June 30, 2021

Mississippi State 50-18

Vanderbilt 49-18

Bednar and Sims combine to shutout Vanderbilt and offense explodes to lead Diamond Dawgs long-awaited title

OMAHA, Neb. – Mississippi State is a baseball school and the program delivered the University its first-ever national title after dominating Vanderbilt in the winner-take-all game of the 2021 College World Series on Wednesday (June 30) at TD Ameritrade Park.
 
The pitching duo of Will Bednar and Landon Sims combined to hold the Commodore offense to just one hit and allowed only five base runners to post the eighth shutout of the season for the pitching staff on college baseball’s biggest stage.
 
Bednar (9-1), working on short rest, didn’t allow a hit through six innings of work and scattered three walks to earn his second win of the College World Series. Sims (13) posted his third save at the event with one hit allowed and four strikeouts.
 
The offense did its part, as well, pounding out 12 hits and scoring nine times to deliver the championship hardware to Starkville. Four Diamond Dawgs posted multi-hit games, led by Rowdey Jordan‘s three-hit night. Tanner Allen, Luke Hancock and Logan Tanner all posted a pair of hits, as Hancock and Tanner each added two RBIs apiece. 
 
Kellum Clark hit his second home run of the CWS and ended the night with three RBIs. Jordan, Brayland Skinner and Scotty Dubrule all scored twice, with Lane Forsythe posting a hit, walk and RBI in the contest.
 
The defense shined in the final game of the season, as it did all weekend, and MSU completed its seven-game stay at the event without committing an error.
 
The College World Series all-tournament team included six Diamond Dawgs, including Bednar who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the CWS. Tanner, Hancock, Forsythe, Allen and Jordan all joined him on the all-tournament ledger.
 
COURTESY MISSISSIPPI ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS