Postgame Quotes: Wright State (Feb. 15)
February 15, 2020 | Baseball
2020 Mississippi State Baseball
Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. Wright State
February 15, 2020
Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. Wright State
February 15, 2020
Chris Lemonis | Head Coach
Q: How do you feel about Christian MacLeod's performance today in his debut?
CL: "He was awesome. I'm so happy to see him back out there. It's been a long year since he hasn't pitched. We knew he was pretty special, but now everyone else gets to see it on the main stage."
Q: How have you seen the freshman players react to getting an opportunity on the mound in the SEC?
CL: "We've had little good and a little bad. It's about getting out there and pitching relaxed. Christian [MacLeod] was great. I thought that Will [Bednar] was good today especially early. I probably put a little too much on him by running him out there for the third inning. We're trying to get him spread out a little more. It's that time of year were a lot of pitch counts are coming into them, but they've been pretty good for the most part. Riley [Self] was the veteran we felt like, but we went opposite of yesterday, and he pitched really good."
Q: Were you surprised at freshmen Logan Tanner and Kamren James good start off the plate?
CL: "They've been pretty good in spring training. They were really good today, so it was a big boost for us. Tanner [Allen] wasn't in the line-up today so they were a big help. Those to young guys were pretty good."
Q: What's Tanner Allen's availability for tomorrow?
CL: "Not sure. It was a sore knee today. Playing in the outfield, moving around and running early in the year, we just didn't want to take a chance on it. I'd say 50/50, but I'm probably being optimistic."
Q: Was his injury related to the foul ball yesterday?
CL: "Yes, the foul ball in the first inning. He fouled it off right into his knee."
Q: Is Christian MacLeod usually pretty composed and lowkey?
CL: "That's usually him. He was a big-time recruit coming out of high school unfortunately he disappeared last year when he got sick. He's a real dude. Watching him compete today was a lot of fun, especially against the left-handed line-up."
Q: What was it like for you to watch Christian MacLeod [have to sit out last year]?
CL: "It was tough at time because you know it's hurting those guys not being able to play. Any of your red shirts you hate it for. It's a tough time of year. Last week, was the hardest for me because I had to tell some kids we had to change somethings and that's what happened to Christian [MacLeod]. But man, he works, he changed his body and he's here every day and putting in the work and you see it out there between the lines."
Q: You let Christian MacLeod go a little beyond what you let JT Ginn do yesterday, do you think he was a little warmer?
CL: "He was ahead of JT [Ginn]. He has been ahead of JT [Ginn]. The last four weeks for us, the Friday's have been the coldest day here in Starkville and on Saturday it has gotten really nice. I keep joking JT [Ginn] you must like pitching in cold weather. JT [Ginn] has had some tougher routing to go through, so Christian [MacLeod] is just a little bit ahead. Not a lot, 15-20 pitches and that's an inning or two."
Q: Will Bednar pitched a few innings today, is that the role you see him at long-term?
CL: "Right now, we're just trying to get him out there and get him loose. He's got real stuff and you probably saw a little of it today. He didn't land his breaking stuff as well as he usually does, but I think he can swing in the game, midweek or starter. He can do a lot of different things."
Q: What was it like to see Riley [Self] going through and have a solid outing?
CL: "He was great, especially after you get the call overturned, but just pound the ball in the strike zone. His arm has been working better the last couple of weeks. He's had some ups and downs with his v low, but it's been pretty good lately."
Q: Do you think Logan Tanner got Wright State's attention yesterday when he got down to second?
CL: "I think that's probably it. They're going to run on anybody, that's just their mindset. We've had a chance to pick off some guys and our pitcher have made some adjustments. Logan [Tanner] is a really good thrower so piece that you're https://hailst.at/2wnTSf3 going to get. We gave them eight or nine freebies yesterday; they would have been running today too if we had given it to them. It's probably more about Christian [MacLeod] not giving up many base runners than us having the lead.
Q: How big were the extra two runs they earned?
CL: "Like I told our guys, I thought we swung it really well. We had about four or five lineouts on the day in some big situations that could have really expanded that game. They bring back Wesley's homer, but we hit a couple balls really hard and didn't have a lot to show for it. They defended really well today."
Q: What are you expecting from Eric Cerantola tomorrow?
CL: "Pound the zone. Hopefully he follows what Christian MacLeod did and runs out their ad pounds the zone and have fun. He's got electric stuff. He just has to get out there and compete."
Q: How big were the strides Logan Tanner made today at proving or disproving what people said about his ability at the plate?
CL: "Well I think it's about confidence. You saw it as the day went on, his confidence grew. I think that first homerun was a 2-0 count, he got a good fast ball and after that he became a little more aggressive throughout the day. Confidence is big in our sport."
Q: After today performance from the bottom of the line-up, how much confidence do you have in your line-up?
CL: "It's really hard to make a line-up right now. I'm really trying to space the lefts, rights, and runners around because it's not a huge difference in what they've done in the last six month. You can tip your hat to Coach [Gautreau]. We develop hitters here. Some of those guys are as good as what we've got. Coach [Gautreau] has been working on Kamren's [James] high fast ball hit off the wall. They've been working on that daily, trying to get him a little shorter to that ball when he hits it off the top of the wall to the first. It's fun to see us work on something and it comes out in the game. I'm happy for Kam [James] and Coach [Gautreau]."
Christian MacLeod | Redshirt-Freshman | LHP
Q: How long have you been waiting for a day like today?
CM: "I've been waiting for a long time, just about my entire life. Sitting out last year made everything today bittersweet. A really humbling experience out there today. I really enjoyed it."
Q: What was it like getting out there and getting those first real life with live batters that you faced?
CM: "It was awesome. Getting out there and getting on the mound seeing everyone in the backdrop as something you've never seen before it's just awesome. It's really cool to experience. When the batter stepped in the box, it's was a whole different level of focus."
Q: What was it like sitting out last year?
CM: "Obviously it was frustrating. It was the first time I haven't played a baseball season in my whole life. It was frustrating for sure, but I knew it was part of God's plan. I knew that was just going to be part of it and I was going to bounce back. It makes being out there today a lot more bittersweet. I really appreciate everything so much more now after going through that."
Q: Not being here for last year's opening weekend, what's it been like to experience that this year in the dugout and on the mound?
CM: "It's been awesome. Like I said, just getting to appreciate it so much more not being there last year. It makes you think wow this is awesome. I'm so thankful to be a part of it."
Logan Tanner | Freshman | C
Q: How did it feel today to hit that home run?
LT: "It felt great. Coach [Jake] Gautreau and I have been working hard. To see it all come together feels really good."
Q: There's been a lot of new guys making a difference on both sides of the field, including yourself. What's it been like to see that happen?
LT: "It's really good. It shows that [Mississippi] State reloads, we don't rebuild here. It's great to get to play with some guys that I've been with for a long time; Kamren James, Davis Rokose, and Landon [Sims]. It's really fun."
Q: How much confidence did you have after that first at bat?
LT: "It felt really good getting the first hit out of the way. All I needed to do was swing away and do what I do. It felt good."
Q: How does it feel to be 2-0 on the season?
LT: "It feels really good. We have to continue to grow as a team. We're going to get better throughout the year. You can always get better."
Players Mentioned
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