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Everything Chris Lemonis said after No. 18 Mississippi State's series win over Missouri State

3rupauk8_400x400by:Robbie Faulk•about 13 hours•

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Chris Lemonis, Mississippi State
Chris Lemonis, Mississippi State - © Bruce Newman/Special to the Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

A big fifth inning helped Mississippi State’s offense come alive and grab a series win over Missouri State, 9-3.

The Diamond Dawgs had 11 hits as a team and the pitching staff struck out 12 batters in the victory. It wasn’t always a clean game for State but the Bulldogs prevailed and won the series.

After the game, coach Chris Lemonis discussed the team win and gave his thoughts on all three phases of the game.

Question: It felt like your team was a lot more aggressive at the plate early in the game. Was that a change in philosophy or how they were pitching?

CL: “A little bit of both, just trying to be aggressive to the fastball. We’ve been late so trying to get out there and get going.”

Q: A little uncharacteristic with the walks today but the guys didn’t let a big inning happen. What did you see from the pitching?

CL: “Some of those guys like (Zack Stewart) we pitched around a little bit. I get more frustrated with the bottom half and (Justin Parker) probably does too. You give them credit, but I thought Dylan Cupp made some nice plays to get us out of some of those jams. Should be a little more focused. When you see Karson pitch, you’re going to see a little more walks, but everyone else it’s a little uncharacteristic.”

Q: How good was it to see Mikhai Grant battle out of that ninth inning and finish?

CL: “He made me nervous. He couldn’t find his slider. He has a good slider and throws it for a lot of strikes, he just couldn’t find it. You debate whether you throw him in a 9-2 game, but the reality is that he doesn’t have a lot of touches and he needs to get out there and get some work in. I was pleased to see how he finished.”

Q: Seems like the offense was balanced today. How would you assess the performance?

CL: “It was ok, I thought we could do better. We got a big hit from Ace (Reese) and Reed Stallman came off the bench to get us a big hit to get us going. Just getting out there playing relaxed and being free offensively for those guys. Getting Ross (Highfill) going, getting Ace going, getting the middle of that lineup going because they’re real talented and we’ve seen it before. We’ve just got to get them going.”

Q: What did you think of Reed Stallman today?

CL: “I thought he was good. Took some good swings and some good at bats. One of the dynamics for us is we have a good layer of guys getting in the mix and he’s been battling in and out. It was nice to see him come off the bench. You get a homer or a big hit coming off the bench because you’re in a good mindset.

“Sometimes you’re over there and bitch and complain and the game doesn’t play you the right way. He’s a good kid that plays hard. It was good to see.”

Q: What is Jake Gautreau working on with guys to be able to battle and come through in big moments like some of them were today?

CL: “A lot of it is just about competing with two strikes and putting it in play. Some of the plays later like (Luke) Buckner’s ground ball is you play hard and put the ball in play with two outs and two strikes and you have a chance. They spend a lot of time on it and it’s always been a big deal here. I think we’ll be really good with two strikes.”

Q: How happy were you with the defensive effort?

CL: “Very pleased. We caught one of the fly balls and had a couple of balls that went to the backstop so there’s always room for improvement. The ground balls right now, they’ve made some really nice plays.”

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