Mississippi State closed out the 2019 regular season with its 8th SEC series victory of the year, defeating South Carolina 2 out of 3 to win a share of the SEC Western Division Title, albeit shared with an Arkansas team that swept the Bulldogs.
The week began with a Tuesday midweek contest against Louisiana Tech; the game was scheduled as a replacement for the game against Nebraska that got rained out earlier in the season. State beat La Tech 7-3 to finish the season with a perfect 15-0 record in midweek games, marking the first time since 2013 that the Bulldogs have finished undefeated in midweeks. The white 85s were worn for the 7th consecutive midweek game, improving their 2019 record to 8-0.
Mississippi State's bats handled South Carolina quite easily on Thursday and Friday, clinching the series victory with 24-7 and 11-2 wins. With Ethan Small on the mound on Thursday, the Bulldogs wore the maroon 85 jerseys with white pants; the win improved the season record in the maroon 85s to 12-3, and 8-2 when paired with white pants. With JT Ginn starting in the Friday win, State went with the 50s-style white STATE uniforms, improving their season record to 7-1.
Saturday's game 3 was the second time this season that the Bulldogs had played an SEC game 3 at home on a Saturday. The first time was against LSU, when the white "State" pinstripes were worn. The white pins, which were worn 5 times early in the season to a 4-1 record, have not been worn since that game on March 30th, marking seven consecutive weeks in which they have not appeared. Multiple people have asked me why this has been the case, and at this point I'm just as perplexed as they are. Obviously the white pins had a reduced role earlier in the season, but that role was totally eliminated once April began. I would've expected them to be worn in at least 1 or 2 of the last several midweek games and in Saturday's game with South Carolina. I reached out to a baseball EQ manager to see if he could provide any explanation, but did not get a response. So, for now, this remains a mystery.
So, instead of the white pinstripes (or all-black uniforms, which have rightfully been kept to Sundays this season), the white 85s made their SEC debut in the regular season finale against South Carolina. It was really nice to see them being worn in a weekend game again; though all three of State's white uniforms are really good, I think the white 85s are the best of them. This marked the first time this season that, excepting doubleheaders, the same uniform had been worn twice in a single week; that's a stat that demonstrates how good of a job State's EQ staff and others involved have done with uniform selection this year.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs' late comeback bid on Saturday wasn't enough, and they fell in the regular season finale to South Carolina, who had to win to secure a spot in Hoover for the SEC Tournament. The loss was the first that the Bulldogs had suffered in the white 85s all season, bringing their record down to 8-1 (.889) on the year. As big of a fan as I am of keeping the all-black uniforms to Sunday, the stats here are pretty one-sided: in Sunday game 3s in SEC play, the Bulldogs were 5-0, whereas in Saturday game 3s, they were 1-4 (with the win coming in game 2 of the Saturday DH at Texas A&M in the gray pinstripes).
With stats in mind, here are the "Uniform Standings" following the 2019 Regular Season:
Saturday's loss prevented the Bulldogs from claiming the outright SEC West Championship and 2 seed in the SEC Tournament, but State is still in good shape with a share of the West title, #4 SECT seed, and first round bye in Hoover. The Bulldogs finished the regular season with an incredibly impressive 45-11 overall record, 20-10 record in SEC play, and an RPI of 4; they are essentially guaranteed to be a top-8 national seed come selection time next week. Still, State would love to pick up a few wins in Hoover to get as high of a seeding as possible.
The week began with a Tuesday midweek contest against Louisiana Tech; the game was scheduled as a replacement for the game against Nebraska that got rained out earlier in the season. State beat La Tech 7-3 to finish the season with a perfect 15-0 record in midweek games, marking the first time since 2013 that the Bulldogs have finished undefeated in midweeks. The white 85s were worn for the 7th consecutive midweek game, improving their 2019 record to 8-0.
Mississippi State's bats handled South Carolina quite easily on Thursday and Friday, clinching the series victory with 24-7 and 11-2 wins. With Ethan Small on the mound on Thursday, the Bulldogs wore the maroon 85 jerseys with white pants; the win improved the season record in the maroon 85s to 12-3, and 8-2 when paired with white pants. With JT Ginn starting in the Friday win, State went with the 50s-style white STATE uniforms, improving their season record to 7-1.
Saturday's game 3 was the second time this season that the Bulldogs had played an SEC game 3 at home on a Saturday. The first time was against LSU, when the white "State" pinstripes were worn. The white pins, which were worn 5 times early in the season to a 4-1 record, have not been worn since that game on March 30th, marking seven consecutive weeks in which they have not appeared. Multiple people have asked me why this has been the case, and at this point I'm just as perplexed as they are. Obviously the white pins had a reduced role earlier in the season, but that role was totally eliminated once April began. I would've expected them to be worn in at least 1 or 2 of the last several midweek games and in Saturday's game with South Carolina. I reached out to a baseball EQ manager to see if he could provide any explanation, but did not get a response. So, for now, this remains a mystery.
