Mississippi State's season started by getting swept just before its coach, Andy Cannizaro, was embarrassingly forced to resign. Remarkably, it's ending in Omaha. STARKVILLE, Miss. — The nameplate is gone. Someone stripped it off the door months ago, torn from the smooth wood, execution style, in a dismantling of the final reminder of a most humiliating moment in the illustrious history of Mississippi State’s baseball program. Remnants of its existence, like the man himself, remain: a rectangular-shaped white discoloration centered on the door of the head coach’s office, splotches of dried adhesive and, to those attentive enough, shadows of letters now lost: ANDY CANNIZARO. No one, not even interim head coach Gary Henderson, has moved into that office. Staff members only enter the room to adjust the building’s thermostat, housed on the office’s interior wall. “Bad juju,” says one member of the team, “in there.” The improbable start to Mississippi State’s 2018 baseball season—the forced resignation of its second-year head coach following the opening weekend—is only outdone by its remarkable end: a trip to the College World Series. This is no small feat. In fact, the NCAA says it has no record of a team with an interim coach advancing to the CWS. Just half of the NCAA tournament’s top eight seeds made it to the pinnacle of the sport in Omaha, Neb. Teams seeded second, fourth, seventh and eighth are no longer playing. The Bulldogs, interim coach and all, are. How? They swept top-ranked Florida in the final regular season series to leap off the NCAA tournament bubble, they got two postseason, walk-off home runs from junior right fielder Elijah MacNamee and they out-lasted host Vanderbilt in an 11-inning, winner-take-all super regional game. “It’s unbelievable,” Henderson says. College World Series Preview: Power Ranking the National Title Contenders On a sun-splashed Tuesday, team members are packing equipment and luggage onto a bus, bound for college baseball’s holy land. They only achieved such triumph after their young, bubbly and extroverted head coach was pushed out 479 days after his hire. The reasons behind Andy Cannizaro’s bizarre end go well beyond the one publicized at the time of his ouster: an extramarital affair with a Mississippi State employee. Those close to the program describe a 39-year-old man, overwhelmed with the job, who developed an obsession: his phone. They point to his stream of boastful posts on Twitter: a muscle-bound Cannizaro lifting in the school’s weight room. Can a man’s fall from grace really center around him texting and tweeting? Those here say it was a significant part of a disconnect that grew between he and everyone else within the program. Some describe it as a phobia that resulted in disorganization, a sloppy team whose players admit that they were neither ready nor prepared for the season. The case against Cannizaro mounted, and rumblings from those on and around the team trickled to athletic director and former baseball coach John Cohen. Things came to fruition after that first weekend—an 0–3 outing in a three-game series at Southern Miss—when disturbing details from the dugout emerged: a head coach buried in his phone while his squad played a game 15 feet away. A person close to Cannizaro defended the coach on the accusations: “There are two sides to every story,” the person said. Cannizaro, a burly former eight-year professional player, politely declined comment in a text message. He hasn’t necessarily gone into hiding. He remains in Starkville. In fact, residents spot him around the town often—at the gym, a restaurant, a stop sign. In a telling truth, staff members and players say no one has spoken to Cannizaro since his departure. The same goes for Cohen, the man who, after being elevated to athletic director, hired Cannizaro to replace him in November 2016. “It was a very unfortunate situation that happened,” Cohen says. “The more I learned the more I felt it was more and more unfortunate.” Mississippi State administrators, players and coaches declined comment on details of Cannizaro’s time here—still a touchy subject. Cannizaro’s departure brought what assistant Jake Gautreau called a “new season.” Players were “all in immediately,” he says from within his office, two doors down from where Cannizaro once worked. “You think you might lose the club or get some resentment or kick back. Not at all. They were excited,” says Gautreau, a one-time close friend to Cannizaro who played college ball with him at Tulane. Jake Mangum, the team’s go-to leader and ultra-competitive centerfielder, describes the team’s reaction to the Cannizaro news in another telling bit: “We heard all the rumors for a while. We’d known for a while. Then it went public. When it happened, we were like, ‘Let’s go!’” “You could see it,” assistant Mike Brown says. “You could see he was going through some issues. He got trapped in something we on staff couldn’t really relate to. There was a disconnection.” In Mississippi State’s Hall of Fame room, evidence of the first step in the Bulldogs’ new season still exists. The words on the white dry-erase board are four months old, scribbled in black marker the day after Cannizaro lost his job. “Create An Identity,” it reads, before four bullet points: 1) Honesty, 2) Integrity, 3) Competitive, 4) Men, not boys. A message Mississippi State interim coach Gary Henderson scribbled on a whiteboard in February remains there. Each player and staff member signed their name to it. Ross Dellenger/Sports Illustrated Each player and staff member signed their name to the board, every signature still there some 100 days later. Henderson met with his new team before the start of his impromptu head coaching stint began with a 12-day, eight-game road trip. “That morning we met and I knew it was going to be the most important 20 minutes of the season,” Henderson says. “We had to move past the humiliation.” Explaining