2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team explained

Mode:	baseball
Year:	2018
Team:	Mississippi State Bulldogs
Conference:	Southeastern Conference
Division:	Western Division
Short Conf:	SEC
Cbrank:	4
Record:	39–29
Conf Record:	15–15
Head Coach:	Andy Cannizaro (first 3 games), Gary Henderson
Stadium:	Dudy Noble Field, Polk–DeMent Stadium
Champion:	Tallahassee Regional champions Nashville Super Regional champions
Bowl:	College World Series
Bowl Result:	3rd (tie)

The 2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team represents the Mississippi State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Bulldogs play their home games at Dudy Noble Field. Due to construction of the new Dudy Noble Field, the first home game was not played until March 6, to give construction crews time to finish the bottom seating of the stadium. The new Dudy Noble Field in its entirety will not be completed until the 2019 season.

Personnel

Coaching staff

Schedule and results

2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball game log
Regular season (31–24)
February (3–5) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SEC record Feb. 16 at #25 13 L 0–11 Nick Sandlin (1–0) Konnor Pilkington (0–1) none 4,948 0–1 – Feb. 17 at #25 Southern Miss 13 Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS L 4–7 Jarod Wright (1–0) Ethan Small (0–1) none 4,988 0–2 – Feb. 18 at #25 Southern Miss 13 Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS L 2–5 Jacob Weirich (1–0) Zach Neff (0–1) Matt Wallner (1) 4,970 0–3 – Feb. 21 at W 12–1 JP France (1–0) Mark Watson (0–1) none 347 1–3 – Feb. 23 vs. Kleberg Bank College Classic W 7–4 Konnor Pilkington (1–1) Jack Dashwood (0–1) Blake Smith (1) 1,761 2–3 – Feb. 24 vs. Kleberg Bank College Classic Whataburger Field • Corpus Christi, TX W 14–4 Ethan Small (1–1) Parker White (0–1) Denver McQuary (1) 1,134 3–3 – Feb. 25 at Kleberg Bank College Classic Whataburger Field • Corpus Christi, TX L 3–6 Chad Romere (1–0) Zach Neff (0–2) Chris Cooper (2) 1,898 3–4 – Feb. 26 Canceled in bottom 4th, heavy fog Feb. 28 at L 3–6 Tyler Wesley (1–1) Keegan James (0–1) Grant Anderson (1) 1,843 3–5 –
March (11–10) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SEC record Mar. 2 vs. Louisiana Shriners College Classic W 3–1 Cole Gordon (1–0) Brock Batty (2–1) none 4,972 4–5 – Mar. 3 vs. Shriners College Classic Minute Maid Park • Houston, TX W 3–2 ^12 Blake Smith (1–0) Brayson Hurdsman (0–1) none 6,796 5–5 – Mar. 4 vs. Shriners College Classic Minute Maid Park • Houston, TX W 4–1 Jacob Billingsley (1–0) Seth Ballew (0–1) Cole Gordon (1) 5,414 6–5 – Mar. 6 W 9–1 Cole Marsh (1–0) Brock Whittlesey (1–3) Denver McQuary (2) SECN+ 7,179 7–5 – Mar. 7 New Mexico State Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 6–0 Zach Neff (1–2) Alex Pinedo (0–1) none SECN+ 5,117 8–5 – Mar. 9 (DH-1) Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 1–2 ^11 Fabian Palacios (1–0) Cole Gordon (1–1) Drew Hill (3) SECN+ 5,468 8–6 – Mar. 9 Utah Valley (DH-2) Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 4–2 Keegan James (1–1) Ondrej Sebek (0–1) Blake Smith (2) SECN+ 5,468 9–6 – Mar. 10 Utah Valley Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS Moved to 3/9, impending weather Mar. 11 Utah Valley Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 5–3 Jacob Billingsley (2–0) Walker Ramsey (1–3) JP France (1) SECN+ 4,727 10–6 – Mar. 14 vs. L 5–11 Corey Gaconi (1–0) Keegan James (1–2) none 3,318 10–7 – Mar. 16 11 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 0–5 Drake Fellows (3–0) Konnor Pilkington (1–2) Zach King (1) SECN 4,860 10–8 0–1 Mar. 17 11 Vanderbilt Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 1–10 Patrick Raby (2–2) Ethan Small (1–2) none SECN+ 6,218 10–9 0–2 Mar. 18 11 Vanderbilt Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 3–4 Mason Hickman (4–0) Jacob Billingsley (2–1) Tyler Brown (2) SECN+ 4,569 10–10 0–3 Mar. 20 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 17–1 Zach Neff (2–2) Regynold Johnson (0–1) none SECN+ 4,295 11–10 – Mar. 21 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 11–6 Cole Gordon (2–1) Peyton Schneider (0–5) none SECN+ 4,713 12–10 – Mar. 23 L 1–4 T. J. Sikkema (2–0) Konnor Pilkington (1–3) Andy Toelken (1) SECN+ 406 12–11 0–4 Mar. 24 at #25 Missouri Taylor Stadium • Columbia, MO W 3–1 ^15 Blake Smith (2–0) Tyler LaPlante (3–1) none SECN+ 406 13–11 1–4 Mar. 25 at #25 Missouri Taylor Stadium • Columbia, MO L 4–5 ^11 Andy Toelken (3–2) JP France (1–1) none SECN+ 496 13–12 1–5 Mar. 27 at L 4–7 Bryan Taylor (2–3) Denver McQuary (0–1) none 674 13–13 – Mar. 29 L 1–10 Zack Hess (4–3) Konnor Pilkington (1–4) none SECN 10,532 13–14 1–6 Mar. 30 at #19 LSU Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field • Baton Rouge, LA W 4–1 Ethan Small (2–2) Caleb Gilbert (3–2) Cole Gordon (2) SECN+ 11,132 14–14 2–6 Mar. 31 at #19 LSU Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field • Baton Rouge, LA L 0–4 Ma'Khail Hilliard (6–1) Jacob Billingsley (2–2) Nick Bush (1) SECN+ 11,133 14–15 2–7
April (10–6) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SEC record April 4 W 5–0 Riley Self (1–0) John Guienze (0–2) none SECN+ 4,886 15–15 – April 6 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS Postponed to 4/7, inclement weather April 7 5 Ole Miss (DH-1) Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 13–3 Konnor Pilkington (2–4) Brady Feigl (6–2) none SECN+ 6,168 16–15 3–7 April 7 5 Ole Miss (DH-2) Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 1–6 Ryan Rolison (4–3) Ethan Small (2–3) none SECN+ 6,168 16–16 3–8 April 8 5 Ole Miss Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 7–5 ^11 Blake Smith (3–0) Will Stokes (1–1) none SECN+ 6,059 17–16 4–8 April 11 at W 15–4 Denver McQuary (1–1) Ivanniel Vazquez (1–4) none 1,502 18–16 – April 13 at L 1–2 Casey Mize (7–1) Konnor Pilkington (2–5) none SECN 3,831 18–17 4–9 April 14 at Auburn Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL W 7–2 Ethan Small (3–3) Davis Daniel (2–3) none SECN+ 4,045 19–17 5–9 April 15 at Auburn Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL L 5–7 Cody Greenhill (2–1) Cole Gordon (2–2) none SECN+ 2,904 19–18 5–10 April 18 vs. L 1–6 Connor Alexander (2–2) Denver McQuary (1–2) Hunter Smith (2) 3,027 19–19 – April 20 6 Arkansas Super Bulldog Weekend Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 6–5 JP France (2–1) Matt Cronin (2–1) none SECN+ 7,303 20–19 6–10 April 21 6 Arkansas (DH-1) Super Bulldog Weekend Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 5–3 Ethan Small (4–3) Kacey Murphy (5–3) Blake Smith (3) SECN+ 10,147 21–19 7–10 April 21 6 Arkansas (DH-2) Super Bulldog Weekend Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 7–5 Jacob Billingsley (3–2) Isaiah Campbell (3–4) Zach Neff (1) SECN+ 10,147 22–19 8–10 April 22 6 Arkansas Super Bulldog Weekend Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS Moved to 4/21, impending weather April 24 vs. #8 Ole Miss Governor's Cup W 7–6 Cole Gordon (3–2) Parker Caracci (2–2) none SECN 8,515 23–19 – April 27 22 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 3–6 Kaylor Chafin (3–0) JP France (2–2) Nolan Hoffman (8) SECN+ 5,784 23–20 8–11 April 28 22 Texas A&M Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 11–6 Ethan Small (5–3) John Doxakis (6–2) Zach Neff (2) SECN+ 7,017 24–20 9–11 April 29 22 Texas A&M Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 4–7 Stephen Kolek (4–4) Jacob Billingsley (3–3) Nolan Hoffman (9) SECN 5,555 24–21 9–12
