Mississippi State on a mission

OMAHA, Neb. – The star-studded 1985 Mississippi State baseball team has cast a long shadow over every Bulldogs club that followed. Now the 2013 team is poised to do what no other Mississippi State team in any sport has done – win a national championship.

“They feel like they’re on a mission,” Bulldogs coach John Cohen said Saturday.

The Bulldogs (51-18) will play UCLA (47-17) in a best-of-three College World Series finals beginning Monday.

MSU’s 1985 squad included future major leaguers Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro, Jeff Brantley and Bobby Thigpen.

That team won two games at the CWS.