Diamond Dawgs talk Regional-opening win over Northeastern

TALLAHASEE, Fla. – It was a huge game one Regional win for Mississippi State in Tallahassee on Friday night as the Bulldogs brought the bats in the arms in an 11-2 win over Northeastern.

State dominated a pitching staff that is leading the country in ERA and had seven-straight scoreless innings to close the outing. It moves the Bulldogs into the winner’s bracket to play host Florida State on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. CT.

After the game, interim head coach Justin Parker, catcher Joe Powell and starting pitcher Ben Davis discussed the State win.

Parker: “Im just really proud of these guys (Friday). We felt like we’ve had our backs against the wall for a month now and that’s the kind of baseball we’ve been playing. It was nice to do that against a really good opponent. I thought it was complete in all three phases.

“I thought we pitched well, got a good start and finished the game well on the mound. I thought defensively on the infield we were really good. Offensively we were good early and did a good job of tacking on late. It’s just a recipe for success.”

Q: What went into the decision to start Ben Davis and how did you think he performed?

Parker: “I feel like the move was a health-related move and I can’t comment too much on it. As we’re looking for another option, the matchup suited him best. As far as the expectations, this guy has been good for us all year in a multitude of roles and that’s what I expected him to do. He got better as the game went on.

“He gives up a run in the first and second and I felt like it was more self-inflicted more than anything else. Several weak infield hits. I thought he settled in and did a really nice job.”

Q: Ben, stepping into that role, how did you approach the last couple of days?

BD: “I kind of self-inflicted myself, but other than that I felt like I did pretty good. Preparing for it is just preparing for any other game. Just preparing like I always do.”

Q: Northeastern is second in the country in steals but didn’t attempt any tonight. What went into the success there?

Parker: “I think the key was three (runs) in the second and four in the third. We’ve talked whether it’s them or teams in our league, limiting the playbook when you have teams that are so flexible when they do something offensively. I felt like we had a flinch pick early that was a bang-bang play and that slowed them down too. The other deterrent being how well Joe threw between innings. All of those things slowed them down. It’s been really impressive what they’ve done and I’m sure they’ll come out (Saturday) and do it again.”

Q: Joe, you had that big home run in the fourth that broke the game open. Take us through that at bat.

Powell: “We’re just trying to go out there and win and I’m doing everything I can to help my boys win. Putting together at bat after at bat. I think I’m more happy what we were able to do late tacking on runs and separating the game. I think I was hunting breaking balls early and missed two of them. I get to two strikes and I was frustrated, but I got back to my two-strike approach and saw breaking ball and took a good swing at it.”

Q: Joe is was a very difficult pitching situation against them. What was the gameplan offensively?

Powell: “We knew they threw a lot of strikes and I like that. We were hunting in the zone and that worked out in our advantage. When we hunt stuff in the zone and we’re on it, we’re a really good baseball team.”

Q: Park, decided to go with McPherson and stretch him this game. What went into that decision and how did you think he did?

Parker: “They’re so right-handed so I felt like I was going to go righty and I needed some length there. I actually had McPherson up in the fourth because it was a space that Ben hasn’t had much and it’s a little warmer here and we’ve had a week or two off. I had him hot in the fourth and Ben was able to give us an extension getting us through five (innings).

“ By the time he was up and hot anyway, he was the right guy. Tacking on the runs late, we decided let’s just let him finish it. He’s in a great rhythm and it’s going to take everybody to win this Regional anyway. He was just the next man up based on the matchup.”

Q: McPherson hasn’t been used on short rest much. Do you feel like he can come back this weekend?

Parker: “I think it’s day-to-day. He was very efficient with 41 pitches in four innings. He’s a guy that always wants the ball. I’ve probably been more protective of him coming off of missing all of his senior year coming off surgery and missed most of the fall. We’ll probably track him day-to-day and see how he’s feeling.”

Q: Ben, it felt like you had some bad luck early but once you found your groove the defense made the routine plays. What can you say about the defense?

BD: “It’s just like it’s been all year. You’ve got to trust them. I know that they’re going to make a play behind me so that’s it.”

Q: Park, you talked about the health-related issue for bringing in Ben. What’s your plan for tomorrow?

Parker: “I’m not ready yet. The thing that we’re tracking is getting better every day. Just got to take a look at it tonight.”

Q: Joe, what’s your initial thoughts of playing Florida State?

Powell: “They’re a good team but we’re going to come out ready to play. We’re going to get our game plan together and get our scouting reports. We’re going to go execute it and put our best foot forward to go win that game.”

Q: Ben, pretty decent Bulldog crowd here. What did you think of that?

BD: “It was awesome. It felt like home for me because a loud stadium like that is always good.”

Q: Bottom four in the order all had at least two hits, Joe. How much pride do you take in that?

Powell: “One through nine, keep the machine rolling. It’s really hard to get us stopped when we’re rolling and that’s exactly what we saw tonight. We pick each other up if the top of the lineup isn’t on like they usually do, but everyone was on tonight. We take pride in putting together good at bats and none of that goes to waste. That’s what we had tonight.”

Q: Ben, how did the delay earlier today affect your preparation?

BD: “I wouldn’t really say it affected my preparation at all. I put my head down, kept going and tried not to think too much about it. I tried to have as much fun as possible.”