As Teams Cancel Games, Mississippi State Keeps Playing and Keeps Climbing

Plenty of college baseball teams are making headlines this week, and not for winning. They’re making headlines for canceling games.

On Tuesday, NC State, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and Kansas State all cancelled midweek games against mid-major or lower level teams that were scheduled for Tuesday.

The reasons vary and most cite the threat of inclement weather. There’s some validity to it, but it’s hard to ignore the other, often unspoken reason.

Teams don’t want to damage their RPI late in the season. If Oregon were to lose to Grand Canyon, who is 17-18 this season and ranked No. 219 in RPI, the Ducks would almost be guaranteed they wouldn’t host a NCAA Regional and might even fall to a No. 3 seed in a regional.

If Oregon won, it wouldn’t gain much ground in the RPI standings. Also, of all the games cancelled Tuesday, Oregon’s cancellation was the only one not given a specific reason.

Other teams simply didn’t schedule a midweek game. Ole Miss and Arkansas, for example, were both off Tuesday night.

No. 11 Mississippi State is one of the few who didn’t cancel its midweek game. While a 21-6 shellacking does give some credence to “all the Bulldogs had to do to win was show up,” there’s never a zero chance of an upset happening. Nicholls did lead 2-0 after the first half inning of play.

But cancelling games to protect a team’s place in the RPI standings isn’t something Mississippi State coach Brian O’Connor does.

“A lot has been made of teams this time of year canceling games because it's not in their best RPI interest. I don't believe in it,” O’Connor said after Mississippi State’s 15-run win Tuesday night. “I believe in karma and I'm not judging anybody that does. We control our own program and the right thing to do is play the games. Because it's an opportunity to get better.”

As O’Connor pointed out, the Bulldogs did get better against Nicholls, specifically in getting hits with two strikes in the count.

OUT OF THE PARK(er) 🏟️

A grand slam from Jacob Parker to put the Dawgs up 12-2!#NCAABaseball x 🎥 SECN+ / @HailStateBB pic.twitter.com/rHzRLbnYYn
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) May 6, 2026

“We got better tonight in our two-strike approach,” O’Connor said. “First inning, we scored 12 runs…14 times we had two strikes on us and 12 of those times there was a positive outcome, a hit, a home run, a double or a walk.

“You want to be successful in conference series, regional, best two of three super regional, or national championship series, wearing pitching staffs out with two strikes is vital. It makes that team go into their bullpen earlier than they wanted to in Game 1. And you get rewarded for that in Game 3.”

The Bulldogs did get rewarded for their Tuesday win, too. They moved up one spot in the RPI standings to No. 8. That matters because not only does it put them well within the range of hosting a NCAA Regional, but also hosting a Super Regional.

Considering the environment at Dudy Noble Field for a regular season game, a Super Regional in Starkville would be a big advantage for the Bulldogs.

Add us as a preferred source on Google