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Postgame Quotes: Alcorn State (Feb. 26)
February 26, 2020 | Baseball
2020 Mississippi State Baseball
Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. Alcorn State
February 26, 2020
Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. Alcorn State
February 26, 2020
Chris Lemonis | Head Coach
Q: You had early inning struggles at the plate. What was your take on that?
CL: "The game was fighting us a little bit. We had some guys pressing in certain parts of our lineup. It was nice to see the middle of our order taking care of business today. They had some big hits. We have really good players, but sometimes this game will play you a little tough. We had to fight through it. I think we learned a lot about our team in a 24-hour period because we left here last night very disappointed. It was good to see them fight back."
Q: What's it like having a guy like Jordan Westburg that cares so much about the program?
CL: "I'm sure he slept more than I did. I felt the same way that I think most of our ball club did. We have great kids. They show up. They work. We play a tough game. Sometimes this game can be tricky on you and get in your head a little bit. For some of our guys, coming out here today, fighting, and getting a good victory was big."
Q: Houston Harding gave up that home run, but then comes back to strikeout the same guy.
CL: "He fought out of a jam in the third also. He was pretty good today for his first outing for us. I'd like to see him be a little but more efficient, but I thought he was pretty good out there. We're going to need him. He's a guy we're going to need in the midweek. He's an older kid. He's a competitive kid. I like what he did today."
Q: What did you see out of Chase Patrick?
CL: "He was big. Chase is really good. The pickoff probably wasn't the best when he skipped that one. Besides that, I thought he pitched really well."
Q: Houston Harding came out in the fifth with about 75 pitches. What was his ideal count today?
CL: "Those guys now, they've been pitching. He's been in those areas. We're not in the pitch count world right now. Him just getting out there was all about how he feels. We wished that the fifth inning wasn't so long, but it is what it is."
Q: How eager are you to get out on the road?
CL: "We leave at 5 a.m. tomorrow, so I'm not eager about that. I am eager to play in some good weather. Long Beach State is playing really well right now. It's going to be a good test for us. We're learning a lot about our team. Me as a coach, seeing these guys in some of these scenarios for the first time is good. We have 23 new guys in the program, so I like seeing these new guys handle some adversity. We're going on a big road trip right now in front of a big crowd. We play in front of the hostile crowd now. It'll be a big weekend for us."
Q: Do you anticipate seeing Houston Harding as a guy to start a lot of the midweeks?
CL: "It's early. It just depends on if we need him on the weekend. We do an assessment after the weekend to see who's available. He may pitch next Sunday, who knows. He's a candidate for sure."
Q: What's it like playing these midweek games against teams like yesterday and Alcorn State?
CL: "Sometimes when you play some of those, they would hurt themselves, but they're not hurting themselves. They're throwing strikes. They're competitive. There are some big hits. They had a guy swing really well to hit that home run. Their second baseman had some really good at-bats today. That was a really good hit off of Houston Harding there."
Q: The bullpen as a whole did a really good job today. Are you starting to see those roles come in?
CL: "I think so. My message to them is that you have to be able to do it consistently. We know what they are, but can you bring that on a daily basis? It's hard when you're a manager. You want to feel like you can trust what you're getting out of the bullpen. We're bringing the right stuff. We're competing in a certain fashion. I'm getting closer and closer."
Houston Harding | Junior | LHP
Q: Was there any pressure to get off to a good start on the mound after yesterday?
HH: "That was my game plan, just to go in there and get it done for the squad. That's what we needed going into today."
Q: You gave up the home run and then you came right back and struck him out at his next at bat. What adjustments did you make?
HH: "I'd say that the biggest thing right there is just to get back on the mound and throw the next pitch. Right there, we can't worry about home runs and base hits. We just need to get back on the mound and throw that next pitch."
Q: You had seven strikeouts today. What pitches were working for you?
HH: "My changeup felt really good. My slider felt good late, and I don't think I threw a curveball at all. Other than that, my changeup and slider felt really good."
Q: Any nerves going out there the first time, or was it just excitement?
HH: "It was mainly excitement. It was a dream come true to go out there and get my first start for the Dawgs. Other than that, just some mild jitters."
Jordan Westburg | Junior | IF
Q: What's the mood in the locker room after a ballgame like today?
JW: "You can kind of take a sigh of relief I think. We put yesterday's loss behind us and moved on to today. Even though we didn't play our best baseball, we still got a win, and, at the end of the day, that's all that matters."
Q: You talked about not being able to find that big hit yesterday. Obviously, you hit the home run today. How did it feel to get one?
JW: "I'm just sticking to our two-strike approach that made us the program that we are today. I stayed short to the fastball and got a hold of one. It was a big hit for our team. I think it's what we needed. I'm happy that I could come through."
Q: How big is it to have Tanner Allen behind you?
JW: "It's great. He's one of the best hitters, if not the best pure hitter on the team. For him to be back in the lineup is huge for us and he came through today with a couple of big hits."
Q: You talked about putting yesterday behind you. What was this last 24 hours like?
JW: "Personally, I didn't want to go to sleep last night. I was extremely [aggravated], embarrassed, whatever word you want to use to describe it. I just wasn't happy, and I know that a lot of the guys weren't happy. Like I said last night, it's one loss and it's early in the season. Just to be able to come back to the ballpark today and play another game right away is the best thing for us. It gets your mind off that loss really quickly, especially when you turn around with a win."
Players Mentioned
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