Postgame Quotes: Tulane (2/28)

2021 Mississippi State Baseball
Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. Tulane
February 28, 2021

Head coach Chris Lemonis

Q: Two nights and two walk-offs. What can you say about the past 48 hours and Tanner Allen?
CL: You know we joked in the dugout that we were going to pinch-hit for [Tanner] because he had struck out the last three at-bats. It was definitely just a joke because there is no way that we would ever pinch-hit for him. What a great at-bat from him. That guy was throwing mid-90s and [Tanner] was able to work the count to his favor and was just able to bang the ball. I am very proud of him for the way that he was still mentally engaged in the game after he had some really tough at-bats earlier.

Q: Allen is obviously a guy that has been a part of some really big moments since he has been at State. As an older guy, how crucial is it to have a guy like that in big moments?
CL: He is never fazed. There is never too big of a moment. He is always the same guy every time he walks to the plate. He just goes up there and tries to have a great at bat. To me he may be the best pure hitter in the country. Tanner is just able to hit everybody year in and year out against great pitching and that is what he did today.

Q: Are these the kind of games that can pay off later in the season?
CL: I just said it to our group here, whoever is doing the scheduling here is killing us. It has been a really hard first seven games and some really tough pitching matchups. You have to tip your hat to their pitcher today, he [threw] really well. He has been good and pitched great today. I think that our philosophy of putting it out there and trying to play tough early will help us in the long run. I told the kids 48 hours ago that we would know a lot about our ballclub at the end of this weekend. Tulane is a Regional team, and they are very talented. It was good to see our guys fight back. I am not going to say that we played our best baseball, but we competed.

Q: What do you feel like you learned about your team this weekend with these two walk-offs?
CL: That we will stay in it and compete. We knew coming into the weekend that they had three really good starting pitchers and that if we could get into their bullpen a little bit [we could have a chance to win]. We got pitch counts up early in games, but you would still like to have some better at-bats, especially with runners in scoring position. We are able to compete late. A lot of times it is just being able to get a walk. Drew McGowan getting a walk and stealing a base started making things happen. Rowdey [Jordan] had a great at-bat too to make things happen and then obviously the big hit. We will get better too. We will perform at a higher level we are not clicking on all cylinders with our line-up right now. I know that they have better swings in them.

Q: What was it like as far as the atmosphere on the field in the dugouts?
CL: It is not my favorite type of atmosphere. It did, it got really competitive. You have really talented athletes competing at a really high level. ... Our guys are able to cheer for us. That is what we say all the time. Hopefully, our guys will be ready and jump up and cheer for us on Tuesday night.

Q: Do you feel like having a longer off-season than normal contributes to guys not having the best at-bats?
CL: I think that getting back here and playing in our ballpark with a big crowd is a little bit of a piece of it. They have not been out there too much. A lot of it is just having better pitch selection and having better pitches to hit. The other half of it is that we have just faced some really good arms. Having to compete with big velocity every game. It seems like every game we have run out there that we have had to compete against some big velocity. That makes you chase a little bit more. I would probably put it on the pitching. I feel like we are getting our feet underneath us and ready to play.

Q: What was the thought process on rolling the dice and sending Drew McGowan to steal a base in the ninth?
CL: I yelled after he didn't run the first [pitch]. I yelled when he didn't run the second [pitch]. I was losing my mind. He is here in the room with me right now and he knows it. It was the [tying] run and we had to get somebody [to second base]. Rowdey almost got the hit in his at-bat. Pitch one he just had to get the right break. Luckily, he did. They gave it to us. When you are kicking your leg up that high you should have an opportunity to run.

Q: How important was it for guys like Brandon Smith and Carlisle Koestler to go out there and do what they did today?
CL: I thought they were really good. I thought that they really competed. They are kind of different kind of guys, so we use them to match-up in different ways. I thought that Brandon [Smith] had to fight out of some tough situations throughout the day. You are seeing him return back to his old self. Every time he runs out there, he looks a little more comfortable. He is so competitive in the moment. Nothing seems to faze him. He had a little bit of bad luck when he was out there, and he just pitched right through it.

Q: If I would have told you before the season that you would have encountered some close games and missed a couple of starts from Eric Cerantola and Will Bednar, would you have taken a 5-2 record?
CL: I probably would have, knowing the first two weekends with the talent level that we faced that we would be 5-2 would be pretty good with us getting out and playing some good baseball. Shoot, I thought McGowan had a game-winning hit against TCU too, but we hit into a double play. We have played well late, but hopefully, we can come out of the gates a little bit better and start playing better early in the game. A lot of it is just competition level. We are playing some of the nation's best. I like where we are at. We have a big game Tuesday night against an in-state team. We are looking forward to that. We are going to get a good day of practice in and be ready to go.

Q: What did you see from Jackson Fristoe today?
CL: I thought he was good. He left a couple of balls over the middle of the plate. Today with the way that the wind was blowing, it made it really tough. Luckily, [Brad Cumbest] pulls one down and then we get the sacrifice fly back [on the appeal]. I think that he is a good player. He is still getting his feet wet and is competitive. I like that. I like that he is competitive and is able to pitch himself out of some jams every once in a while.

