There are few things more enjoyable as a Mississippi State fan than watching the Bulldogs win in Oxford. State fans got to enjoy that feeling three times this weekend, as the Bulldogs swept the hometown Rebels in the penultimate SEC series of 2019, continuing their 4-year stretch of dominance over their in-state rivals and winning their fourth SEC road series of the season.
The week began with a Wednesday home game against the Memphis Tigers, who jumped out to a 7-0 lead over the Bulldogs before a the first out was even recorded. However, the Mississippi State bats were able to battle back over the course of the game, squeaking out a 10-9 victory to keep the Bulldogs undefeated (14-0) in midweek games in 2019. In the win, State wore the white 85s for the sixth consecutive home midweek game, giving them a pristine 7-0 record on the season.
Over the weekend in Oxford, State found a different way to win each game. Ethan Small and Jared Liebelt dominated on the mound (despite a fog delay that prematurely ended Small’s night) on Friday. On Saturday, the Bulldogs got off to a slow start, but were the beneficiaries of an admittedly bogus interference call that limited the Rebels’ damage. State took advantage by bringing the bats to life, Ole Miss was not able to get hot again, and the Bulldogs won 8-5 to clinch the series. On Sunday, a 9-run top of the 4th gave the Bulldogs a huge lead that deflated any hopes the Rebels had of salvaging a game; State would cruise to an 11-5 win, with their last run coming on an RBI double by Jake Mangum in his last ever at-bat in Oxford.
As they have in every road game Ethan Small has pitched in, State wore the maroon 85 jerseys with gray pants in the Friday night win. That win improved the Bulldogs’ record in the maroon 85s to 11-3, and 4-1 when paired with gray pants.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs broke trend slightly, choosing to go with the gray sleeveless jerseys rather than the gray pinstripes. State had already beaten Ole Miss in the Governor’s Cup in the gray pins earlier this season, so it did make sense to go with the gray vests this time to create some variety. The win on Saturday night marked the Bulldogs’ first SEC win in the gray vests, and improved their record to 2-1 on the season. State is now 6-5 in gray (vests or pins) this season, and 6-2 in solid gray pants.
As they have in every Sunday game this season, Mississippi State broke out the all-black uniforms as they (successfully) went for the sweep. It was an exact color rematch of last year’s rubber match with the Rebels, in which State wore all-black and Ole Miss wore all-powder blue. That game, in which Luke Alexander hit a walk-off HR in extra winnings to win the series, is what began the trend of State wearing black in game 3s last year and on Sundays this year. The Bulldogs once again won the “color rush”-esque matchup, improving their 2019 record in all-black to 7-0 and their all-time record in all-black to 16-3.
The week began with a Wednesday home game against the Memphis Tigers, who jumped out to a 7-0 lead over the Bulldogs before a the first out was even recorded. However, the Mississippi State bats were able to battle back over the course of the game, squeaking out a 10-9 victory to keep the Bulldogs undefeated (14-0) in midweek games in 2019. In the win, State wore the white 85s for the sixth consecutive home midweek game, giving them a pristine 7-0 record on the season.
Over the weekend in Oxford, State found a different way to win each game. Ethan Small and Jared Liebelt dominated on the mound (despite a fog delay that prematurely ended Small’s night) on Friday. On Saturday, the Bulldogs got off to a slow start, but were the beneficiaries of an admittedly bogus interference call that limited the Rebels’ damage. State took advantage by bringing the bats to life, Ole Miss was not able to get hot again, and the Bulldogs won 8-5 to clinch the series. On Sunday, a 9-run top of the 4th gave the Bulldogs a huge lead that deflated any hopes the Rebels had of salvaging a game; State would cruise to an 11-5 win, with their last run coming on an RBI double by Jake Mangum in his last ever at-bat in Oxford.
As they have in every road game Ethan Small has pitched in, State wore the maroon 85 jerseys with gray pants in the Friday night win. That win improved the Bulldogs’ record in the maroon 85s to 11-3, and 4-1 when paired with gray pants.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs broke trend slightly, choosing to go with the gray sleeveless jerseys rather than the gray pinstripes. State had already beaten Ole Miss in the Governor’s Cup in the gray pins earlier this season, so it did make sense to go with the gray vests this time to create some variety. The win on Saturday night marked the Bulldogs’ first SEC win in the gray vests, and improved their record to 2-1 on the season. State is now 6-5 in gray (vests or pins) this season, and 6-2 in solid gray pants.
