What a weekend it was for Mississippi State athletics. In addition to winning home Men's and Women's basketball games (after both teams had won road weeknight games), the baseball team took 2 out of 3 from their in-state rival Southern Miss (also after winning a midweek game, over UAB).
The much-anticipated Southern Miss series had a good bit of buildup to it. Two years ago, Mississippi State beat the Golden Eagles twice in the 2017 Hattiesburg Regional, ending the Eagles' season. Last year, with the Bulldogs' soon to be canned head coach hardly invested in the game, Southern Miss exacted their revenge in the form of a season-opening sweep. That season would result in Southern Miss being eliminated in a regional while Mississippi State and interim Head Coach Gary Henderson made an Omaha run. This recent history led to some trash-talking for both sides, notably from Mississippi State pitcher Ethan Small and Southern Miss DH Matt Wallner. Small pitched 7 innings (albeit in a team loss) on Friday, allowing 1 hit, 0 runs, and striking out a career-high 13. Wallner, on the other hand, went 0 for 10 on the weekend.
The week for Mississippi State did not start with the Southern Miss series, however. It started with a midweek game against UAB. Despite a slow start, the Bulldogs were able to pull off a victory on the back of a - surprise - Jake Mangum 2-RBI single. The UAB game was the season debut of the white "State" pinstripe uniforms; as noted in the season preview, this year's pinstripe look has been slightly updated, with a few minor patch tweaks. The new pinstripes, which are the 7th white pinstripe design in school history, looked as great as always.
The much-anticipated Southern Miss series had a good bit of buildup to it. Two years ago, Mississippi State beat the Golden Eagles twice in the 2017 Hattiesburg Regional, ending the Eagles' season. Last year, with the Bulldogs' soon to be canned head coach hardly invested in the game, Southern Miss exacted their revenge in the form of a season-opening sweep. That season would result in Southern Miss being eliminated in a regional while Mississippi State and interim Head Coach Gary Henderson made an Omaha run. This recent history led to some trash-talking for both sides, notably from Mississippi State pitcher Ethan Small and Southern Miss DH Matt Wallner. Small pitched 7 innings (albeit in a team loss) on Friday, allowing 1 hit, 0 runs, and striking out a career-high 13. Wallner, on the other hand, went 0 for 10 on the weekend.
The week for Mississippi State did not start with the Southern Miss series, however. It started with a midweek game against UAB. Despite a slow start, the Bulldogs were able to pull off a victory on the back of a - surprise - Jake Mangum 2-RBI single. The UAB game was the season debut of the white "State" pinstripe uniforms; as noted in the season preview, this year's pinstripe look has been slightly updated, with a few minor patch tweaks. The new pinstripes, which are the 7th white pinstripe design in school history, looked as great as always.
On Friday, State wore Maroon 85 over White as Ethan Small dominated, but the Bulldogs couldn't scratch across a run and lost 1-0 in 10 innings. On Saturday, they went with the 50s-style white "STATE" uniforms, which have proved to be very popular with fans. With JT Ginn on the mound, the Bulldogs' bats woke up to win the game 8-1 and even the series.
In the rubber match and first Sunday game of the season, the Bulldogs broke out the all-black "nickelblack" look for the first time in 2019. As with all of the Bulldogs' other uniforms, the black 85s have changed for the 2019 season. Changes include:
I've made my criticisms of black pants in baseball known, and those haven't really changed. Additionally, the idea of wearing black against an in-state rival whose main color is black is just as weird as wearing all-black in a Super Regional at Vanderbilt. However, the look has been "successful" on the field and is a thing for the foreseeable future.
So, let's focus on the positives: this year's all black look is undoubtedly an improvement on last year's. Having some maroon is good for school recognition, and it's minimal enough to create some pop without creating muddiness (see the 2009 and 2010-2014 black jerseys for how "muddied" maroon and black can look together). The matte black batting helmets looked good. There was problem with the jerseys last year where, in the direct sunlight, the jerseys would appear lighter than the pants; that problem appears to have been rectified this year.
I like having the player names on back; these are actually the first Mississippi State baseball jerseys to feature player NOBs since the White M over S jerseys in 2016. I’ve said before that if State’s going to do black jerseys (in any sport), there needs to be something distinctive about them to give them a redeeming factor. I think adding NOBs does that here.
In the end, the legend of the "nickelblacks" grew on Sunday, as Tanner Allen hit a game winning walk-off double down the right field line in the bottom of the 9th, winning the series and starting out the black 85s with a 1-0 record in 2019.
In the rubber match and first Sunday game of the season, the Bulldogs broke out the all-black "nickelblack" look for the first time in 2019. As with all of the Bulldogs' other uniforms, the black 85s have changed for the 2019 season. Changes include:
- Maroon accents throughout the jersey (and on the hat logo)
- Smaller sleeve stripes
- Addition of the M over S logo to the right sleeve
- Adidas logo moved to left chest
- Player names on the back
- Matte black batting helmets (rather than maroon)
I've made my criticisms of black pants in baseball known, and those haven't really changed. Additionally, the idea of wearing black against an in-state rival whose main color is black is just as weird as wearing all-black in a Super Regional at Vanderbilt. However, the look has been "successful" on the field and is a thing for the foreseeable future.
So, let's focus on the positives: this year's all black look is undoubtedly an improvement on last year's. Having some maroon is good for school recognition, and it's minimal enough to create some pop without creating muddiness (see the 2009 and 2010-2014 black jerseys for how "muddied" maroon and black can look together). The matte black batting helmets looked good. There was problem with the jerseys last year where, in the direct sunlight, the jerseys would appear lighter than the pants; that problem appears to have been rectified this year.
I like having the player names on back; these are actually the first Mississippi State baseball jerseys to feature player NOBs since the White M over S jerseys in 2016. I’ve said before that if State’s going to do black jerseys (in any sport), there needs to be something distinctive about them to give them a redeeming factor. I think adding NOBs does that here.
In the end, the legend of the "nickelblacks" grew on Sunday, as Tanner Allen hit a game winning walk-off double down the right field line in the bottom of the 9th, winning the series and starting out the black 85s with a 1-0 record in 2019.
Next week, the Bulldogs host two midweek games and then head to Texas to play in the Frisco Classic. Saturday (against Texas Tech) will be the Bulldogs' first game of the season as the "away" team. I expect to see one, maybe two, uniforms make their season debut next week.
Uniform Models for the Southern Miss Weekend:
Wednesday vs UAB: White "State" Pinstripes: #15 Jake Mangum
Friday vs Southern Miss: Maroon 85 over White: #44 Ethan Small
Saturday vs Southern Miss: White "State": #3 JT Ginn
Sunday vs Southern Miss: Black 85 over Black: #5 Tanner Allen
Uniform Models for the Southern Miss Weekend:
Wednesday vs UAB: White "State" Pinstripes: #15 Jake Mangum
Friday vs Southern Miss: Maroon 85 over White: #44 Ethan Small
Saturday vs Southern Miss: White "State": #3 JT Ginn
Sunday vs Southern Miss: Black 85 over Black: #5 Tanner Allen
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