Opening Weekend rotation set for Mississippi State baseball
As Opening Day inches closer for Mississippi State baseball, coach Chris Lemonis now knows who will be taking the mound for him this weekend.
Air Force comes to Starkville to take on the Diamond Dawgs on Friday night at 4 p.m. as new opportunities await a State team hungry to get back to winning. MSU will turn to junior right handed pitcher Nate Dohm to get the season started.
Dohm, a transfer from Ball State, was one of the Bulldogs’ best pitchers a season ago while performing in several different roles. State tried to utilize the talented flamethrower as a closer, a long reliever and even a starter as the team struggled to find quality performances on the mound.
In 2023, Dohm had a 6-4 record with a 4.07 ERA, throwing in 17 games with two starts. He threw 41.0 innings, gave up 42 hits, 19 earned runs, 12 walks and he struck out 49 batters. He also managed to save two ball games. He was third on the team in ERA and led the squad in strikeouts while being among the best in walk rate.
Dohm has worked in the offseason with new pitching coach Justin Parker on being a better all-around pitcher. His progress has been encouraging for his coaches and teammates and he’s built for a big season.
“Now, I’ve never felt this good on the mound,” Dohm said. “I’ve never felt so smooth. The ability to move smooth down the mound, I think that will translate to maybe (more) velocity, but for me, I’m just really focused this year on command of not just the fastball, but also the off speed. That will be the big piece for me this year.”
Making his Diamond Dawg debut on Saturday at 4 p.m. will be Purdue transfer Khal Stephen. The junior RHP was a third-team All-Big Ten member last year as a sophomore and started on Friday nights for the Boilermakers.
Stephen was 7-4 on the season but went 6-2 in Big Ten ball games starting on Friday nights. He threw 76.0 innings, gave up 72 hits, 44 ER, walked 30 and struck out 66 on the season.
As a freshman, Stephen was 3-4 with a 8.29 ERA in 23 games and had two saves. He struck out 38 batters in 33.2 innings.
Rounding out the weekend will be sophomore Jurrangelo Cijntje. The talented pitcher who throws with both hands, Cijntje turned down the MLB Draft to come to Starkville and play last year and he showed some promise.
Cijntje was thrown into the fire year one and was a starter in 13 of his 14 games pitched. He had a high ERA at 8.10 and was just 3-5 on the year, but Cijntje also struck out 63 batters in 50.0 innings. He walked 34 and gave up 44 hits with 12 home runs, but 2024 could be a big step forward under Parker.
All games this weekend will be on SEC Network+ with the Diamond Dawgs looking to get off to a strong start this season and rectify consecutive years outside of postseason play.
