LSU and Mississippi State- one of college baseball’s greatest rivalries and two elite national programs. These prestigious baseball names have gone head-to-head nearly every year since their first time meeting in 1905 and with each year recently, the desire for superiority has only intensified.
Unlike most SEC rivals, these two have many similarities. The biggest theme that ties them together is their legendary former head coaches Skip Bertman and Ron Polk. These two established the SEC’s college baseball success and helped the SEC emerge as the premier college baseball conference.
Polk put Mississippi State on the national baseball radar in the 1970’s and continued before Bertman came to LSU in 1984. Bertman used Polk’s model, along with his personal mentor’s, Ron Fraser of Miami, as his blueprint to breathe life into a sport that was almost given up for dead before his arrival. In fact, it was often said that Alex Box was a great place to study on game nights during the 1970-80’s as it was so quiet since attendance was almost nonexistent.
While the passion and desire for success between the two was exceptional, the skippers shared a great friendship and mutual respect for each other, and still do.
As the spotlight has ended for Bertman and Polk, a new rivalry has arisen between the two programs. Two seniors, Jake Mangum from Pearl, Mississippi, and Antione Duplantis from Lafayette, have stepped up as the leading men for the Tigers and Bulldogs drama since their freshman year. And this year the rivalry has intensified.
Mangum and Duplantis, are both outfielders who excell offensively and defensively. Both, like Polk and Bertman, are passionate about their teams and very competitive about their individual performances. Great friends with a huge respect for one another, neither intend to stop until their team is in a dogpile in TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska with a CWS championship in hand.
As the two seniors careers are coming to an end, they are both in a race to become the SEC all-time hits leader. Dr. Eddy Furniss, one of the greatest to every wear the purple and gold, set the record with 352 hits in 1998. Mangum is in second place with 323 hits, while Duplantis is not far behind with 298.
These two college standouts have impressive accolades to call their own, but they still have yet to do what they came to college to do, win a national championship. While the Tigers have flirted with a championship but fell in the championship series in 2017, the Bulldogs last time getting to the big dance was 2013 where they also lost in the finals.
With this weekend’s series marking the 398th meeting, it is sure to be full of talent and passion. Each team will have major league quality pitching on display as well as quality position players. All will be wanting the series to call their own and advance toward their goal of Omaha. For Mangum and Duplantis, it also includes chasing Eddy Furniss.