A Special Setting For Super Bulldog Weekend
April 16, 2023 | Baseball
STARKVILLE – Dudy Noble Field was built for weekends like this.
The moments and memories made by Mississippi State players and fans alike during Super Bulldog Weekend 2023 are just another reminder of what truly makes this place so special and unlike any other on the collegiate landscape.
Nearly 44,000 – 43,986 to be exact – were on hand to watch the Diamond Dawgs down in-state rival Ole Miss in a series for the seventh-straight time and also set a new NCAA single-game attendance mark with 16,423 for their 6-5 walk-off win on Saturday.
"The fans really showed up this weekend," said junior relief pitcher Aaron Nixon. "It was awesome and they really set the environment. Our players really thrived in it. It was just a great experience."
The weekend started by honoring the SEC's all-time winningest coach, Ron Polk, with an eight-foot bronze statue to greet fans at an entrance to the stadium that bears his name.
Well over 100 of Polk's players made the pilgrimage back to Starkville to honor their head coach with their presence at the pregame ceremony including Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro, Bobby Thigpen, Paul Maholm, Mitch Moreland and many more.
Friday's game, however, saw MSU fall 3-2 despite the fourth-largest crowd of 14,739 on hand. Both of the Bulldogs' runs in that contest came on a pair of solo homers by Hunter Hines and Dakota Jordan.
As it turns out though, Hines and Jordan were only warming up because both would play a pivotal role in State seizing control of the series the rest of the weekend. In fact, Hines homered in all three contests and has launched five over the fence in seven career games against the Rebels.
After Ole Miss tied the game in the top of the seventh on Sunday, it was Hines' two-run shot on the first pitch he saw in the bottom half of the frame that gave State a 5-3 lead that stood the remainder of the afternoon.
"It's just different here," Hines said. "The crowd is different. The field is different. Everything is different. You've just got to calm yourself down a little bit and take advantage of the moment."
Jordan led State with a .385 batting average and six RBIs during Super Bulldog Weekend, including a pair of long balls. The freshman left fielder who fanned in the final at bat on Friday got a chance to redeem himself in front of a record crowd the following day.
It was Jordan who slapped a two-run single through the left side of the infield in the bottom of the ninth inning to deliver an 8-7 walk-off victory for the Diamond Dawgs on Saturday that sent Dak Prescott and the rest of the fans jam-packed into Dudy Noble Field into a frenzy leading into a postgame concert featuring country artist Brett Eldredge.
"It felt great and was something that I'd dreamed of as a little kid, hitting a walk-off against Ole Miss at Mississippi State's stadium," Jordan said. "I have to give a big shoutout to the fans that came out. They did their thing and we did ours."
Jordan also jump-started State's offense on Sunday with a tape-measure three-run homer in the third inning. That 420-foot round-tripper extended his hitting streak to a dozen games and now has the Canton native hitting .475 over that stretch with six homers and 18 RBIs.
Hines and Jordan weren't the only offensive production the Bulldogs had during the series. Center fielder Colton Ledbetter also socked a pair of home runs during Saturday's game that ultimately set the stage for Jordan's heroics in the final inning.
In fact, it was Ledbetter that scored the winning run from second base on Jordan's single.
"I just had a feeling the whole time, even when they scored late, that we were going to come back and win that thing," Ledbetter said.
Several of Mississippi State's pitchers also deserve their share of credit for the weekend's success. All three starters – Cade Smith, Landon Gartman and Jurrangelo Cijntje – did not exceed one earned run and fanned 13 in 13 2/3 innings.
Cijntje kept the Rebels guessing on Sunday, returning to his switch-pitching style for the first time in weeks. The freshman from Curacao struck out seven, scattered three hits and gave up only one run in 5 2/3 innings of work.
Nixon came on in relief Sunday to nail down the win on the mound. The right-handed fireballer from Texas inherited a bases-loaded jam with one out in the top of the seventh and limited the damage to just one run thanks to an unassisted double play by David Mershon, one of two twin-killings the freshman turned in as many games.
Nixon followed up with two perfect frames to close things out, giving the Bulldogs a 25:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio for the weekend.
"We've talked a lot about pounding the strike zone and I think those guys did it," said head coach Chris Lemonis. "Having Cade back there at the front kind of sets the tone for you. As the weekend went along, everybody pretty much went out there and pounded the strike zone with good pitches."
Sunday's win not only sealed State's seventh-straight series win over Ole Miss, but also improved the Bulldogs record against the Rebels to 20-6 since that streak started in 2016. Lemonis was introduced to the rivalry in 2019 and now owns a 9-3 record against the Rebels.
"Winning these rivalry games and winning the weekend is great for our season but it also means a lot to our community," Lemonis said. "Back in the office tomorrow, somebody probably gets to talk trash. And for our fans, it means a lot and across the board with our sports we've played good against (Ole Miss)."
Mississippi State has now won back-to-back SEC series for the first time this spring and is starting to pick up some momentum closing in on the final month of the regular season. The Bulldogs are currently tied with their next opponent, Auburn, for fifth in the Western Division standings and are only a game behind Alabama and two back from third place Texas A&M.
"We've put ourselves in a hole to where we don't have weeks off anymore," Lemonis said. "We've got to be ready and go and just try and do our work. We can't think about the past either and I think they understand that. They're having fun right now."
