Everything Chris Lemonis said Sunday vs. Georgia Southern: On Jurrangelo Cijntje, David Mershon and expectations

After a disappointing afternoon against Georgia Southern on Saturday, Mississippi State bounced back in a big way against the Eagles in the series finale.

The Diamond Dawgs had 15 hits and ran away with the win to take the series and even up the season record at 4-4. After the game, coach Chris Lemonis discussed the victory with the media.

Question: Another quality start for Jurrangelo Cijntje. How important was it to get a quality start to get a win?

CL: “It was huge, especially after he got hit in the hand. I wasn’t sure how much longer he’d stay out there but he really gutted through it and pitched well. I thought his stuff was really good. Fastball was still mid 90s in the 5^th. Just a really good outing from him.”

Q: What did you see from Bryce on that big hit and how big was that to get things going for your team?

CL: “It was his same swing, I just feel like we got air back in the building. We’ve been standing up there hoping for a hit instead of making it happen. That swing let everybody relax and the next thing you know, everybody is hitting. Big swing by him. I thought the three guys in front of him were really good as well. We had three really good ABs in a row.

“I know it’s not a hard thrower, but he’s pitched a lot of baseball at Georgia Southern. He’s been their Friday night ace. He’s been really good and frustrating to face and for us to put three really good at bats against him there was huge.”

Q: How happy are you to see David Mershon back in there?

CL: “It’s exciting and I thought the time that he got out was his hardest hit ball. He had a really good day, is a really good player and he’s a good base runner, too. He’s probably a couple of days out from getting back in the field, but he looked really good today.”  

Q: What went into Aaron Downs starting today over Connor Hujsak?

CL: “Just sitting out here this morning and the wind is blowing out, I felt like we just needed to make a change. Sometimes when guys are struggling they need to just sit back and watch the game a little bit. I thought Connor did a great job not pouting. When you stay in a good mindset, he came off the bench and the game rewards you. He gets two big hits.

“I though Aaron had a homer in his first at bat. Aaron is a really good player too. Once we took the lead, today is such a tough Sunday I didn’t want to put Aaron out there when he hasn’t done a lot out there.”

Q: How important is it to have a complete game that you can build on moving forward?

CL: “It’s huge. Good weekend, you take two out of three. They beat us yesterday. They came out and beat us from the first pitch and I thought our guys responded today. We played two really good games. Probably two of our best games of the year this year have been Friday and Sunday. We’re getting better – we have to.”

Q: Can you prepare officials for the three different arm slots that Cam Schuelke has?

CL: “I usually walk up to the plate and tell them that this guy is throwing from everywhere so you may want to watch the wam ups. Actually, the umpire did a really good job. We looked at them and all the balls we thought (were strikes) were in so I thought he did a really good job. I don’t always say that. You do try to give them a heads up that this guy is coming from a lot of different slots and you may want to watch it. Then you start getting into the shadows.”

Q: Saturday you talked about putting pressure on yourself and taking some off of the players so they can play loose. Do you feel like they’re doing that right now or are they feeling pressure?

CL: “Not as free as I’d like. You saw it a little bit this afternoon. After we got the big hit, you saw what they could do a little bit. Hopefully they can continue that. Baseball is just like that. There are teams that start out slow. We didn’t want to be one, but we did. It’s a long season and we’ve got good players and they’ve done this a lot.

“I think you’re starting to see them open up a bit. Even the young ones. Poor Dylan Cupp and them, you’re out there playing for the first time and you’re not playing well. It’s tough, but we’ve got tough kids and they’ll respond.”

Q: You came to bat behind again. What was the confidence level in the dugout?

CL: “We talk about winning the game in the first and somebody is going to come in here and get a big hit in the first and be all excited. You’ve got nine more innings to play. It’s a long game. These kids have to stay on an even keel and understand it. It didn’t phase them at all. You’re playing nine innings and sometimes the ball lands or it doesn’t. I’d like to not walk the guy after you get the first two quick outs, but that things to be a thing in baseball.”

Q: How do you prepare guys to play at a place where the expectations of winnings exceeds the hope for winning?

CL: “ You just try to teach them how to play the game the best you can. In everything that I do, my goal is to take the pressure off of them. I told them at the beginning of the year that I voted for captain and I picked myself because I want to put the pressure on me and let them enjoy the game.

“We need kids who stand up in our locker room; that happens and Johnny Long did it this week. I want them to be focused on playing the game the right game and once you learn to play here in this environment, you can make yourself an unbelievable player. You can look at the Tanner Allens and Jake Mangums and guys in the past who really embraced it. That’s what we have to do.”

Q: How impressive was Jurrangelo after the first inning?

CL: “It was really good. He had a real fastball today. I think he was able to throw that fastball by a lot of guys. Actually in the first, he wasn’t commanding as well and found the slider. I thought he was really mature. He hasn’t pitched as much as a lot of kids. Last year he got out there for the first time really and this year you’re starting to see that step forward.

“I was proud of him today. I wasn’t sure if he was sticking out there but he came out there in the middle of the inning that he wanted to go back out. I was proud of him.”

Q: Joe Powell has a really interesting story how did he end up here?

CL: “Coach (Justin) Parker had a friend who knew him and we were looking for a catcher there at the end of the fall. Fortunate for us, we found Joe. He’s been great. That Johnny Long and Joe Powell combination has been really good for us.”