After consecutive series wins, Mississippi State baseball looked like it had finally rounding into form. The Diamond Dawgs were playing complete baseball and adding much-needed wins to a previously nonexistent resume. They were making a case to close the regular season strong and return to a regional.
But as soon as it seemed a turnaround was in motion, momentum has come to a screeching halt. State dropped two of three at home to a struggling Florida team, a series they desperately needed to win. Then with a chance at some redemption in the Governor's Cup against ranked Ole Miss, the Bulldogs lost again, squandering a chance at a strong win for the resume.
And a recurring issue plagued MSU in those crushing losses.
Bullpen lets down Mississippi State in critical games
In their series wins over South Carolina and Alabama, Mississippi State got some fantastic performances from their pitching staff. Not only was the Bulldog rotation delivering some quality starts, their bullpen continually showed up in the big way.
That has not at all been the case over the last four games.
State's starters were still fine against the Gators and Rebels. Pico Khon on Friday, Evan Siary on Saturday, and Noah Sullivan on Tuesday allowed a combined six earned runs in 12.1 total innings of work. Karson Ligon did give up five runs on Sunday, but he did so with MSU mostly in control (at the time).
The bullpen on the other hand? 23 earned runs surrendered in 14.1 innings. In back-to-back games against UF, MSU had a reliever give up six runs without recording an out. In both cases, the Bulldogs held the lead at the time. In fact, in all three of their losses, State held the lead. Against the Rebels, State was up 7-5 entering the final frame but allowed the Rebels to tie the game and then walk them off in extras.
Even in their lone win on Sunday over the Gators, the bullpen surrendered three 8th inning runs to allow Florida to pull within one before the Bulldog bats responded with a five-spot to pull away in a 14-8 win.
It's reminiscent of SEC losses suffered earlier in the season to Texas and LSU, losses that put Mississippi State in a precarious situation with regards to their postseason chances. But there was hope that version of the Bulldogs was a version of the past, and they had turned a corner.
Instead, they're the same flawed team they were to start the year - plenty talented but incapable of getting out of their own way. And now, any momentum they had towards making a run to the postseason has vanished.
At 24-17 overall and 6-12 in the SEC, State once again finds its regional hopes in the balance. They need seven wins at a minimum in their final four SEC series to have any sort of argument at earning a bid, and they likely need eight to even feel somewhat good. At this point, it feels hard to predict that.