Last week, Mississippi State baseball moved on from head coach Chris Lemonis after the Diamond Dawgs dropped to 7-14 in SEC play. Pitching coach Justin Parker was promoted to interim with the hopes of rallying the Diamond Dawgs down the stretch, and his first real test leading the program came this weekend when Kentucky came to Starkville.
What we saw was a rejuvenated ballclub. In front of 38,575 Super Bulldog Weekend attendees, Mississippi State earned its third SEC series win and first SEC sweep of the season. In a Saturday double-header, the Bulldogs first run-ruled the Cats 14-4 before walking them off 6-5 in 11 innings. Then on Sunday, State cruised to a 6-1 victory, capping off a mightily successful weekend.
The Bulldogs saw a big weekend at the plate, and despite some so-so outings by its starting pitchers, State's bullpen was brilliant, not allowing a single run in three games. They committed just one error on the weekend. It was finally a complete series for State, who now sit at 29-19 overall, 10-14 in the SEC.
Sweep of Kentucky shows why Mississippi State baseball moved on from Chris Lemonis
The news of Chris Lemonis' mid-season firing wasn't necessarily well-received by some national media. Mississippi State took criticism for not allowing the only national championship-winning coach in school history to finish out the season. Pundits felt Lemonis had earned the right to try and make a final push towards the postseason and, if nothing else, not see his final season in Starkville end early.
But this weekend's sweep of Kentucky shows why MSU AD Zac Selmon chose to make the move when he did. This Bulldog team is more than good enough to not only make a regional but also go on a run. The talent was there, but for whatever reason, it wasn't clicking for them under Lemonis.
If State was going to realistically make the postseason, they needed something to spark them. Coaching changes amidst frustrating seasons can provide that. Hearing a new voice lead the room, in this case Justin Parker, can be enough to change the outlook of a season.
And now, the pressure is off the Diamond Dawgs. The cloud of Lemonis' hot seat had been hanging over the dugout for months. It's not easy to play under the circumstances of constantly wondering what the future holds for your coach. Now, that's been settled, and focus can go entirely towards what's happening on the field. They can play freely, and that's a good place to be as a ballclub.
Diamond Dawgs now firmly back in the regional discussion
Getting a sweep did more than simply make returning to a regional feasible. It put State right back on track with a realistic path towards the postseason. The Bulldogs have 10 SEC wins and are 33rd in the RPI. The RPI is in a good enough spot that making a regional will simply come down to winning enough SEC games.
So how many SEC wins are needed? 14 is the magic number. The Bulldogs have a home series against a solid Ole Miss team and then close the regular season on the road against a Mizzou team that's winless in the league. Finding four wins between those two series shouldn't be too much to ask.
Often times 13 SEC wins is considered enough, but with a poor non-conference strength of schedule and a low number of quality wins, MSU likely needs to hit 14 to feel safe. So long as this weekend wasn't a one-off, it looks like they've got a good chance to make that happen.