As they have in every Sunday game this season, Mississippi State broke out the all-black uniforms as they (successfully) went for the sweep. It was an exact color rematch of last year’s rubber match with the Rebels, in which State wore all-black and Ole Miss wore all-powder blue. That game, in which Luke Alexander hit a walk-off HR in extra winnings to win the series, is what began the trend of State wearing black in game 3s last year and on Sundays this year. The Bulldogs once again won the “color rush”-esque matchup, improving their 2019 record in all-black to 7-0 and their all-time record in all-black to 16-3.
| As you are probably aware, Mississippi State has absolutely dominated Ole Miss in baseball over the past four seasons. Jake Mangum, the King in the North, will go down as someone who has owned Ole Miss more than any other single player in school history. Over the course of four seasons, and with four different head coaches, Mangum and the Bulldogs have achieved a 14-2 record against Ole Miss, including two sweeps in Oxford, four series wins, and four Governor’s Cup victories. In 2016, Mangum’s freshman season and John Cohen’s final season as head coach before taking the AD job, Mississippi State won the SEC Regular Season Championship and hosted both a regional and super regional as a national seed. The Bulldogs won the series in Starkville and well as the Governor’s Cup to finish 3-1 against the Rebels. One of the most positive memories State fans have regarding Andy Cannizaro’s brief stint as head coach is the fact that he never lost to Ole Miss. Under Cannizaro in 2017, State swept the Rebels in Oxford and won the Governor’s Cup to finish 4-0 against them on the season. Neither team was “elite” that season, but State did manage to win the Hattiesburg regional and play in a super for the second consecutive year. With Gary Henderson serving as interim head coach in 2018, Mississippi State’s season was not looking promising when the #3 Ole Miss Rebels came to Starkville. Still, the Bulldogs managed to take 2 of 3 against the Rebels and later won the Governor’s Cup (also on an Alexander walk-off) to cap off another winning season against the Rebels. That year, Ole Miss did win the SEC West and SEC Tournament, and also received a national seed designation. However, they choked in their home regional against Tennessee Tech. Meanwhile, the series win over the Rebels kick-started a turnaround for the Bulldogs’ season. They ended up winning a road regional and a road super regional, advancing to the College World Series, where they would win two more games and finish tied for 3rd in the nation. In 2019, Mangum’s senior season and Chris Lemonis’s first as head coach of the Bulldogs, Mississippi State scorched the Rebels in the Governor’s Cup and swept them this past weekend in Oxford, getting Lemonis off to a 4-0 start against the Rebels and capping Mangum’s career record against them at an astounding 14-2. After getting swept, Ole Miss now looks to be on the wrong side of the hosting bubble, while Mississippi State is in prime position for a national seed. To tie this back into uniforms, State is 6-0 against the Rebels while wearing maroon jerseys since 2016. They are 3-0 in gray, 3-1 in white, and 2-1 in black. Essentially, it doesn’t really matter what they wear: Mississippi State and Jake Mangum simply own Ole Miss in baseball. |  |
In the final week of the 2019 regular season, Mississippi State will host Louisiana Tech in a Tuesday midweek matchup before hosting South Carolina in a Thursday through Saturday series to finish up this year’s SEC regular season slate.
I would expect to see the white 85s on Tuesday and then the same three weekend uniforms as were worn in the Thursday-Saturday LSU series. The white pinstripes haven’t been worn since that LSU series; I definitely hope to see them again this weekend, either on Thursday or Saturday.
Uniform Models for the sweep in Oxford:
Wednesday vs Memphis: White 85: #5 Tanner Allen
Friday at Ole Miss: Maroon 85 over Gray: #19 Jared Liebelt
Saturday at Ole Miss: Gray Sleeveless: #34 Marshall Gilbert
Sunday at Ole Miss: Black 85 over Black: #15 Jake Mangum
I would expect to see the white 85s on Tuesday and then the same three weekend uniforms as were worn in the Thursday-Saturday LSU series. The white pinstripes haven’t been worn since that LSU series; I definitely hope to see them again this weekend, either on Thursday or Saturday.
Uniform Models for the sweep in Oxford:
Wednesday vs Memphis: White 85: #5 Tanner Allen
Friday at Ole Miss: Maroon 85 over Gray: #19 Jared Liebelt
Saturday at Ole Miss: Gray Sleeveless: #34 Marshall Gilbert
Sunday at Ole Miss: Black 85 over Black: #15 Jake Mangum
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