Q: What needs to go right for Kamren James in the field?
CL: Just playing the game and being aggressive. When we are not aggressive sometimes the ball plays us. He went the entire preseason without an error. Sometimes that is just the way that the game goes. He is really talented. We are going to keep running him out there and let him make plays. You have to remember that he has only played about 20 games so far in his career. Even though he is an older guy he does not have a lot of lot of experience. He has come up with a couple of big hits the past couple of days. The old saying drive in more than you let in is the mentality with him. I have confidence he will make those plays as time goes on.

Junior outfielder Tanner Allen

Q: You've been a part of a lot of really big moments at Mississippi State, where does this one stack up so far?
TA: This is probably at the top just because of the way my day had been before that at-bat. I preach to the young guys every single day that you're going to have 4 to 5 at bats in a day, don't let one of them dictate how your day goes. Obviously, I had a rough day leading up to that at-bat. I have written on my glove, I always look at it in the outfield, "It don't matter", because it doesn't. The past is the past, it's about being in the moment. We always say around here, "right here, right now". That brought me peace in the batter's box when I said that because everything that happened before didn't matter. It was all about that moment right there.

Q: What made it so difficult to get runs right up until the end of the game?
TA: Hats off to [Tulane] in general. Those guys are very, very good. They are probably one of the most underrated teams in the country. Those guys can hit it, pitch it, run the bases, defense, anything. The third baseman for them was an unbelievable player. I don't think he made an error all weekend. He made play after play after play. He just kept grinding. Obviously, the wind was blowing out today and, like I said, they can hit. They hit a bunch of homers. [Brad Cumbest] made a big play, robbing one of them and it ended up changing the game. He's a young player, he's coming along. We've got a lot of young guys getting some experience. We're not where we want to be right now, but tomorrow starts a new week and a new week of work. We're looking forward to it.

Q: Most of us will never know what it's like to stand there with rhythmic applause, does it make you nervous or help in those moments? What is your mindset that is going on around you?
TA: I've been blessed unbelievably by the good Lord to be able to play baseball here. I've been here so long that I'm kind of well liked. I love this program, so I feel like they love me too. Standing on deck, hearing your name announced in a big moment and everyone going crazy is truly one of the most special things about Starkville and Dudy Noble. I will never forget it for the rest of my life, all these moments I've had up here. Like I said, this is probably the best one. As far as nerve-wise, you have to be able to breathe. Just breathe because your heart is going to be beating out of your chest. The thought of "I have to come through right here" and "I can't fail", you have to push all of those thoughts out of your head, stay positive, and take it one pitch at a time. You have to lock in for five seconds. One pitch, relax, next pitch, relax, and just keep going. Like I said, I had a rough day. On deck, I thought, "I've had a rough day today, but I'm going to come through right here and no one is going to remember the three strike outs I had earlier in the game." I feel like that mindset right there was the key to my success today.

Q: You were talking about having Kamren [James]' back the other day, he had a big home run today, what was that like to see [how he's responded in the last few days].
TA: I can tell you as a player, when you struggle and have teammates that have your back, it gives you a lot of confidence. When you have confidence, you perform to the best of your ability. The way he bounced back is unbelievable. I know he had a couple errors today, but everybody is going to make errors. I'm going to make errors this year, Riley [Self] is going to make errors, everybody is going to make errors. It's about how you respond. He responded great this weekend. He's a great player and great competitor. I love this kid to death, great guy, great teammate. I'm glad he was able to respond after a rough start to the weekend.

Q: Did it even cross your mind that last night, Tulane refused to pitch to you in the last inning and you ended up being the winning run and today, they had to pitch to you.
TA: It did. I was standing on deck and it's funny because I thought "I know they're going to bring a left-hander in" because I've been struggling all day on it. When they didn't do that, I'm not going to lie, in the back of my mind I thought, "that's going to cost them". That's just my competitive mindset. The lefty had my number today, he's a great pitcher. He had all of our numbers today. He did a great job. Those guys can pitch and hit. They are a great team. I tell everybody, don't ever give up on the Dawgs, because we're going to be there all the way until the end, and it paid off these last two games.

Q: The games got a little chippy at times, do you like that as a ball player? Does that make it more fun, especially when you win?
TA: Of course. We focus on playing the full nine [innings]. Things are not going to go our way [all of the time], the other team is going to get momentum and energy. We have to find ways to get the energy back. Being able to play in front of 25 percent capacity in Dudy Noble is more fans than anybody else gets in the country. That place was rocking with 25 percent [capacity]. The fans definitely help get the energy back. Anytime we have a rough stretch, we always come back in the dugout and say, "we get the fans into it, we're going to get back on track, let's get them back into it."

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Quotes: Tulane (2/28)

Players Mentioned

Tanner Allen

Will Bednar

Eric Cerantola

Brad Cumbest

Jackson Fristoe

Kamren James

Carlisle Koestler

Drew McGowan

Brandon Smith

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