As Sammon points out, no one really expected Mississippi State to be here. The Bulldogs suffered injury after injury, have a depleted bull pen, and a first-year head coach, yet they are one of the final sixteen teams remaining in college baseball.
For a team that because of eight season-ending injuries Cannizaro admitted wasn’t constructed for long tournament stays, MSU winning four-straight games surprised many. But the Bulldogs used only six pitchers in the first 27 innings of those four games because of efforts like Billingsley’s.