-brand way he could — a bloop single to shallow right field.
Mangum is not one for the dramatics. Rather, he’s hard-nosed, intense, a leader by example. But Saturday was different.
A calmness had come over the normally stone-faced outfielder. There was a sense of reprieve. He even flashed an ear-to-ear smile down the first base line.
“It’s been a long ride that’s flown by,” Mangum said. “It feels like just yesterday I was a freshman just trying to get into the lineup and it’s crazy how quickly time goes by over these past four years.”
Finally, it was over.
***
Since the season began in mid-February, Mangum has fielded endless questions about the hits record. The closer he got, the more he was interrogated on the subject.
No matter if he was frustrated from defeat or irritated at yet another reporter’s query on the mark, Mangum handled it all with grace.
He did the same in triumph.
His postgame press conference opened with a deep breath and a release of air. A similar tune to the sigh he mustered at first base a few hours prior. Relief had arrived.
“No matter how locked in you are on the game, no matter how locked in you are on the moment, it’s tough to step in the box knowing that that’s one hit away, two hits away, whatever it is,” Mangum said. “It’s tough, but just happy it got over with and we could lock in and win a ballgame.”
He also took time to reflect. Mangum spoke of MSU first base coach Luke Alexander, a longtime friend and teammate.
He referenced an MSU camp in which Alexander was offered a scholarship when the two were eighth graders. It was the same event former MSU career hits leader Jeffrey Rea had pointed to Mangum’s batting ability in a cage after the session.
He mentioned his family. Mangum loosely alluded to their trials and tribulations, the sacrifices they had made to help him get where he was.
Finally, he was asked about the day’s game.
“It’s big,” Mangum said of securing a series victory over then-No. 4 Georgia. “I knew when we left Arkansas, we were fine.”
Things were starting to normalize.
Following his postgame presser, an onslaught ensued.
Mangum signed autographs for nearly two hours as fans clambered down the third base line to catch a quick brush with history.
He then took a jog across the outfield toward the right-center gap. MSU fans posted in a box outfitted like a tiki hut showered Mangum in champagne.
His lap continued along the warning track toward the home dugout. Onlookers stuck their hands out for high-fives. Memorabilia hung over the field in hopes Mangum would sign it. He did — every single piece of it.
As he finished his rounds, one duo of Little Leaguers donning their team uniforms requested a signature long after the initial wave of fans dissipated. Mangum happily obliged.
“I’ve just watched it this year, such a special player,” MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said.
***
Mangum has been visibly more relaxed in the days following the record-breaking single.
During Tuesday’s media session, he crept behind sophomore Jordan Westburg mid-interview. With his sunglass flipped upside-down, Mangum made a face into the camera for a photo-bomb.
There was an audible chuckle from those who could see him. Even Westburg gave a smirk as if he subconsciously knew what had occurred.
With the record behind Mangum, questions and attitudes have shifted toward baseball.
No. 6-ranked MSU is two games behind No. 5 Arkansas in the SEC West with a road series against No. 14 Texas A&M beginning Thursday.
So while Mangum’s name is now forever etched in SEC lore, the focus is back on the game itself.
“Now it’s in the rearview mirror,” he said. “And I can continue trying to get better as a baseball player.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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