Just Keep Playing

STARKVILLE – When Tanner Allen stepped to the podium for his postgame press conference on Sunday night just moments after Mississippi State fell 9-1 to Notre Dame to even up the Starkville Super Regional, there was a sense of calm in the junior outfielder's voice.

Allen's plans for the rest of his Sunday night? Family time. Dinner. Maybe a movie before drifting off to sleep for rest ahead of Monday's 6 p.m. winner-take-all game against the Fighting Irish at Dudy Noble Field.

How could Allen be so relaxed about such a moment? Well his Bulldog career has taught him a thing or two about overcoming adversity. Not even a tough loss at the hands of Notre Dame on Sunday could shake his confidence and the veteran already knew what to share with his younger teammates regarding Monday's big game.

"Just going to tell them that no matter what happens, you've got to keep playing," Allen said. "No matter what happens early in the game or late in the game, we've just got to keep playing. Play with each other and play for each other."

Yes, the Bulldogs will certainly all need one another in order to keep their season alive on Monday when they fight to try and advance to their third-straight College World Series on the heels of Sunday's action. Storms in the area pushed back Sunday's game time by about 15 minutes, but that did little to slow down Notre Dame starting pitcher Aidan Tyrell. Tyrell led the way for the Irish by allowing just five State hits and one Bulldog run over 7 1/3 innings. When all was said and done, all Allen and company could do was tip their M-over-S caps.

"I think Tyrell had a great night," Allen said. "He's a heck of a pitcher man. He mixed really well. For us left-handers, he kind of kept us off balance with his slider, then he'd throw the fastball when you weren't expecting it. So he had a great night man. But…we're moving on. We're already looking forward to [Monday]."

Allen's career has built within him an ability to have a short memory. Who could forget his true freshman season? Back in 2018, Mississippi State was just 15-15 through 30 games and sat at 2-7 in Southeastern Conference play. Yet Allen and the Bulldogs rallied. They ended up fighting their way into the NCAA Tournament, battled back through the loser's bracket in the Tallahassee Regional, survived a three-game thriller in a Super Regional at Vanderbilt and moved on to the College World Series.

Two years later, more adversity struck Allen. Not only did Allen's 2020 season get cut short like everyone's because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he suffered a hand injury and underwent surgery in early March that would've cost him most, if not all, of the whole season anyway.

Allen fought through his ailment, then returned this year better than ever. He was chosen as the SEC's Player of the Year, but even then, this season wasn't exactly a walk in the park for Allen or the Bulldogs.

Time and time again this year, MSU has gotten punched in the mouth, but then roared back. Perhaps it's just the Bulldog way, forged by veteran leaders like Allen and Rowdey Jordan who've faced it all these last four years.

"As great as [Allen and Jordan's] careers have been, it's not always easy," State head coach Chris Lemonis said. "When you play in the SEC and you play here, you play so many great teams you have to be able to bounce back. And one of our greatest qualities is we bounce back. We've bounced back from a lot of things this year. So those two guys and all the other seniors that have been around, they're a big part of that and they're a big reason for it. Like I said, we'll erase [Sunday] from our memory and go out there and play good baseball. And we've been playing good lately. So it'll be a fun day [Monday]."

Fun. That might not be a word you'd expect to be uttered by a Bulldog given the magnitude of Monday's situation. Yet when you've been through the fire and come out on the other side like Allen and others have time and time again, it provides the ability to slow down the moment and keep the pulse from racing.

Despite that, there are no guarantees about who'll be dog piling at The Dude on Monday night. But one certainty appears to be that the Bulldogs will be locked in and ready to go. And with Allen and all he's been through leading the way, why wouldn't they be?

"[Sunday is] over with," Allen said. "We're not worried about it. We're already looking forward to [Monday]."

Mississippi State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Tanner Allen

Rowdey Jordan

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