What Chris Lemonis said after Georgia Southern: On leadership, tough start and issues offensively
Saturday marked another blot on Mississippi State’s baseball resume in the last three seasons.
The Diamond Dawgs dropped to 3-4 early in the schedule as they dropped an 11-4 decision to Georgia Southern to even up the weekend series. Coach Chris Lemonis spoke to the media after the finish.
Question: It seems like pitch selection offensively is a struggle right now. What did you see today?
Lemonis: “We’re trying to do a little too much, maybe. I thought (Georgia Southern starter Mitchell Gross) was really good (Saturday). It was a lot of cutters in and changeups away. You don’t see that a lot and I thought he did a good job of that.”
Q: Khal Stephen really struggled to finish off batters after getting to two strikes. What was the biggest issue for him?
CL: “I think that was the biggest issue is we gave up a handful of 0-2 hits. We made two great pitches and leave a ball in a different part of the zone. He’s such a command guy. You usually don’t see that from him. He left some balls in different spots and they took advantage of him.”
Q: How do you develop intangible leadership from game-to-game?
CL: “The guys were great today. It’s a hard game to play when you fall behind so much early on. They stayed in it. They were energetic, they were fired up and competing their tails off. Just a tough start. When you fall behind somebody like that, you feel like you’re chasing the whole game.”
Q: You had a couple of unfortunate rundown situations. What did you see there?
CL: “Well we hit both of those in the back. You’ve got to clear your feet and create your own lane. I think that’s the biggest thing.”
Q: That big hit remains elusive for this team.
CL: “It has. We’re going to get it – it comes in time. I think some of our at bats have been better, but you’re waiting on that inning where it gets close and then you put some pressure on them and then they use their pen.”
Q: How do things stack up for you pitching wise for Sunday?
CL: “We’re good for tomorrow. We have Jurrangelo (Cijntje) starting, we have a full bullpen. (Karson) Ligon and (Luke) Dotson are probably not available tomorrow. I thought Luke Dotson did a really good job there at the end of the game.”
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Q: What’s the mood of the dugout after winning the ball game yesterday and then getting off to a rough start today?
CL: “I will tell you they didn’t drop their heads. They competed from start to finish and they’re fired up ready to get after it tomorrow.”
Q: What did you see from Luke Dotson?
CL: “He’s a strike thrower and got a good fastball. Mixed his pitches and just competed. I thought he did a great job.”
Q: Is there a lot of talk from the coaches with things spiraling or is it a player-led team?
CL: “I lead the team. I talk to our coaches. We’ve been eight days into the season and had a little bit of everything at this point. We’ve got to find some consistency, play some good baseball and run a streak together. I still like this team a lot. Baseball is a funny game. I lead this team and I tell the team that all the time. I don’t want to put that pressure on the kids. They need to come and play ball, have fun and compete.”
Q: You mentioned how effective their starter was but Davis Smith gave up just one hit the second half of the ball game. Why was he so successful?
CL: “I don’t know that one. I thought we were going to get to him at that point. He did a nice job of mixing and pitching. It’s mid 90’s, but we didn’t look comfortable on him.”
