Postgame Quotes: Oregon State (Feb. 21)

2020 Mississippi State Baseball
Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. Oregon State
February 21, 2020

Chris Lemonis | Head Coach

Q: How do you deal with having to come from behind in two straight series-opening games?
CL: "Well, when you have our offense, and they did a really good job to our offense early in the game, [and] you have to tip your hat to their pitcher, but we always have a chance. So, we keep competing and even with the options we have in our bullpen, we felt like if we could keep it close, we'd have a shot late, and the guys stepped up."

Q: How do you feel like the new guys are handling these first few games?
CL: "They're doing great. David Dunlavey was new today too. It was his first time out there, and I thought he pitched great. It was kind of hard to pitch today because it was hard to throw breaking balls, so Carlisle [Koestler] missed early on a couple, but he competed through it. Landon [Jordan] was good and David was a big surprise for us, being able to spin his breaking ball. I thought he pitched really well."

Q: How confident are you that this is Spencer Price's return to form?
CL: "That's what I hope [this is]. He's been really good for us in spring training, was good last weekend and he was good today. He's a very mature, hard-working kid, and he likes to compete. He's just out there competing and making somebody beat us late."

Q: Did being struck out 16 times today have more to do with the at-bats or Chamberlain?
CL: "It was Chamberlain's stuff. Now, we have big trying to do too much, but it was because of his stuff. I think we saw first round [draft prospect] stuff – 93, 95 [miles per hour], a really good breaking ball and it was probably a little more than we thought we were getting today. He was really good. The strikeouts were kind of purposeful. We were trying to run his pitch count up and we just kept striking out, trying to get him out of the game early. At least, that's what Rowdey [Jordan] told me. Part of the game is getting him out [of the game] in the sixth [inning]."

Q: After struggling last weekend, what did you think of Brandon Pimentel's last at-bat?
CL: "He's a really good player. In the first week or so, he's probably swung out of the [strike] zone a little bit and pressed a little bit being new in the lineup, but it was fun to watch. He's going to be a really good player here, and he works really hard. He's got a really good swing, and you had a chance to see it on that ball. That ball was smoked."

Q: Did this game feel like postseason to you?
CL: "Yeah, I had that feeling too, and I think our kids did. I felt like we may have pressed a little bit trying to get out there and get something going, but we talked before the game. That's why you bring them in here. You want to feel and play in these environments while playing against the best."

Q: With Chamberlain being so good today, how can you build on this the rest of the week/season?
CL: "I think it's huge. We know in our league, in our division, on Friday night, you are facing some of the best players in the country and this was another one. There aren't many more [pitchers] better than the guy we faced tonight. It's a lesson for our ball club because you can't put your head down and pout. We had some guys have some really tough at-bats early, but I'm really proud of Josh Hatcher's at-bat in the eighth [inning]. He had had a tough day and some tough matchups on the lefties, and that walk was huge. Rowdey had struck out a couple of times but competes, fights and fists that ball into the infield and he hustled down the line to get it going. Hopefully, we can build off that for the future and the Friday nights we have to play."

Q: Did you feel like you were about to break the game open once Rowdey got on base in the eighth inning?
CL: "Yeah we did. We ran Spencer [Price] down there and we started thinking about the ninth inning. In our ballpark, it's our offense, and then it's our fanbase. When you're an opponent, you have to come in here and you [have to] pitch. We didn't have the momentum all day, but there in the eighth, that momentum grew, and it gets tougher to pitch here at The Dude when that momentum is building."

Carlisle Koestler | Graduate Student | RHP

Q: How did your first start at Dudy Noble measure up to what you expected?
CK: "It was better than I expected probably. The fans were really into the game. It was really fun."

Q: How do you feel like yourself and the rest of the pitchers kept the team in the ball game?
CK: "I think our bullpen did a really good job keeping us through the innings until our offense could come through and help us win."

Q: What was working for you today?
CK: "Mainly just my slider [was working]. I really didn't have my changeup like I normally do. They were doing a good job of taking it early and late in counts."

Brandon Pimentel | Sophomore | OF

Q: What's it feel like to have your first big 'Dudy Noble moment?'
BP: "It's crazy. Playing in front of the best fans in the world and being a part of it, it was crazy. It's a dream come true."

Q: What were you all talking about in the dugout to get everything started in the 8^th inning?
BP: "We're just competing, competing, competing. That's what Coach Lemonis always preaches to us, and we just competed."

Q: Did the team having 16 strikeouts start to wear on the team?
BP: "It kind of got to us, but we stuck to our approach. At the end, we fought it off and got the W."

Q: How big of a win is this game?
BP: "It's a big win. It builds confidence. We're just going to keep moving forward through the weekend and getting better. We have to get ready for tomorrow."

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Quotes: Oregon State (Feb. 21)

Players Mentioned

David Dunlavey

Josh Hatcher

Carlisle Koestler

Brandon Pimentel

Spencer Price

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