Chris Lemonis 'really pleased' with bottom half of Mississippi State's lineup
Mississippi State is quickly approaching the postseason and the Bulldogs are rounding into form at the right time. In particular, the bottom half of the order has been heating up of late.
That could carry the team as the SEC Tournament looms and NCAA Regionals lie beyond.
“Yeah, our bottom half’s been good over the last week, so I’m really pleased,” coach Chris Lemonis said. “Ethan (Pulliam) had a big game on Sunday. Joe (Powell)‘s hitting a little bit. “Loko” (Logan Kohler)‘s been really good. I mean he hit a ball hard. I don’t know if he had any hits tonight, but he had a couple good at-bats where he really stung some balls. I feel like we’ve got the normal Logan back.”
Pulliam is indeed coming off an excellent game in the series finale against Arkansas. He went 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI. Powell’s coming off a 4-for-4 night with six RBI against North Alabama.
Get that kind of production near the bottom of the lineup and you start to turn the order over more quickly, leading to some big potential innings.
Impressively, it’s been a collective effort for the Bulldogs.
“We’ve got guys trying to get everybody going,” Lemonis said. “That’s what you’re hoping for here at the end.”
Mississippi State getting Nate Dohm back to form
Another key for the Bulldogs as the postseason approaches is getting everyone healthy. That’s just what pitcher Nate Dohm has begun to do.
He made his return Tuesday night against North Alabama after missing more than a month due to injury.
Dohn came in and threw two scoreless, hitless innings as he worked his way back into the mix for the Bulldogs.
“I thought his performance was great,” Lemonis said. “Two innings, 22 pitches and we were just throwing him two tonight just (as) part of his rehab. We’ve gone two scrimmages the last two weeks, so he scrimmaged two weeks ago, faced an inning worth of guys. Last week he faced about two innings worth.”
On the season Dohm has made just six appearances, sidelined for a month due to the injury. He has a very respectable 1.37 ERA, with a 3-0 record as a starter.
If Nate Dohm can continue to progress in his rehab, he could be a valuable piece for the upcoming SEC Tournament and NCAA Regionals.
“The goal is to have him back for the postseason and working through everything,” Lemonis said. “We’re pretty close. I thought he was pretty good tonight.”