The Dude Effect

STARKVILLE – It's been written about. It's been Tweeted about. It's been talked about. It's what has become known as The Dude Effect.

If anyone had forgotten or doubted that the best homefield advantage in all of college baseball is inside the confines of Mississippi State's Dudy Noble Field, the Bulldog faithful issued a definitive reminder on Saturday. Opponents don't simply have to defeat the Diamond Dawgs. Visitors have to conquer the cowbell-crazed home crowd as well.

"What a job by our fan base," MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said moments after State topped Notre Dame 9-8 in the first game of the Starkville Super Regional. "On a day when the heat index was [100 degrees], I am soaking wet [with sweat] right now. I know most of our fans probably are. We had fans out here at 8:30 a.m., and I was walking around saying, 'Hey.' To fill the ballpark the way they did and be as loud and vocal as they were, the fans were a difference-maker in [Saturday's] game…Our fans kept us in it the whole time."

An NCAA Super Regional record 14,385 people packed the Dude on Saturday. It was the fifth-largest crowd in Mississippi State history. And in a back-and-forth game with both the Bulldogs and Irish trading blows like two heavyweight boxers, MSU needed every single one of its supporters to help lift the maroon and white to victory.

State fans made their presence known early. Notre Dame entered Saturday's affair as the country's top defensive team with a .984 fielding percentage and just 26 errors all year. However, four Irish errors over the first five innings on Saturday gave MSU's offense a boost. Perhaps it was just coincidence the Irish faltered a bit in the field. Or maybe, just maybe, it was part of The Dude Effect.

"We have always heard a lot about this field's atmosphere, "Notre Dame shortstop Zack Prajzner said. "It absolutely lived up to it…You definitely heard them."

Added MSU centerfielder Rowdey Jordan: "I think, just the atmosphere, it's tough to play in. Any time you play in a big environment, it makes it more difficult. Especially when the fans are right on top of you like that and they're loud, it just makes it more difficult, and I think that played a big part [with] some of the errors they had today."

Not even a big Notre Dame lead could silence Mississippi State's not-so-secret weapon. The Irish took a 7-3 advantage in the fifth. The Bulldogs were left staring up at quite the challenge. But who better to have in your corner in the midst of all the adversity than nearly 15,000 Bulldog-loving crazies. From the Left Field Lounge, to the Adkerson Plaza, to the berms and in the main grandstand too, Dudy Noble came to life and seemingly willed State back into the game.

"As soon as you get a little momentum, they get loud," Jordan said. "The confidence just starts rolling and that's what leads to big innings and that's what happened. [We] got a few hits, crowd gets loud. Then we get a big hit, and they get even louder, and it just snowballs."

It was Jordan who brought the crowd to a boiling point with his sixth inning, two-run homer that briefly put Mississippi State in front for the first time all day at 8-7. Then after Notre Dame tied things in the seventh, State catcher Logan Tanner blew the figurative roof off the place with what turned out to be a game-winning long ball in the home half of the frame. Soon after, State closer Landon Sims turned the lights out and cemented the MSU victory.

Even coming out on the losing end, Notre Dame head coach Link Jarrett was in awe of the environment Dudy Noble provided.

"Championship quality," Jarrett said of the game's atmosphere. "It felt like a national championship game. Point blank. The atmosphere, personnel, strategy, talent, everything. That is what it's like at the highest amateur levels, and we got to see that today. We did not play at the highest level of defense like our team has played, but that was a turning point in the ball game. Make no mistake, it does not get any more intense or exciting than that. It is tough to be on the wrong side of that. Everybody that was here, all 14,385, that is why they show up. They made this what it is. These fans are great, and they add to the excitement and energy for this game."

After Saturday's events, Mississippi State now sits only one win away from a third-straight berth in the College World Series. As the Bulldogs look to punch their ticket to Omaha, they can come to the field on Sunday – and Monday if necessary – with the confidence of knowing they have their ace in the hole. Or more accurately, in the stands.

"Just like you hear our players, it's an experience like no other and having the opportunity to play here in this ballpark, play in front of this fan base, man it's pretty special," Lemonis said.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Rowdey Jordan

Landon Sims

Logan Tanner

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