The 2024 Mississippi State baseball season has officially come to a close. The Diamond Dawgs were eliminated from regional play Sunday night in Charlottesville by the Virginia Cavaliers. State, who found themselves on the brink of elimination after falling to Virginia Saturday night, extended their season by a few hours with a win over St. John's Sunday afternoon before losing 9-2 in their rematch with the Cavaliers.
Mississippi State entered the 9th inning trailing 3-2 in an unexpected pitcher's duel. In the top of the 9th, the Bulldogs collapsed, surrendering seven runs in almost the blink of an eye after a bevy of mistakes. Rather than go into the final frame down a run with a real chance to come back, MSU put themselves entirely out of the game.
The Diamond Dawgs end their season at 40-23.
MSU lineup couldn't build off previous momentum
After a 13-run explosion earlier in the day against St. John's, it seemed like State's lineup had finally found its groove. And early in Sunday night's game, it looked as though that was still the case. Another towering home-run from Dakota Jordan put State up 2-1 in UVA after the 1st.
But after that, we saw the same struggling MSU lineup we've seen most of the season. They'd manage to get at least one baserunner on in six of the final eight innings, but they couldn't string hits together to bring in runs.
And give credit to Virginia's Jay Woolfolk. The righty entered today with a 6.85 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP. He gave the Cavaliers 8.0 innings of work with seven strikeouts, issued just one walk, and after giving up the 2-run homer in the first inning to Dakota Jordan, allowed just six hits and no runs the rest of the way.
He was fantastic. But State's inconsistencies at the plate were an issue all year, and that was a major reason why their season came to an end in Charlottesville.
9th inning collapse ends State's chances
Despite their struggles at the plate, State was in this game all the way until the 9th inning. Pico Kohn had a career night of his own to keep a strong Virginia lineup quiet. Kohn went 7.0 innings, stuck out eight, and allowed just two earned runs (three total). Gavin Black relieved him in the 8th, recorded three quick outs, and then struck out the first batter he faced in the 9th.
But then MSU's coaching staff chose to pull Black for closer Tyler Davis. It was a strategic move based on matchup and the fact that Davis had been outstanding this season, but it was still controversial given how well Black was pitching.
Well, this was the sequence that followed: walk, walk, infield single, two RBI single, fielder's choice turned throwing error scores two more, infield single, single to load bases.
Davis faced seven batters, got none out, and surrendered four runs. 7-2 Virginia in front. Karson Ligon came in and would end up letting two more runners come in on a pair of wild pitches.
They would mercifully get out of it, but in all UVA scored six runs in the 9th to go up 9-2, all but officially ending the game. State would get a pair of runners on in the final frame, but couldn't do anything with them (not that it would've mattered).
There's no other way to describe this as anything but a complete and total meltdown, both in terms of the decision to make the pitching change and the execution on the field.
Final loss a summation of all the issues that limited MSU in 2024
This season was a good turnaround for Mississippi State baseball. After two horrific years, the Diamond Dawgs finished fifth in the SEC, returned to the postseason (with a legitimate hosting argument), and ended up winning 40 games.
But State had very real flaws that limited their potential in 2024, and all of those issues showed up in their final game. Most notably, the lineup has been wildly unproductive relative to the talent it has. They simply couldn't produce at the plate enough and didn't in this game. Part of the issue finding runs has come down to mindless baserunning mistakes. They had two runners thrown out tonight.
And for as improved as the pitching staff has been, the management of that staff has often been questionable. A controversial pitching management decision ultimately ended the season.
Mississippi State saw all of their issues come together at once, and it's why their year is done.