Everything Chris Lemonis said after Mississippi State swept Missouri State

It was another successful weekend for Mississippi State as the No. 18 Diamond Dawgs took down Missouri State 6-4 for a three-game sweep.

After the game, coach Chris Lemonis spoke to the media about the three wins, how State closed the game on Sunday and where he believes his team is after seven games.

Question: Take us through that ninth inning.

CL “You just don’t come out and throw strikes and that’s the key. You ignite their rally and they don’t have to do anything. I know we had a no-hitter into the ninth, but that’s a really good offensive lineup. There are pros inside that lineup and you’re going to look up at the end of the year and probably see Missouri State in a Regional like we did last year when Evansville was in a Super Regional. That’s a really good ball club with good hitters and you let their guys get excited and it’s hard to stop. I thought Chase Hungate was really good.”

Q: What did you think of the lineup today?

CL: “We’re getting better. We’re still not maximizing our offensive opportunities. We’re having a good at bat and a good at bat then a really bad one. You don’t need to have a great one, you just need to have an average one and move the inning alive. We’ll get up there and get a big hit and then a strikeout and a strikeout. We’ve got to get better.”

Q: How would you assess Gherig Frei’s performance and why was he the right guy to start today?

CL: “Great day for Gherig. He’s been really good in (batting practice). Probably had a slow start to spring training, but he’s been really good for us lately. I’ve got a couple of guys like that. I need to see these guys play. Ethan (Pulliam) went out there and had some big swings for us today. Just trying to see these guys play and get them some touches every day, but I thought Gherig was really good. Doesn’t play a lot of second so we’ve got to work him a little more there. I thought he held his own.”

Q: How do you feel about this weekend?

CL: “I feel good. Winning three at home against a quality opponent is big. I still think we have a lot of work to do. The last two days of not throwing enough strikes and just being productive offensively. We have a really good opponent coming in on Tuesday night in a top 25 team coming in. The head coach is a former player of mine back at Louisville and another one caught for me back at Indiana. They’re talented and we’ve got to bring our A game.”

Q: The pitching plan worked this weekend. Take us through the preparation for this weekend.

CL: “That’s a lot of (Justin Parker) and the pitchers. Park spent a lot of time breaking them down and watching them. The three lefties are SEC type hitters. They actually have some guys that can do some damage at the bottom. They hit a lot of homers, so we tried to pitch (above the swing). But I think the pitchers did a nice job of mixing the whole weekend to keep them off the fastball.”

Q: What did you think of Luke Dotson?

CL: “It was the same velo (from Friday), I just didn’t think there was as much life to the fastball. That’s his thing is there’s a lot of life to it, they just got on a ball or two. He pitched a little bit last year but then was injured so getting him out there and getting experience is huge for him.”

Q: How would you assess Gavin Black’s situation?

CL: “He’s just waiting for the right opportunity. I think maybe on Tuesday you’ll see a couple of new pitchers jump out there and pitch, but he’s good to go.”

Q: How do you feel about your team after seven games?

CL: “I’m good. I just feel like we can be better. There’s things we can do better, but I like our ball club a lot. I think we can really pitch, we defend at a pretty good level. We made an error in the first by a guy that hasn’t played a lot of second base. I like our group, I think we just have to click a little bit more. We’re trying to figure ourselves out on the mound. I know we’ve pitched good, but trying to get guys in the right situations.”