10 Best Moments From Mississippi State's 2022 Baseball Season

Looking back on the top moments from the Diamond Dawgs' 2022 baseball season.

Mississippi State did not have the best baseball season in 2022, but that doesn't mean that there weren't some good moments amid some tough stretches of games.

The Diamond Dawgs finished the year with a 26-30 overall record, including going 9-21 in conference play just a year after winning the National Championship. The team missed out on any sort of postseason play for the first time since 2015. 

Some of MSU's struggles resulted from unfortunate injuries to a handful of talented pitchers, including Landon Sims. Overall, the Bulldogs struggled tremendously out of the bullpen and couldn't seem to find consistency on offense.

In between the losing streaks, last-inning heartbreaks and devastating injuries, Mississippi State had some shining moments. Here are the 10 greatest moments from the Diamond Dawgs' 2022 baseball season.

10. Mississippi State throttled Georgia with 20 runs in an early SEC Sunday matchup.

The opening weekend of SEC play was tough for MSU, but the Diamond Dawgs scored 20 runs against Georgia's defense to round out the weekend. The team totaled 18 hits -- including three doubles and three home runs -- with contributions from almost everyone in the starting lineup. RJ Yeager led the way for State, batting 3-for-6 with five RBI, two runs scored, a double and a home run.

9. Parker Stinnett had a career outing in the team's 11-5 midweek victory over Texas Tech.

Stinnett struggled at times in 2022, but he was incredible in an early midweek matchup against a talented Texas Tech team. The right-handed pitcher struck out a career-high 12 batters and gave up just one run and one hit in 5.0 innings of work. He was later named both the National Pitcher of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and the SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week.

8. Five different Bulldogs combined for six home runs in a midweek victory over UT Martin.

It took Mississippi State seven innings to run-rule UT Martin by a score of 13-2, and much of that came as a result of incredibly hot bats. Hunter Hines, Kellum Clark, Brad Cumbest and Tanner Leggett each had one home run, while Luke Hancock left the yard twice. The six homers tied the school record for most in a single game.

7. A total team effort helped the Diamond Dawgs even their weekend series in Game 2 against Ole Miss.

After the Bulldogs dropped the first game of their series against Ole Miss, they rallied from behind with a 10-7 victory over their in-state rivals. State fell 4-1 early in the game before scoring a total of nine runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Every student-athlete in Mississippi State's batting order recorded at least one hit, and pitchers Preston Johnson, Pico Kohn and KC Hunt recorded a few strikeouts each.

6. Die-hard fans set a new program attendance record in the season opener.

On a cold day in the middle of February, a total of 10,223 fans packed into Dudy Noble Field to watch their Diamond Dawgs take the field for the first time in 2022. That set a record for the highest attendance at a home opener in program history. Although MSU ultimately lost the game to Long Beach State by a score of 3-0, fans were able to see one of Sims' few outings before his injury and become familiar with some of the changes that had occurred in the Dude during the offseason.

5. Logan Tanner and Leggett helped the Bulldogs walk off Alabama in a second-straight game.

In the second game of the series, Mississippi State pulled some late-inning heroics to take down the Crimson Tide on a walk-off hit. Alabama pulled ahead in the ninth inning and carried a 7-4 lead heading into the bottom of the frame, threatening to even up the series. Back-to-back doubles by Clark and Kamren James brought one run home, then Tanner tied it up on a two-run home run. Hancock and Cumbest reached base, giving Leggett the chance to record a game-winning base hit and win the game for his team.

4. MSU picked up its first victory over Arkansas since 2018.

The Bulldogs have struggled greatly against the Razorbacks over the past few years. They were swept in both 2019 and 2021 and dropped the first two games of this season's series, but an extra-inning victory in Game 3 snapped their eight-game series losing streak. Jackson Fristoe pitched lights out to hold Arkansas back, and timely hits by Hancock and Tanner sealed the deal.

3. Hancock pimped a bases-loaded walk to defeat Auburn.

Hancock has a reputation for being one of the hardest batters to strike out in the SEC, and he certainly made that known in Mississippi State's 7-6 Game 1 victory over Auburn. The Dawgs were down 5-6 heading into the ninth inning, and that's when they began putting runners on base. Clark managed to score from third on a wild pitch to tie the game. With the bases loaded and one out, Hancock battled through an eight-pitch at-bat, taking a pitch outside of the zone on a 3-2 count to walk home the winning run.

2. Two huge home runs solidified a 7-6 SEC home opener victory over Alabama.

In the Diamond Dawgs' SEC home opener, the home-run duo of Hines and Yeager helped their team win in extra innings. State was down 6-4 and on its last out in the bottom of the ninth inning when Tanner drew a walk to get some momentum going. Hines stepped to the plate and easily blasted a two-run home run out of the stadium to tie the game and send it into the 10th inning. In the bottom of the frame, Yeager had one of the biggest "Yeager Bombs" of his career to walk it off in front of the home crowd.

1. Cumbest slammed a walk-off home run to capture the series against Ole Miss.

Few things are more exciting than a rivalry showdown, especially when it is between Mississippi State and Ole Miss. In the final game of the tied series, the Bulldogs showed their grit and determination. The team had a 6-4 lead heading into the final inning, but the Rebels managed to tie it up with two runs in the bottom of the frame to send the game into extra innings. 

After a scoreless 10th inning by both teams, Cumbest stepped up in a big way for the Diamond Dawgs in the top of the 11th. The senior sailed a no-doubt home run sailing over the left-field wall to solidify the 7-6 victory. The huge hit also helped Mississippi State continue its six-year series win streak against its biggest rivals.