Everything Chris Lemonis said after the series win over South Carolina

It was a must-win weekend for Mississippi State baseball and the Diamond Dawgs won.

State used two good days in a row to take the series against South Carolina on the weekend. It was the first SEC series win for the Bulldogs this season as Chris Lemonis’ team moved to 19-13 on the year and 3-9 in SEC play.

After the series concluded, Lemonis spoke to the media about the team’s successful weekend and how to do it again next week.

 Question: How would you assess how today went?

CL: “I think it was our best day of the year. Pending the competition level of being in the SEC and Karson Ligon having an unbelievable start and Stone (Simmons) stepped on top of it and we made some great plays. A lot of times we haven’t had as timely hitting and today I felt like once that (fourth) inning got going, guy after guy gave us a great at bat.”

Q: How did it feel just to get a series win and get that off your back?

CL: “It feels good after the last play. When you’re sitting there at 6-0, you’re never sure in this league. The kids really responded the last two days. Tough night on Friday night and I felt like we kind of gave them some things in that game. They came in here Saturday morning and it was tough and they really responded.

“Karson probably had his best outing last week and his worst last week. It just shows you how crazy sports are.”

Q: What was the difference with Karson last week and this week?

CL: “I don’t want to make excuses but the kid sat in the dugout for six hours while it rains last Saturday night. I think LSU had a great gameplan on him and their hitters were just on some balls early. I think he took it personal and really worked his tail off this week and made a statement.

“That was really special today. When he throws three pitches for strikes, it’s pretty good.”

Q: Nathan Hall and Ethan Petry were 3-for-20 this weekend, why were you able to neutralize them?

CL:  “(Justin Parker) has a little feel because he coached Petry before. When you’re from somewhere you watch them more and have a better feel. Those guys are going to play baseball for a long time. Two special players and we’re just fortunate. Made some pitches and I think they were able to mix the hard and soft which was huge.”

Q: How pleased were you to come away with two convincing wins after the tough loss on Friday?

CL: “Really pleased. Going to have a cold beer. That’s how pleased I am after the weekend and really the week that we’ve had to see the kids respond. We know we can play. We’ve shown that and played  in the toughest places. We need some confidence and hopefully this will give them some confidence to let them enjoy playing baseball. I think that’s a big part of it – have fun.”

Q: In what aspects of the game have you seen your team having fun playing baseball the last two days?

CL: “Just big hits. Obviously, we’ve pitched well in some parts but just big hits. The excitement when you hit a home run and the home run celebrations and playing with a lead. I thought when Joe Powell got that big hit yesterday, everybody could relax and breathe a little bit. Usually it’s contagious and you start to get a little more and more.”

Q: How much better do you think this team can be with Gatlin Sanders nailing down second?

CL: “That’s been one of the areas that has been the toughest. That’s cost us as much as possible is we haven’t defended at second. Gat has stabilized that and he has some great at bats on the day too. He doesn’t say a word. His blood pressure never goes up and it’s pretty steady. It’s not flashy but he makes a lot of plays, and he knows where he’s supposed to be. You can count on him and that’s what we needed. Hopefully that does stabilized us and him and Dylan can play great defense out there.”

Q: Stone faced nine batters and had nine outs. Is that where he needs to be?

CL: “I think so. He did it Tuesday night too. He came out there and pitched well. Chase Hungate and Ben Davis sets you up for Sunday. I’ve got Luke Dotson, Nate Williams and Ryan McPherson all pissed right now because they don’t get to pitch, but those guys do such a good job it has you have those guys stacked for Sunday. If you have Stone stacked behind those guys on Sunday, you’ve got a great opportunity.”

Q: What are your thoughts on the road trip coming up this week?

CL: “They’re all big now, especially where we’ve put ourselves. We’re going to play UAB and I know they’ve beaten a couple of SEC teams midweek. Going to Birmingham is huge for us because we have so many of our fans in Birmingham so hopefully we’ll see a bunch of them on Tuesday night. Then headed to Tuscaloosa and you’re talking about a top 10 program on the road. We’ve got to go get some. We’ve got to go earn something there and play some good baseball.”

Q: What’s it going to take to build off of this series?

CL: “We always talk about the next one. The reality is that hopefully it allows us to play freer and more confident. Believe in ourselves more now that they’ve seen the way. They know that they can play with anybody. Sometimes when you lose, you’re not good enough. Ours has been really frustrating because we feel like we are (good enough) and I believe we are. We’ve given some games away.”