Randy Smith: Hail State!

The Mississippi State Bulldogs' futility in the NCAA College World Series ended on Wednesday night. A 9-0 win over defending national champ Vanderbilt gave State it's first ever NCAA championship in any sport and solidified a program that has been among the very best in college baseball for many years. The win surprised the Commodore faithful who had watched their team take an 8-2 win in the best of three championship series opener on Monday night. Vandy had advanced to the finals by way of North Carolina State being disqualified due to more than a dozen players testing positive for Covid-19. The 'Dores had perhaps the two best pitchers in America available to pitch in Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker and with the Bulldogs almost out of starting pitching, Vandy appeared to be a shoo-in for another title. Not so fast!

State turned to sophomore pitcher Will Bednar to face Rocker in the final game. Bednar, pitching on just three days rest since his last start, handcuffed the Commodores for six innings, giving up no hits and handing his no-hitter over to reliever Landon Sims in the seventh. Sims lost the combined no-hitter in the eighth when Vandy's Carter Young singled to center field. However, it would be the only hit that Vandy could muster against the Bulldogs and Sims would set the Commodores down quietly in the ninth for a 9-0 win.

Mississippi State had been to the CWS eleven times before 2021, and had never won a national crown. That drought ended in a big way on Wednesday night as the Bulldogs are now the seventh different SEC team to win a College World Series. And among the attendees pulling for State were Dak Prescott, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback who played college football in Starkville, Raphael Palmeiro who teamed with Will Clark to form the Bulldogs' famed "Thunder and Lightning" combo in 1985 and former MSU Coach Ron Polk who kick-started the program in the 1980s and built it into one of the very best in the country. The only thing missing was a national title and now that has been secured.

For Coach Ron Polk it was a sweet moment watching the Bulldogs pile onto each other celebrating their national championship win. He had dreamed of taking part in that moment when he was the head coach but that moment never materialized.  However, current head coach Chris Lemonis was quick to give Polk a lot of the credit. He said, "Coach Polk is the one who built this and started it. We run out there and play in front of the big crowds but Polk was a big reason why."

The stadium at Mississippi State was built in 1967 and was known as Dudy Noble Field. Now, it's Dudy Noble Field at Polk-Dement Stadium. The Bulldog fans all understand had it not been for the accomplishments of Ron Polk, last night would likely not have happened. Hail Ron Polk. Hail State!