A lot was riding on this year's Super Bulldog Weekend series. With arch-rival Ole Miss coming to town alongside crowds the levels of which haven't been seen in two years, the pressure was on. And Mississippi State delivered. The Bulldogs worked around a no-show on Saturday to win the series with victories on Friday and Sunday, putting themselves in an excellent position for a top-8 spot when the NCAA decides hosting locations later this month.
The week began with a midweek matchup with Arkansas State. The cream "State" script jerseys made their second consecutive midweek appearance, making it clear that the switcheroo that has occurred over the last couple weeks is here to stay. After (and despite) some late inning shenanigans, the Bulldogs closed out an 18-10 victory over the Red Wolves, improving their 2021 record in cream to 4-3. With the win, ALL of State's 2021 uniform elements currently have a winning record- that's every combination, jersey, pants, and hat. Everything.
On Friday, Mississippi State got Super Bulldog Weekend off to a great start with a 5-2 victory on the back of 4 RBIs from Kameron James and stellar outings on the mound from MacLeod, Johnson, and of course Landon Sims. As they have in every single Friday game this season, the Bulldogs were in the classic maroon 85 jerseys and white pants; the maroon 85 jerseys improved to 7-2 on the season, including 6-2 when paired with white pants.
On Saturday, Ole Miss struck early and often, while Doug Nikhazy shout out the Bulldogs with a complete game one-hitter to even the series. The loss was the Bulldogs' first in the white 85s this season- bringing their record down to 4-1 on the season.
On Sunday, there was one of two directions that the Bulldogs could've gone with their uniforms. The Sunday Blacks had been ditched after a two-game losing streak- but they got their start in a rubber match in Starkville against Ole Miss all the way back in 2018. With that exact scenario back in play, would they give the blacks another chance? Or would they ride with the pinstripes that had been worn in game 3 victories for the past two weekends?
The answer: Pinstripes!! For the first time since March of 2018, before the aforementioned Ole Miss series, Mississippi State wore something other than black uniforms in a home Sunday baseball game. I remember being extremely disappointed that day in 2018 that we missed out on the uniform matchup of State's white pinstripes (which at the time featured the "State" script) and Ole Miss's powder blue uniforms, which would've been happened had State not surprised everyone and broken out the all-black look. This year, it finally happened. We got what was, for my money, the uniform matchup of the century: State's white M over S pinstripes vs Ole Miss's powder blues.
The move paid off for the Bulldogs, as they won the series with a 7-5 victory thanks to an insanely clutch 3-RBI triple from Tanner Allen in the bottom of the 6th. The winstripes staked their claim to the Sunday spot in the uniform rotation, as the Bulldogs remained undefeated in them in 2021. The white pins are now 5-0; when you include the gray pinstripes worn in last Sunday's victory at Auburn, the Bulldogs are 6-0 when wearing pinstripes in 2021.
To recap: for the second consecutive home weekend series, Mississippi State wore its three best uniforms AND got the series win. Life is good.
The week began with a midweek matchup with Arkansas State. The cream "State" script jerseys made their second consecutive midweek appearance, making it clear that the switcheroo that has occurred over the last couple weeks is here to stay. After (and despite) some late inning shenanigans, the Bulldogs closed out an 18-10 victory over the Red Wolves, improving their 2021 record in cream to 4-3. With the win, ALL of State's 2021 uniform elements currently have a winning record- that's every combination, jersey, pants, and hat. Everything.
On Friday, Mississippi State got Super Bulldog Weekend off to a great start with a 5-2 victory on the back of 4 RBIs from Kameron James and stellar outings on the mound from MacLeod, Johnson, and of course Landon Sims. As they have in every single Friday game this season, the Bulldogs were in the classic maroon 85 jerseys and white pants; the maroon 85 jerseys improved to 7-2 on the season, including 6-2 when paired with white pants.
On Saturday, Ole Miss struck early and often, while Doug Nikhazy shout out the Bulldogs with a complete game one-hitter to even the series. The loss was the Bulldogs' first in the white 85s this season- bringing their record down to 4-1 on the season.
On Sunday, there was one of two directions that the Bulldogs could've gone with their uniforms. The Sunday Blacks had been ditched after a two-game losing streak- but they got their start in a rubber match in Starkville against Ole Miss all the way back in 2018. With that exact scenario back in play, would they give the blacks another chance? Or would they ride with the pinstripes that had been worn in game 3 victories for the past two weekends?
The answer: Pinstripes!! For the first time since March of 2018, before the aforementioned Ole Miss series, Mississippi State wore something other than black uniforms in a home Sunday baseball game. I remember being extremely disappointed that day in 2018 that we missed out on the uniform matchup of State's white pinstripes (which at the time featured the "State" script) and Ole Miss's powder blue uniforms, which would've been happened had State not surprised everyone and broken out the all-black look. This year, it finally happened. We got what was, for my money, the uniform matchup of the century: State's white M over S pinstripes vs Ole Miss's powder blues.
The move paid off for the Bulldogs, as they won the series with a 7-5 victory thanks to an insanely clutch 3-RBI triple from Tanner Allen in the bottom of the 6th. The winstripes staked their claim to the Sunday spot in the uniform rotation, as the Bulldogs remained undefeated in them in 2021. The white pins are now 5-0; when you include the gray pinstripes worn in last Sunday's victory at Auburn, the Bulldogs are 6-0 when wearing pinstripes in 2021.
To recap: for the second consecutive home weekend series, Mississippi State wore its three best uniforms AND got the series win. Life is good.
Baseball is the most superstitious of all sports. You roll with what works. That's what happened with the all-black look in 2018 and 2019, and it seems to be what is happening with the pinstripes right now. Which I am ALL for. I absolutely love the pinstripes- I think the current white pinstripes are quite possibly the best uniform that Mississippi State has ever worn. They're just absolutely perfect. The gray pinstripes are fantastic as well, and the consistency they have with the white pins is a huge plus. If they do in fact remain as the Sunday uniforms going forward- it's an astronomical upgrade over all-black from an aesthetic standpoint.
A recap of the "switcheroo" in the uniform lineup that happened after the Arkansas series:
Midweek: White 85s and/or White Pins -> Cream
Saturday Home: Cream -> White 85
Sunday Home: Black -> White Pins
Sunday Away: Black -> Gray Pins
Mississippi State has the best baseball uniform lineup in the country, and it's not particularly close in my opinion. Head Coach Chris Lemonis and Director of Baseball Operations Roger Rodeheaver's attention to detail and consistency is unmatched, and they've done an incredible job of taking State's already great baseball uniforms to the next level. It's a great time to be a Mississippi State baseball fan, for so many reasons.
A recap of the "switcheroo" in the uniform lineup that happened after the Arkansas series:
Midweek: White 85s and/or White Pins -> Cream
Saturday Home: Cream -> White 85
Sunday Home: Black -> White Pins
Sunday Away: Black -> Gray Pins
Mississippi State has the best baseball uniform lineup in the country, and it's not particularly close in my opinion. Head Coach Chris Lemonis and Director of Baseball Operations Roger Rodeheaver's attention to detail and consistency is unmatched, and they've done an incredible job of taking State's already great baseball uniforms to the next level. It's a great time to be a Mississippi State baseball fan, for so many reasons.
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