Mississippi State advances to NCAA super regionals with win over Campbell

(MSU Athletics)

Mississippi State became the third SEC team to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals, sweeping through the Starkville Regional with a 3-0 record. 

Mississippi State joins Tennessee and Vanderbilt in the Super Regional round. The Volunteers and Commodores wrapped up their respective regionals on Sunday.

No. 7 national seed MSU defeated Campbell 6-5 on Monday to secure its NCAA-best fifth straight Super Regional. The Bulldogs will host No. 10 seed Notre Dame this weekend. 

Despite two lopsided losses at the SEC Tournament, Miss. State rebounded against one of the easier regional  brackets with wins over Samford, VCU and Campbell.

The Bulldogs posted an 8-4 win over Samford on Friday and then cruised to a 16-4 win over VCU to advance to the finals. 

MSU snapped the nation’s longest winning streak in the second round for second straight NCAA Tournament. VCU brought a 22-game winning streak into the winner’s bracket final. MSU snapped Central Michigan’s 19-game winning streak in the 2019 NCAA Regional.

The championship game was moved to Monday after all day rains in Starkville on Sunday. Campbell beat VCU 19-10 in a game that lasted past midnight on Sunday, and then came back to the park less than 10 hours later.

State’s offense did just enough against the Camels getting home runs from Kamren James and Logan Tanner.

The bullpen was solid, especially Houston Harding, Preston Johnson and Landon Sims.

Harding entered the game with one out and 3-2 deficit in the first inning. He worked five innings and struck out 10.

Johnson recorded two outs and turned the game over to Sims. 

The MSU closer fired three scoreless innings with four strikeouts. He allowed a leadoff double in the ninth, but stranded the tying run at third with a strikeout and two ground outs.