Leggett’s Legendary Moment

June 26, 2021 | Baseball, Joel Coleman

Tanner Leggett delivers off the bench to send Mississippi State to the College World Series Finals.

By: Joel Coleman, Senior Writer

OMAHA, Neb. – Tanner Leggett was ready for the moment.

As Mississippi State's reserve infielder stepped into the batter's box in the ninth inning on Saturday night, the pressure was immense. The Bulldogs were tied with Texas. MSU had the winning run at second with one out. A base hit would send State to the College World Series Finals.

No one could've faulted the sparingly-used Leggett if his knees were knocking and heart was beating out of his chest. But Nah. Leggett was just fine.

Leggett roped a single into the left-field gap and he and his Bulldog teammates walked off the Longhorns and walked into the CWS championship series against Vanderbilt. MSU took the 4-3 victory and Leggett took with him a moment that'll live forever in State history.

"What an opportunity," Leggett said. "Some people get nervous for that situation, but I pray for that situation. Thank God for putting me [there] and thank Coach [Chris Lemonis] for putting me in the game. I knew if I got a pitch, I would be short to it. Just played my part."

The Bulldogs charged out of the home dugout in celebration. Leggett's clutch knock has put MSU where only one prior State team has gotten. Before Saturday night, only the 2013 Mississippi State squad had made it to the CWS Finals. Now add this year's bunch.

Unpredictably, it was Leggett opening that door. This was a young man that had just one at-bat all month prior to Saturday. Yet when his number was called and he delivered with his sweet swing, you'd have sworn he'd been playing every day.

"You're so proud as a coach," Lemonis said of Leggett's heroics. "About a pitch earlier, right before the pitch came, [hitting coach Jake Gautreau] turned to me and said, 'This may be the highlight of Tanner's career in terms of being able to get that big hit.' And next thing you know, the ball is in the gap."

Leggett didn't enter the game until the seventh inning. After Josh Hatcher pinch hit for Lane Forsythe in the sixth, Leggett took over Forsythe's spot at shortstop. Little did anyone know at the time, the game would soon find Leggett.

"He's not had an opportunity to play and we've had a set lineup in the postseason and we haven't played a lot of guys offensively," Lemonis said. "We had a little defensive switch. But being able to get Josh Hatcher some at-bats, who has been playing well, has led to Tanner being able to get some time in the lineup. Just so happened his at-bat or his time in the lineup came up at the biggest moment."

And Leggett didn't disappoint.

"I had a couple guys come up to me in the dugout and tell me that I was going to get a chance to win it," Leggett said. "I knew if I got a pitch to hit, I would be short to it, and I did, thank the Lord."

As memorable as Leggett's moment will forever be, it wasn't without a total team performance paving the way. There was Will Bednar, again stifling Texas bats for the second time in a week. Bednar tossed 6 1/3 innings, allowing only four hits and three runs while striking out seven. Closer Landon Sims then entered and held the Longhorns at bay with 2 2/3 scoreless, hitless frames.

Offensively, Tanner Allen had an RBI single in the third to cut a 2-0 Texas lead in half. After the Longhorns stretched their lead to 3-1 in the fifth, Forsythe got the run right back when his double-play grounder plated Brad Cumbest to make it 3-2.

Logan Tanner evened things up for MSU with his RBI double down the left-field line in the sixth. The score then held until the decisive bottom of the ninth.

Yes, Leggett had the big hit, but it was another reserve and fellow junior college transfer, Brayland Skinner, that put Leggett in position.

When Kellum Clark was hit with a pitch with one out, Skinner entered as a pinch runner. Soon after, the speedster was off and sprinting, trying to steal second.

"It was a fastball up and away so probably we didn't run on the best pitch or the best move and he just out-ran the baseball," Lemonis said of Skinner.

With the winning run at second, all the Bulldogs needed was one hit. One good hack would put Mississippi State playing for it all. Leggett was in the spotlight, primed and ready. As prepared as he claims he was, he freely admits he got carried away in the aftermath of it all.

"You black out," Leggett said. "It's a great feeling, knowing we've worked so hard to get here. Just what a moment…What a moment."

And now, Leggett's hit ensures the stage is set for he and his Bulldog teammates to have opportunities for even bigger moments. Mississippi State and Vanderbilt begin a best-of-three series for the national championship on Monday at 6 p.m. CT.

It won't be easy. For this team, it seemingly never is. But with players like Leggett, the Bulldogs are looking forward to the chance to dig deep and try to go to a place where no Mississippi State team has gone before.

"For Mississippi State to win here, you have to earn it," Lemonis said. "Playing Vanderbilt, one of the top if not the top program in college baseball the last five years, we have to go against the best and that's the way we want it."