Chris Lemonis talks frustrating loss at Southern Miss
Mississippi State went on the road for the first time in the 2025 season and didn’t play well enough to beat the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.
Four offensive hits and four more errors told the tale of a rough night at the park for the Diamond Dawgs. USM was able to capitalize as the home team took a 3-0 victory.
After the game, coach Chris Lemonis discussed a frustrating day at the park.
Question: What did you see from the team today?
CL: “They started off with a really good arm, located and kept it down. We hit a couple of balls hard early but we just couldn’t get it to go for us. We fell behind and didn’t have great composure early in the game. They took it and ran with it and credit to them, they’re a really good team. We just didn’t make adjustments in the box. We’ve got to get better.”
Q: What did you think of Charlie Foster’s start?
CL: “I thought it was ok. I know he’s a freshman, but he’s a very talented freshman and he’s going to get it together. He battled through some things but he’s better than that and I think he knows it. Hopefully he learns from tonight and takes it for the better.”
Q: What about the bullpen?
CL: “They were great. Ben Davis was great, Evan, Robert, Chase – they all did their job. Even with four errors, we had a couple of nice (defensive) plays too. I thought we had some nice plays, but it’s hard to win when you make four errors.
“We knew tonight that Charlie was going two or three (innings). We are very talented on the pitching staff, we just have a lot of new guys. We’re trying to get them out there and get a feel for it. For Charlie, we’re trying to get him out there as much as we can.”
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Q: Lukas Buckner came in and gave you a lift. What’s the competition like at second base now?
“A lot of competition right now. He’s been doing it all year, he’s just been the young guy. He’s pushing it right now. He’s just a ball player. There’s no fear, he just wants to play and he looked great tonight.”
Q: You had some issues on offense. How do you convince those guys that it’s just not your night?
“I don’t know if I’m buying into that one a lot. We’ve got to get better. We’ve got to compete more. We’re better than that. We’re not adjusting well in the box. From Sunday to today, guys are throwing sinkers and usually when you get sinkers you move up in the box and have a plan. We’re having a hard time getting guys to make some adjustments and we saw that on Sunday too. We’re going to have to get better here in the next couple of days and get ready for Friday.”
Q: How deflating was the hit to center from Ross Highfill that couldn’t quite get out?
CL: “I think it was deflating. We practiced on Thursday night and there weren’t many balls going out to center field. I wasn’t sure it would get out but he hit it good. Where it lands, it lands and you’ve got to get out there and play.”
Q: What’s the early thoughts on the weekend series with Missouri State?
“A real offensive lineup. Older hitters, big hitters and lots of homers. That’s the strength of their ball club and they’re really well-coached. The next couple of weeks for us is the best part of our non-conference and we’ve got to be ready to play.”
