Mississippi State Baseball Season Summary

May 31, 2000

The Bulldogs are led by third-year Head Coach Pat McMahon. He has a 125-62 (.668) record at the helm of the Bulldog program. He led Mississippi State to the College World Series in his first season in Starkville in 1998.

Entering the 2000 baseball season, the Mississippi State Bulldogs were unranked for the first time since the 1986 season. During the course of the 2000 season, the Bulldogs fought their way into the nation’s top 10, compiling a 41-18 record and earning the right to host a first round NCAA regional.

Senior Ty Martin advanced the school to this weekend’s super regional in Clemson, S.C., with a lead-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of the championship game to give the Bulldogs a 10-9 win over third-seeded Notre Dame.

Heading into the campaign, many people thought that Martin and State would not have even advanced to this past weekend’s championship game. However, an MSU team that was experienced at the skill positions and young in the area of pitching gelled as a cohesive unit and silenced any preseason critics.

Despite the adversity of a young pitching staff and a rash of injuries, head coach Pat McMahon’s Bulldogs exceeded expectations with a 26-3 home record and road series wins over SEC foes Kentucky and LSU.

Senior Kevin Donovan and junior Mark Freed carried the inexperienced pitching staff to a 41-18 record and a 4.63 ERA, while Martin and fellow seniors Travis Chapman and Shane Kelly sparked MSU to a .313 team batting average during the 2000 season.