MacLeod Leads Bulldog Youngsters Into First Postseason Experience

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

MacLeod Leads Bulldog Youngsters Into First Postseason Experience

May 31, 2021 | Baseball, Joel Coleman

Bulldogs counting on MacLeod and other postseason first-timers to shine in Starkville Regional and possibly beyond.

By: Joel Coleman, Senior Writer

STARKVILLE – It's been nearly two years now, but if you listen closely, you might still hear an echo reverberating through the air.

It was Game 2 of Mississippi State's Super Regional against Stanford back in 2019. Bulldog right fielder Elijah MacNamee cranked a ninth-inning, three-run homer that essentially ensured the Bulldogs were headed to the College World Series. The ball struck Big Hit Mac's bat, sailed deep into the Starkville night and the State faithful were sent into a frenzy.

Among those in the crowd celebrating that evening was Christian MacLeod. Mississippi State's current ace pitcher was just a true freshman back then, going through a redshirt year.

"I was watching," MacLeod recalled Monday. "Got a ticket to the game and was watching from the stands. I came…and was watching [from] down the third-base line."

Two years later, postseason baseball is now officially headed back to Dudy Noble Field and this time, when MacLeod attends, he won't need a ticket.

Mississippi State was revealed as the nation's No. 7 seed on Monday. That means the Bulldogs will welcome VCU, Campbell and Samford for the Starkville Regional beginning on Friday and should State emerge from the weekend, the Diamond Dawgs' road towards Omaha will remain running through Starkville in the Super Regional round.

Of course a big piece of Mississippi State staying on track for a June trip to Nebraska will be MacLeod. After redshirting in 2019, then having a possible postseason opportunity ripped away last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finally the southpaw gets to try and make his mark on the big stage at State.

"Being in the dugout and really getting to experience that postseason feeling, being in the locker room and everything, I'm really excited about it," MacLeod said.

MacLeod's feelings of anticipation are shared by all those in maroon and white. Monday's announcement was the culmination of a regular season full of success. Make no mistake about it, the Bulldogs earned this, said head coach Chris Lemonis.

Mississippi State went 40-15 overall over the course of 2021. The Bulldogs racked up 20 Southeastern Conference wins. Yes, most recently, State stumbled a bit with a pair of losses in the SEC Tournament. But that was then. This is now. The Bulldogs' complete body of work over the course of the 2021 campaign has put them in position to put the homefield advantage Lemonis has called, "The Dude Effect", into full effect.

"This past week has been a tough week, but now it's a new season," Lemonis said. "And our kids deserve this. They've had a great year. They've went on the road and played tough teams. They played a great non-conference schedule. They played a great SEC schedule and they're ready to play in front of their own fans.

"We've played hard all year. We've responded all year. We've played really good at home all year. Being able to play in front of our own fans and play in front of big crowds – the one thing is I don't know how many big crowds these teams [coming in for the Regional] have played in front of all year. I'm hoping our crowd and our fanbase make a difference this weekend. But our guys, we've got great players. They're hard-working and they're ready. They're hungry and they'll be ready to go."

MacLeod might be among a group of several Bulldogs with an extra layer of eagerness. Yes, it's MacLeod's third year in the program, but there's just something different about finally playing postseason baseball – particularly postseason baseball at Dudy Noble. MacLeod, along with names like Will Bednar, Landon Sims, Kamren James, Logan Tanner and a whole host of others have never participated in a Regional at all, much less one in Starkville. Luckily for them, they have veterans like Tanner Allen and Rowdey Jordan to prep them for what they're about to experience.

"These young guys, I was telling them they've never seen anything like what they're going to see this weekend," Allen said. "It's going to be wild man."

And make no mistake, for the Bulldogs to take full advantage of the path now set before them, they'll likely need MacLeod and many of State's postseason newbies to step up and join the ranks of names like MacNamee and other Diamond Dawg heroes of the past. Their skipper believes MacLeod and the rest have the maturity to channel all their excitement and be at their best now that the games count the most.

"That'll be the biggest thing is having [MacLeod] go out there and toe the rubber and be calm," Lemonis said. "But he's worked for it. We have a lot of kids like that. A lot of our kids haven't played in the postseason. For them to be able to get out there and play good baseball and relax…We talk about playing free a lot – not playing tense and not trying to do too much. It's having the ability to play free. I think our kids will be able to do that this week. I'm excited for the guys that they have this opportunity."