OMAHA, Neb. -- Go bananas, Mississippi State. You're one win away from the College World Series finals.
Jordan Westburg hit a grand slam, doubled and drove in seven runs as Mississippi State continued its surprise postseason surge by beating North Carolina 12-2 on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs (39-27), with two victories at the CWS, are off until Friday. Win then or Saturday, and they'll be playing for the national championship next week.
Tuesday was all about Westburg, the freshman who two weeks ago came up with the "Rally Banana" that's become the Bulldogs' good-luck charm in the NCAA Tournament. His seven RBI, on the slam in the second inning and three-run double in the eighth, tied a CWS record.
"I think we had a good banana today. That's all I can say," Westburg deadpanned.
Westburg crushed a breaking pitch Austin Bergner left hanging, and the ball landed in the seats above the left-field bullpen for a 4-1 lead over the Tar Heels (44-19).
When Westburg returned to the dugout, a teammate handed him his banana.
Westburg came up with the Bulldogs' alternate mascot during a regional game against Oklahoma on June 3. The Bulldogs were struggling when he went into the tunnel and grabbed a banana. Instead of eating it, he put it on his head in hopes of turning the Bulldogs' luck.
It must have worked. Mississippi State won, Westburg and his banana got some TV time, and the meme took off.
Since then, Westburg has been the curator of the fruit.
He's put sunscreen and bug spray on it. He's wrapped one in a towel, as if it were releaxing at a spa. Sometimes Westburg or a teammate puts the banana up to his face like a mustache; other times it's a faux radar gun.
"If you're going to do all the shenanigans in the dugout," Westburg said, "you might have to step it up on the field and back that up. It was nice to do that today."
After Westburg's slam, Bergner (7-3) retired 16 in a row until the start of the eighth inning, when the Bulldogs converted 6 hits, a walk, a hit batter and 2 errors into 8 runs.
"Well, the good news is we get to play again," North Carolina Coach Mike Fox said. "You've got to turn the page pretty quickly out here. I don't think any of us will want our season to end on that performance, but you've got to give Mississippi State credit."
Sports on 06/20/2018