how this team—one that started the year 14–15 and 2–7 in the league—is in Omaha readying to play Washington in the primetime slot Saturday night at the College World Series is not easy. But it starts with a staff of coaches who have not only grown accustomed to change but have thrived in it: Henderson, Gautreau and Brown. In two years in Starkville, Brown and Henderson are working for their third boss. Cohen hired Brown as a volunteer coach and Henderson as pitching coach about four months before he moved to athletic director. “It’s been a time of a lot of change,” Henderson says. You don’t have to remind the players. “Three years. Three head coaches. Three Super Regionals,” Mangum says. “We finally won one.” The path to that Super Regional victory was laid weeks prior. Some say the turning point for this squad was a series win over then-No. 3-ranked Ole Miss in early April. Others claim it’s that 12-day road trip in late February. Brown points to the coaching change. “Once the decision from the top came down, I think that was the difference,” said Brown, a California native who worked for Henderson at Kentucky. “We were freed up, able to teach, able to motivate and implement strategies.” Gary Henderson enters Mississippi State’s baseball field for practice Tuesday, his team preparing for the College World Series. Ross Dellenger/Sports Illustrated Gautreau and Brown took over the offensive duties, previously handled by Cannizaro. How’d the offensive approach change? “We didn’t have an approach before,” Mangum says flatly. This is not necessarily a rags-to-riches tale—more of a down-but-not-out story. Mississippi State has talent. Mangum, for instance, was the Southeastern Conference’s Freshman of the Year in 2016 and hit .324 with a broken hand last season. The team’s lefty starting pitcher, Konnor Pilkington, was selected 81st in last week's MLB draft, one of seven Bulldogs taken. Also, State began this season ranked 12th nationally by D1baseball.com. The program has history. It has advanced to Omaha more times than all but 14 other programs, and the school’s Major League alums are a who's who: Rafael Palmiero, Jeff Brantley, Will Clark, Kendall Graveman and Jonathan Papelbon.<doc-sep>NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A season full of ups and downs after starting 2-7 in the Southeastern Conference, the Diamond Dawgs have made a memorable run and are going to the College World Series for the 10th time in school history, and first time since 2013. A run that included five straight elimination games in the regional and super regional combined. MSU closed out the Nashville Super Regional with a 10-6, 11-inning win over Vanderbilt (35-27) Sunday night at Hawkins Field to punch its ticket to Omaha. MSU (37-27) will face Washington (35-24) In a first-round game Saturday at TD Ameritrade Park. The Dawgs took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Rowdey Jordan and single by Hunter Stovall. The Commodores got one of those runs back in the bottom half of the third on a Stephen Scott solo home run. Vanderbilt took the lead in the fourth inning with two runs on just one base hit to take a 3-2 lead. Harrison Ray reached first after being hit by a pitch. He then stole second and later advanced to third on a passed ball. Julian Infante followed with a sac-fly to score Jordan and make it 2-2. Vandy’s one hit in the inning came from an RBI-single by Austin Martin to give the Commodores the lead. In the sixth inning, the Dawgs tied things at 3-3 after Elijah MacNamee was hit by a pitch, advanced to second after a walk, advanced to third on Luke Alexander sacrifice bunt and then scored on a wild pitch. Things stayed tied until the ninth inning when Jake Mangum hit an RBI-double down the right field line to score Alexander. Jordan followed with a sacrifice fly, before Mangum came home on a wild pitch to give State a 6-3 lead. The Diamond Dawgs looked to be in the driver’s seat to punch their ticket to the College World Series, but Vandy had other plans. Vanderbilt came back to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth when Pat DeMarco hit a solo home run and Ethan Paul hit a two-run home run. After neither team scored in the 10th inning, the Dawgs scored four runs in the 11th inning to take the lead for good. Josh Hatcher came in as a pinch hitter and drew a leadoff walk. After a strikeout, Jordan singled. Tanner Allen then drove in the go-ahead run with a double down the right field line. After an intentional walk, Justin Foscue drew a bases-loaded walk to bring home Jordan. Luke Alexander ended the game’s scoring with a two-run single. MSU compiled 12 hits on the night. Jordan led the Dawgs with three hits. Mangum, Stovall and Jordan Westburg each added two hits. Vanderbilt had 11 hits, but stranded 17 base runners. Jacob Billingsley got the start on the mound for the Diamond Dawgs. He pitched 3.2 innings, allowing three runs, one earned, on five hits. He struck out seven batters and walked two. Cole Gordon then came in relief and pitched 3.2 innings and allowed no runs on two hits. He struck out seven batters and walked three. Riley Self then pitched 1.1 innings and allowed three runs, all earned, on three hits. He also walked two batters. Zach Neff then pitched one inning, allowing just one hit. Denver McQuary (2-2) earned the win while entering the game in the 10th inning. He got a big strikeout with two runners on base. In the 11th, McQuary walked the leadoff man and gave way to Keegan James. James got three straight ground ball outs to end the game. Tyler Brown (1-5) was charged with the Vanderbilt loss. He pitched two outs in the 11th and allowed four earned runs on two hits. The Diamond Dawgs will return to Starkville before departing for Omaha, Nebraska to begin the College World Series. MSU will now play Washington in its opening game of the College World Series.