Sims joins Holder and Lindgren as Diamond Dawgs to be named Finalists for the nation’s top closer
STARKVILLE – Ten finalists have been name for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year, with Mississippi State baseball second-year freshman Landon Sims among the distinguished group of closes.
Since the award first began in 2009, Sims joins Jonathan Holder (2013) and Jacob Lindgren (2014) as Diamond Dawgs to earn finalist honors for the award. The 2021 list includes eight seniors and a pair of second-year freshmen, which includes Sims.
Sims started the season with a monster outing against then-No. 9 Texas in the season opener with four perfect innings of relief and 10 strikeouts and did not slow down as one of the dominant bullpen aces in the nation. Overall, Sims owns a 1.34 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 78 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings of work. His 3-0 record is bolstered by nine saves, with two wins and five saves coming against ranked opponents. Of his 121 outs recorded, 64% have come via strikeout and he has not hit a batter all season.
Of his 19 appearances, Sims has not allowed a run of his own in 16 of those, has stranded five of eight inherited runners on the season and held opponents to one-or-fewer base runners in nine of the appearances. He has factored into 12 decisions in his 19 appearances and Mississippi State has won 17 games he has pitched in.
In SEC play, Sims owned 12 appearances with a 0.36 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings of work. He allowed only one run on nine hits with nine walks in SEC appearances and held hitters to a .108 batting average. Only one hit went for extra bases in SEC play, and he was 2-0 with seven saves against conference opponents.