So, instead of the white pinstripes (or all-black uniforms, which have rightfully been kept to Sundays this season), the white 85s made their SEC debut in the regular season finale against South Carolina. It was really nice to see them being worn in a weekend game again; though all three of State's white uniforms are really good, I think the white 85s are the best of them. This marked the first time this season that, excepting doubleheaders, the same uniform had been worn twice in a single week; that's a stat that demonstrates how good of a job State's EQ staff and others involved have done with uniform selection this year.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs' late comeback bid on Saturday wasn't enough, and they fell in the regular season finale to South Carolina, who had to win to secure a spot in Hoover for the SEC Tournament. The loss was the first that the Bulldogs had suffered in the white 85s all season, bringing their record down to 8-1 (.889) on the year. As big of a fan as I am of keeping the all-black uniforms to Sunday, the stats here are pretty one-sided: in Sunday game 3s in SEC play, the Bulldogs were 5-0, whereas in Saturday game 3s, they were 1-4 (with the win coming in game 2 of the Saturday DH at Texas A&M in the gray pinstripes).
With stats in mind, here are the "Uniform Standings" following the 2019 Regular Season:
- 10 Games: 8-2 (.800): Maroon 85s w/ White Pants
- 9 Games: 8-1 (.889): White 85s
- 8 Games: 7-1 (.875): 50s-style White STATE
- 8 Games: 4-4 (.500): Gray Pinstripes
- 7 Games: 7-0 (1.000): All-Black 85s
- 5 Games: 4-1 (.800): Maroon 85s w/ Gray Pants
- 5 Games: 4-1 (.800): White "State" Pinstripes
- 3 Games: 2-1 (.667): Gray Sleeveless Vests
- 1 Game: 1-0 (1.000): Teal Alex Wilcox Tribute Jerseys
Saturday's loss prevented the Bulldogs from claiming the outright SEC West Championship and 2 seed in the SEC Tournament, but State is still in good shape with a share of the West title, #4 SECT seed, and first round bye in Hoover. The Bulldogs finished the regular season with an incredibly impressive 45-11 overall record, 20-10 record in SEC play, and an RPI of 4; they are essentially guaranteed to be a top-8 national seed come selection time next week. Still, State would love to pick up a few wins in Hoover to get as high of a seeding as possible.
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This weekend was the final regular season weekend for one of Mississippi State's greatest baseball players of all-time, Jake Mangum. Over the course of his four years as a Bulldog, Jake has worn the M over S on his cap and #15 on his back in 26 different uniform combinations! (which is actually still far short of Cody Brown, who will probably forever hold the record of most Mississippi State baseball uniform combinations worn at 42)
In his time at State, Mangum was worn 5 different solid white jerseys, 2 versions of white pinstripes, 2 gray jerseys (one with pinstripes and one in vest form), 4 different maroon jerseys (two featuring the M over S logo and two featuring the '85' wordmark), 3 different black jerseys, and 3 non-traditional color jerseys (Mossy Oak Camo and Digital Camo from 2016, Teal from this season).
The gray pinstripes are the only uniform that Mangum wore in all four years as a Bulldog; with four different head coaches, the gray pinstripes, beating Ole Miss, and always making a super regional (3 down, hopefully one to go), have been the only consistent things about the Mangum Era.
No matter what uniform he's wearing, Jake Mangum always brings maximum effort and will always be remembered as a Mississippi State baseball legend.
In his time at State, Mangum was worn 5 different solid white jerseys, 2 versions of white pinstripes, 2 gray jerseys (one with pinstripes and one in vest form), 4 different maroon jerseys (two featuring the M over S logo and two featuring the '85' wordmark), 3 different black jerseys, and 3 non-traditional color jerseys (Mossy Oak Camo and Digital Camo from 2016, Teal from this season).
The gray pinstripes are the only uniform that Mangum wore in all four years as a Bulldog; with four different head coaches, the gray pinstripes, beating Ole Miss, and always making a super regional (3 down, hopefully one to go), have been the only consistent things about the Mangum Era.
No matter what uniform he's wearing, Jake Mangum always brings maximum effort and will always be remembered as a Mississippi State baseball legend.
This week, Mississippi State will travel to the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. As the #4 seed, the Bulldogs will have a first round bye, and will play the winner of 5 seed LSU and 12 seed South Carolina late Wednesday night. I'll be interested to see what uniforms the Bulldogs wear in Hoover; pretty much anything is on the table. State has been very experimental in Hoover before (see: 2014) but have also been very conservative before (see: 2017).
For a record of every uniform Mississippi State has worn in Hoover since 2005, check out the Postseason Baseball Uniform History page.
Uniform Models for the Final Week of the 2019 Regular Season:
Tuesday vs Louisiana Tech: White 85: #4 Rowdey Jordan
Thursday vs South Carolina: Maroon 85 over White: #5 Tanner Allen
Friday vs South Carolina: 50s-style White STATE: #10 Josh Hatcher
Saturday vs South Carolina: White 85: #5 Tanner Allen
For a record of every uniform Mississippi State has worn in Hoover since 2005, check out the Postseason Baseball Uniform History page.
Uniform Models for the Final Week of the 2019 Regular Season:
Tuesday vs Louisiana Tech: White 85: #4 Rowdey Jordan
Thursday vs South Carolina: Maroon 85 over White: #5 Tanner Allen
Friday vs South Carolina: 50s-style White STATE: #10 Josh Hatcher
Saturday vs South Carolina: White 85: #5 Tanner Allen
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