<doc-sep>Omaha, NE - JUNE 27: A general view of the exterior of TD Ameritrade Park prior to game one of the College World Series Championship Series between the Arizona Wildcats and the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on June 27, 2016 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) Gary Henderson has shown he can handle any situation as a head coach this Mississippi State baseball season Gary Henderson should be a head coach after this season. He may not get the Mississippi State baseball job, but that shouldn’t stop him from getting a gig somewhere. Henderson has not only salvaged the 2018 Mississippi State baseball season, he’s made it something that the Bulldogs, the coaching staff, and their fans can all be proud of. That matters. Henderson has proven that he can overcome adversity and lead a team. Mississippi State needed someone to step up and bring a sense of normalcy to the program after the Andy Cannizaro debacle. Gary Henderson did just that. And now, the current MSU interim head coach is one win away from getting the Bulldogs to Omaha for the 10th time in program history. This team is a successful one. To start the season, this group seemed more like the island of misfit toys than a team that could honestly make a run at things. But this team has transformed. It has come together. All of that has come under Gary Henderson’s watchful eye. One key example of the success and melding this team has gone through is the Bulldogs’ records against top competition. Henderson has guided the Mississippi State baseball team through 10 games against top 10 teams this year. Mississippi State went 9-1 against them. The second best example is how the Bulldogs got through Tallahassee. It would’ve been incredibly easy for the Mississippi State baseball team to shut down and pack things up after that first loss to Oklahoma. But MSU did the opposite of that. The Bulldogs buckled down and won four straight games. They cleared the regional and scooted on up to Nashville to try and win a Super Regional. Now, MSU is in game three of the Super Regional. Regardless of what happens here tonight, Gary Henderson has earned himself a shot at a head coaching job once this season is done. It may not be the MSU gig. In fact, it probably won’t be. But he deserves a shot somewhere. Hopefully, once things are all said and done, this season he’ll get that shot.<doc-sep>
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — After the season the Mississippi State Bulldogs have had, what's a little two-hour weather delay, a five-hour-plus, 11-inning game to punch a ticket to the College World Series? The Bulldogs survived all those things, plus a three-run ninth-inning rally by Vanderbilt, to take a 10-6 victory on Sunday night and secure a date in Omaha in what has become a season of survival. Interim coach Gary Henderson replaced the fired Andy Cannizaro in February. Cannizaro, who left LSU to take the head job for the Bulldogs in 2016, cited "poor decisions" and asked for forgiveness in resigning his post from Mississippi State. An ESPN report indicated such decisions involved an extramarital affair with a female staffer, but neither the school nor Cannizaro verified that report. As Andy Cannizaro resignation remains a mystery, MSU officials leave questions unanswered More than a week after Andy Cannizaro's abrupt resignation as the head coach of Mississippi State baseball, many questions remain unanswered. Henderson now has the Bulldogs (37-27) buying into his philosophies and reaping the rewards from it. "It's been really unusual. It's been at times weird. At times you're playing the game, and some dude is heckling you from the stands, calling you Mr. Interim. That's as awkward then as it is right now with me telling you that," Henderson said. "I really admire our coaching staff. Those guys got on board, no hidden agenda. It was, 'Hendu, what do we need to do?' And I let them do it." Henderson's Bulldogs responded after a slow start to the season, being 2-7 at one point in Southeastern Conference play, with everything culminating in Sunday night's marathon win over Vanderbilt. Tanner Allen's double in the 11th inning drove in the go-ahead run and sparked a four-run rally as Mississippi State finally outlasted Vanderbilt to claim the World Series bid. Allen's line drive into the right-field corner scored pinch-hitter Josh Hatcher, who had walked to lead off the inning. Mississippi State, which will be headed to Omaha for the first time since 2013, later scored a second run when Justin Foscue drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in Rowdey Jordan, who had reached on an infield single. Luke Alexander followed with a two-run single to push the Bulldogs' lead to four runs. The State rally made a winner of reliever Denver McQuary (2-2), who faced just two batters. Keegan James pitched a scoreless bottom of the 11th to close the game. Tyler Brown (1-5) took the loss for Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt (35-27) had rallied from three runs down in the ninth inning to force extra innings after Mississippi State had scored three times to take the lead in the top half of the frame. "I'm proud of our boys. I really am," Commodores coach Tim Corbin said. "It wasn't a pretty baseball game, but it was a heck of a game to be a part of. There were so many big plays defensive and some big hits. That last (ninth) inning, I'll never forget. We pieced together a heck of an inning when it looked like it was over. But at the very end there, we were just too far to come from behind." For Mississippi State center fielder Jake Mangum, whose RBI double in the ninth sparked the Bulldogs' rally that had them three outs from Omaha, it was almost fitting that they had to go to extra innings after the season they have endured. "I was thinking about that in the 10th inning. Why wouldn't we blow a three-run lead and have to win it in extra innings? This year has been a c," said Mangum.