Postgame Quotes: Eastern Michigan (March 13)

2021 Mississippi State Baseball
Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. Eastern Michigan
March 13, 2021

Head Coach Chris Lemonis

Q: That's the third walk-off this year. What are you seeing from your guys that let you pull out these wins?
CL: I just think we don't quit. Today, their pitcher was as good as we've probably seen all year at 93-94 [mph] with a sinker. We weren't picking it up. We were just hitting it into the ground all day. It wasn't by design, but I think we just keep on playing and drove that pitch count up. We talk about, in the ninth inning, just moving the lineup and having the next guy move to the plate. When Tanner [Allen] gets that hit, you feel that energy in the ballpark. Then, you get that hit-by-pitch and there's more. It just gets hard to pitch. It gets hard to defend here when you have that energy going. We had some guys take some big swings.

Q: It seemed like you got about as good of a start from Eric [Cerantola] as you have in about a year or two. What was it like to see him come out here and really hit the zone?
CL: He was like that during preseason [training]. Getting out of the first there was huge. The double play by Lane [Forsythe] was big. He kind of just settled in [from there] and got the chance to pitch. He threw a few changeups that got out of there in left field. That was probably the only blemish he had all day.

Q: What was the mood in the dugout when inning after inning you weren't able to string anything together due to their pitcher?
CL: For us, usually we see a lot of pitches. We weren't recognizing. Since the first inning, he was throwing that sinker that looked like it was on at the knees and ended up out of the zone. We were just pounding it in the ground. We just couldn't recognize and couldn't lay off of it. It started to become a frustrating day. I give their guys credit because they made a lot of plays too. They had a really good shortstop over there. They had a really good third baseman that led to a couple double plays. As the day went on, it became frustrating. To get it going in the ninth was huge.

Q: There seems to be a shift with your fans where they're really there when you need them. Late in this ballgame it seemed like the crowd really took control of the ballgame. What did you think about that?
CL: It's always there. It was another good crowd, number one. Number two, it's a very knowledgeable crowd. They know what's going on in the game. They know when to get loud. In our clubhouse, we talk about it. We talked about it before the game. It is 'The Dude Effect'. The Dude takes over and our fans take over. It becomes very hard for our opponents sometimes to compete and win. It gives us energy. It lets our team have a little energy and a little excitement. I think that's why you see us at the end of games play so well and not our opponents because of the ballpark and the fan base that we have.

Q: What can you say about what Christian MacLeod and Eric Cerantola brought to the game the last two days?
CL: We got two good starts. It lets us pitch our bullpen the way we want to pitch it. They give us an opportunity to have some momentum throughout the game. Even though it was 1-0 [today], Eric really dominated most of the game. We were able to get on and off the field. Hopefully, they continue that. That's the pattern. I give them a lot of credit. I know it is stressful for them when they don't pitch well. They have a lot that's on the line. They want to win. They want to help us win. They want to be a part of that. When they don't have good outings, they take it personal. I give them and our pitching coach, Scott Foxhall, a lot of credit. They've been spending a lot of time staying confident and being able to attack hitters. I hope they learn from the last week or two as they move forward.

Q: What have you seen from Eric Cerantola over the last couple of weeks? How has his bullpen practices been going?
CL: They've been really aggressive. They've been trying to be really aggressive in his bullpens. One reason that [Coach Foxhall] has so much confidence in him is because when you watch his pens, he doesn't miss a lot and rarely throws a ball. I mean it's dominant in the pens. It's probably as impressive of a pen that you could watch. Eric's been preparing. Eric has had a good year [leading into the season], a good spring training. He did have a tough two starts and I'm hoping that's what he can build off of.

Q: How relieving was it for you to watch Eric Cerantola today?
CL: It was good. It was good for us this week. We weren't too sure coming out today. We're trying to give him the opportunity, every opportunity, to get going and his stuff is so good. It's power. I mean it's power stuff in the big leagues. If he ever harnesses it and gets it right, so we wanted to make sure he had every opportunity and hopefully he can build on this. Just take this in to the following weeks and try to work and give us a great shot to win. We don't need long starts from our starters. That's the one positive with our staff is we can have a lot of opportunities to use some guys. Just like we did today with Carlisle [Koestler]. I thought Carlisle gets a little not noticed in this game, but he just holds it tight for three innings.

Q: Do you feel prepared for conference play?
CL: Yeah, we're real close. I think we're as close as you can probably be. Seeing our guys, knowing what they can do and who fits where. That's why we brought in Cam Tullar there trying to see. We're trying to find that lefty matchup guy a little bit right now. Cam's got really good stuff. It was nice to see him get that out with the runner on third. We're trying to figure out some other pieces.

Q: What's the process of working with Eric Cerantola and how has he matured more in that process of his game?
CL: I just think it's in preparation. I think you build your confidence in preparation. We talk about breathing and all that type of stuff in the middle of your performance. We talk about it with all our guys just trying to being able to focus and play with a relaxed aggression. I think that's a big piece with him. It's just been a learning curve and [with] a lot of big, physical, powerful pitchers, this is a process that they go through. To see him go out there and pitch it the way they did today was great.

Q: Where does Will Bednar fit in to the weekend equation?
CL: Like I said, we're still getting him back. Good chance you see Will pitch tomorrow as we run out there and get ready to go. [We will] try to get him some innings. It's a long season. So, knowing where everybody's at and what everybody's doing. Our group knows you've got to have a little bit of patience on our staff, but I think everybody's opportunity comes up. I think the same will be said with Will. Hopefully he'll get out here and have a chance to pitch in the next two games and still keep growing his volume so we can use him in other ways as we move through the season.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Quotes: Eastern Michigan (March 13)

Players Mentioned

Will Bednar

Eric Cerantola

Christian MacLeod

Cam Tullar

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