May (7–3) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SEC record May 4 W 14–12 ^10 Zach Neff (3–2) Deacon Medders (0–3) none SECN+ 3,411 25–21 10–12 May 5 at Alabama Sewell–Thomas Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL L 3–4 ^10 Sam Gardner (2–2) Cole Gordon (3–3) none SECN+ 4,631 25–22 10–13 May 6 at Alabama Sewell–Thomas Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL W 6–4 JP France (3–2) Kyle Cameron (1–2) none ESPNU 4,637 26–22 11–13 May 9 vs. W 9–8 ^10 Riley Self (2–0) CJ Carter (6–4) none 2,562 27–22 – May 11 L 6–9 Sean Hjelle (7–4) Konnor Pilkington (2–6) Chris Machamer (10) ESPNU 4,303 27–23 11–14 May 12 at Kentucky Cliff Hagan Stadium • Lexington, KY L 1–4 Jimmy Ramsey (3–1) JP France (3–3) none SECN 4,416 27–24 11–15 May 13 at Kentucky Cliff Hagan Stadium • Lexington, KY W 18–8 Jacob Billingsley (4–3) Brad Schaenzer (1–2) none SECN 4,096 28–24 12–15 May 17 W 6–3 Riley Self (3–0) Michael Byrne (2–1) none SECN+ 5,100 29–24 13–15 May 18 1 Florida Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 12–4 JP France (4–3) Jack Leftwich (4–4) none ESPNU 5,901 30–24 14–15 May 19 1 Florida Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 13–6 Blake Smith (1–0) Jackson Kowar (9–3) Cole Gordon (3) ESPNU 6,291 31–24 15–15
Post-season (8–5)
(4–1) Date Opponent Seed/Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record NCAAT record June 1 (2) L 10–20 Kyle Tyler (6–2) JP France (4–5) none ESPNU 3,238 31–26 0–1 June 2 (2) Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, FL W 3–2 Riley Self (4–0) Drew Parrish (5–1) none ESPN2 3,319 32–26 1–1 June 3 vs. (4) Samford (DH-1) (2) Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, FL W 9–8 Jacob Billingsley (5–3) Wyatt Burns (5–4) JP France (2) ESPN2 3,196 33–26 2–1 June 3 vs. (3) Oklahoma (DH-2) (2) Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, FL W 13–5 Cole Gordon (4–3) Devon Perez (5–6) none ESPNU 3,109 34–26 3–1 June 4 vs. (3) Oklahoma (2) Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, FL W 8–1 JP France (5–5) Levi Prater (3–4) Riley Self (1) ESPN2 3,103 35–26 4–1 (2–1) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record NCAAT record June 8 at #15 16 W 10–8 Riley Self (5–0) Zach King (1–4) none ESPN2 3,626 36–26 5–1 June 9 at #15 Vanderbilt 16 Hawkins Field • Nashville, TN L 3–4 Chandler Day (2–1) Zach Neff (3–3) none ESPN 3,626 36–27 5–2 June 10 at #15 Vanderbilt 16 Hawkins Field • Nashville, TN W 10–6 ^11 Denver McQuary (2–2) Tyler Brown (1–5) none ESPN2 3,626 37–27 6–2 (2–2) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record CWS record June 16 8 W 1–0 Zach Neff (4–3) Alex Hardy (5–3) none ESPN 24,758 38–27 1–0 June 18 8 TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE Postponed to 6/19, inclement weather June 19 vs. (6) #3 North Carolina 8 TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE W 12–2 Konnor Pilkington (3–6) Austin Bergner (7–3) Cole Gordon (4) ESPN2 13,387 39–27 2–0 June 22 8 TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE L 2–12 Brandon Eisert (5–3) Jacob Billingsley (5–4) none ESPN 21,002 39–28 2–1 June 23 vs. (3) #1 Oregon State 8 TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE L 2–5 Kevin Abel (6–1) Ethan Small (5–4) none ESPN 21,821 39–29 2–2

