Chris Lemonis talks series win over Missouri

After taking a close game on Thursday night to open the series, No. 16 Mississippi State was able to breathe a little on Friday.

The Bulldogs pounded out 10 hits and hit three more home runs as they would defeat Missouri 8-2. The victory sets the Bulldogs up for a chance to just about solidify a Regional hosting spot with a win on Saturday.

After the game two win, head coach Chris Lemonis spoke to the media about the team’s win and looked ahead to a big game three.

Question: You’ve now beaten every team in the SEC East. What does it feel like to finally get over the hump in win that?

CL: “I don’t think that way. I’m just happy that we won. We played really well today. We were able to expand that game and beating Missouri is great. We’ve got one more and we’re really locked in for the one more tomorrow and playing good baseball.”

Q: Yesterday you were fighting it trying to get a big inning but today you were able to break through for a couple of innings with crooked numbers. How big was that to get a little bit of breathing room?

CL: “It’s huge to be able to play some freer baseball. I thought we had some big swings and I thought that Dakota (Jordan) was really good all over the field today. Amani (Larry), obviously really good. I just thought we strung a lot of bats together in a row and that was giving us a little bit of freedom to play and relax and have fun. Even Tuesday night (vs. North Alabama) felt tight.

“What they do is they’re very good pitching wise and defensively. We’ll see some more arms tomorrow. I think their Friday and Saturday guys are pitching tomorrow.”

Q: Today seemed like a team win for you guys. What were your thoughts on that?

CL: “It’s great because we need the Amanis. We need everybody locked in. Hunter (Hines) hits a big ball today and has the walk. I just think that everybody being a part is huge and having some success and feeling good about playing baseball. As you’re building and it keeps moving, it becomes a lot of fun and I want them to be able to enjoy that.”

Q: What is the chemistry like between Johnny Long and Jurrangelo Cijntje and how much of that is Justin Parker?

CL: “I think that’s probably a three-headed monster between them all. They’ve all three done such a great job this year. Jurrangelo has put together a special season, but Johnny is a big part of that. A couple of weeks ago he got the t-shirt and he gave it to Johnny. I thought that was cool. Park is in their ear too and it’s a special thing. Pitchers start to get used to certain catchers and him and Loo really clicked.”

Q: You trusted in Amani to come through for you and left him in the lineup. How does it make you feel to see him starting to get it together at the plate?

CL: “(Playing in the field) may be part of the reason. I’m sure he’ll tell me that – the guy that makes out the lineup card. There is nobody that works harder. He’s a wonderful kid and he’s a really good baseball player. This game is tough. It’s fun to see him reap some of those rewards. Baseball goes (up and down) – it’s tough. You’ve got to be mentally tough and you’ve got to be locked in, but you’ve got to stick with it. I think Amani has stuck with it and you’re starting to see that right now.”

Q: What did you make of Jurrangelo’s outing?

CL: “I thought it was really good – sharp. He wasn’t as sharp last week and looked a little uncomfortable. I could tell after the first pitch or two that he was ready to go. You could just see him; he has a different attitude when he feels good. I could just tell that he had his best stuff.”

Q: How do you prepare these guys to handle the pressure of postseason when they haven’t experienced it?

CL: “It’s nice having postseason success and sometimes when you have none, they’re just too dumb to realize it – just go out and play ball. We’ve talked about as a coaching staff a little bit of helping these guys a little bit, but the reality is that it’s just baseball. There is pressure that goes with it, but who else in college baseball plays with as much pressure as us? There’s nowhere. There’s a couple of places that are the same. We play in front of big crowds and expectations every game. These are just added on.”

Q: What did you see from Jurrangelo for him to get through the sixth and seventh inning to extend that outing?

CL: “The middle innings he was so efficient. There were a couple of them he didn’t strike out where he got a couple of quick outs. I think that’s what helped him there at the end that he still had his stuff. He was still 95-97 there late.”

Q: One of the challenges you’ve had for your teams is finishing series after getting the win. What’s your read on your guys headed into Saturday?

CL: “We talked that it’s the last game of the season and it’s an important one. We’re still playing for seeding, for hosting, for all those types of things. They have some of their better arms left. They’re going to try to come out and play good and we have to take it from them. It’s just so hard when you sweep, but they’re locked in. They know how big tomorrow’s game is and they’ll be ready to go.”

Q: Jurrangelo seemed to really have command on the slider today..

CL: “I almost wondered if he was throwing a cutter – it was so hard early at 90-91. A couple of weeks ago he was using his curveball a lot but it’s just what he feels some days in the bullpen. The slider was really good today and his changeup. When he has his changeup, it’s really tough to hit him.”

Q: Should we expect Pico Kohn to start on Saturday?

CL: “Yeah. We’re going Pico tomorrow and hopefully get him four or five innings and bullpen it the rest of the day.”