Vanderbilt baseball, Mississippi State meet for first time since 2021 CWS on different paths
Two years ago, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State were on top of the college baseball world.
Mississippi State, led by Will Bednar, Landon Sims and Tanner Allen, came out on top in 2021, winning its first national championship and besting the Commodores 2-1 in best-of-three series.
It would've been hard to envision back then where both programs would stand the next time they met. In 2022, the College World Series went on without either program even getting close. Vanderbilt finished eighth in the conference and lost in the Corvallis Regional. The Bulldogs had it even worse, failing to qualify for the SEC Tournament and finishing last in the league.
As they prepare to face off starting Friday, these are again two teams in very different spots. The Commodores (16-5, 3-0 SEC) have one of the best resumes in the country and are coming off a sweep of Ole Miss to start the SEC season. Mississippi State (14-8, 0-3) was swept at Kentucky. The Bulldogs will have no shortage of motivation in their return to Starkville.
The two teams face very differing stakes as well: Mississippi State risks falling far behind in the conference standings and desperately needs a series win. A victory would be helpful for Vanderbilt to assert its dominance and jockey to host a regional, but the Commodores have momentum on their side.
The series will only serve to further highlight the different directions, approaches and results these two teams have taken since playing for the title.
BASEBALL MAILBAGVanderbilt baseball mailbag: Was offensive outburst vs. Ole Miss real?
WEEKEND TAKEAWAYSVanderbilt baseball dominates Ole Miss in SEC-opening sweep: What we learned
Approach to a reload
After what happened in 2022, Mississippi State restocked its talent with the No. 4 transfer class in the country and the No. 2 recruiting class, according to D1Baseball.
Vanderbilt opted instead to largely run things back with its current group, adding just one transfer in RJ Schreck, and its recruiting class was just No. 11 by D1Baseball. Even beyond that, the Commodores have seen just six of their 12 freshmen even appear in a game so far and just two have been starters: RJ Austin and Chris Maldonado. Instead, coach Tim Corbin banked on the group he had being able to take steps forward.
For Mississippi State, 42% of plate appearances and 89% of innings have gone to newcomers. At Vanderbilt, a year after three true freshmen pitchers were part of the rotation at points, 29% of plate appearances and just 7% of innings have gone to newcomers.
While the Bulldogs' approach has worked well on the hitting side, with transfers Colton Ledbetter and Amani Larry both becoming top performers, the completely rebuilt pitching staff has largely been ineffective, ranking last in the SEC in runs allowed per game. At Vanderbilt, it's been somewhat the opposite. Several of the returning arms have taken a step forward to form the backbone of a very good pitching staff, but the offense has struggled at times to find its groove.
Of players who appeared in at least one of the three College World Series championship games in 2021 for Mississippi State, three position players (Luke Hancock, Kellum Clark and Lane Forsythe) and two pitchers (Cade Smith and KC Hunt) are still on the team. Vanderbilt still retains four position players (Enrique Bradfield Jr., Parker Noland, Jack Bulger and Troy LaNeve) and four pitchers (Nick Maldonado, Thomas Schultz, Patrick Reilly and Hunter Owen) who appeared in the series.
Stylistic clash
Vanderbilt's 2021 staff was built around two pitchers: Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter. But part of the reason the Commodores lost the series that year was because they lacked depth beyond their top options.
The 2023 staff is built in a completely different fashion. None of starters Carter Holton, Hunter Owen or Devin Futrell are near as dominant as Leiter or Rocker were, but the Sunday starter spot is more stable than it was two years ago and the bullpen is deeper. Maldonado is still around in a similar role, but Bryce Cunningham, Sam Hliboki, Thomas Schultz and Ryan Ginther give Vanderbilt more options to turn to at the end of games. So far, that revamped approach has led to a staff that is less dominant than 2021 but has been nearly as effective.
Mississippi State, too, relied on a dominant ace (Bednar) and closer (Sims) in 2021. But the Bulldogs' pitching staff this year has been one of finding roles. Switch-pitching freshman Jurrangelo Cijntje has stepped into the Friday role and his unique abilities have made him one of the most electric freshmen in college baseball. But especially early in the season, Mississippi State's pitching staff has several roles in flux and freshmen still figuring things out. Instead, this Bulldogs squad is built on its more veteran offense, setting up a stylistic clash far more stark than happened in 2021.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt baseball, Mississippi State on different paths since 2021