† Indicates the game does not count toward the 2018 Southeastern Conference standings.
*Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the Collegiate Baseball poll.

Rankings

See main article: 2018 NCAA Division I baseball rankings.

MLB Draft

Player	Position	Round	Overall	MLB Team
Konnor Pilkington	LHP	3	81	Chicago White Sox
J P France	RHP	14	432	Houston Astros
Hunter Stovall	2B	21	636	Colorado Rockies
Ethan Small†	LHP	26	789	Arizona Diamondbacks
Zach Neff	LHP	31	934	Minnesota Twins
Jake Mangum‡	LHP	32	950	New York Mets
Jacob Billingsley	RHP	32	972	Houston Astros

^[1]
†Small, a redshirt sophomore, returns to MSU for the next season.^[2]
‡Mangum, a junior, returns to MSU for the next season. Although Mangum had almost exclusively played CF in college and pitched very little, he was drafted as a pitcher.^[3]

Recruiting

Mississippi State is ranked 8th by Perfect Game for its 2018 recruiting class, in spite of having two players, Carter Stewart and J. T. Ginn, both RHPs, go in the 1st round of the MLB draft and two more, Eric Cerantola and Sam Knowlton, both also RHPs, go in the 33rd and 39th, who did not sign to play professionally after this draft, although there is some speculation that Stewart may go JUCO instead. Stewart does go JUCO and after all teams have defections due to major league signings, Mississippi State is ranked 6th.^{[4] [5]} Perfect Game only covers commitments out of high school. There is also a JUCO player, Gunner Halter, SS, taken in the 26th round who plans to play for Mississippi State.^[6] There are also two high schoolers that were not drafted, probably due to difficulty of being signed, who were projected as top 10 rounders, Hayden Jones, C, and Christian McLeod, LHP.^{[7] [8]} In addition to the four RHPs, C, LHP, and JUCO SS mentioned above, high school players also include three OFs, a RHP, two SSs, and a C.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Mississippi State Baseball Has Seven Players Drafted In 2018 MLB Draft. June 2018. FanSided Inc.. 28 June 2018.
2. Web site: MSU signee, MLB first-round pick Stewart doesn't sign with Braves. July 6, 2018. Starkville Daily News. 7 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20180707151330/https://www.starkvilledailynews.com/node/123897. 7 July 2018. dead.
3. Web site: Jake Mangum Announces He's Returning To Mississippi State Baseball. June 2018. FanSided Inc.. 28 June 2017.
4. Web site: College Recruit Rankings Class of 2018. 2018. Perfect Game. 7 July 2017.
5. Web site: Mississippi State's HS Recruits Class of 2018. 2018. Perfect Game. 7 July 2017.
6. Web site: Halter chooses MSU over professional path. July 3, 2018. Starkville Daily News. 7 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20180704071343/https://www.starkvilledailynews.com/node/123875. 4 July 2018. dead.
7. Web site: 2018 MSU Baseball Signee Hayden Jones Update. May 23, 2018. CBS INTERACTIVE. 7 July 2017.
8. Web site: LHP Christian MacLeod Primed for Immediate Impact at MSU. Jul 1, 2018. CBS INTERACTIVE. 7 July 2017.