Postgame Quotes: Kent State (March 7)

2021 Mississippi State Baseball
Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. Kent State
March 7, 2021

Head Coach Chris Lemonis

Q: At what point did you realize you had a no-hitter going and what was that like to be a part of?
CL: It was exciting. Around the fifth or sixth inning, you start to realize it because you've got to start making some pitching decisions, and in our situation right now it's really hard. In some years, you'd play for the no-hitter, it's something exciting for the fans and [the players], but in our world we only have so many opportunities to play guys. It's a big roster, so you try to get guys in there. When [Jackson Fristoe] got to 85 pitches we felt like that's where we wanted him at. He's got such a bright future and you don't want to push him, and the game was still in check at that point. We bring in Landon [Sims] and then it gets expanded. Tip your hat to all our pitchers today and we made three amazing plays on defense to keep that no-hitter intact. Drew McGowan [had the diving catch]. I don't know if everyone noticed the one by Brandon Pimentel, it hits the bag and shoots the other direction. Nine times out of ten that's a double, and then Lane Forsythe makes a great play there at the end, so it was a fun day at the ballpark.

Q: When's the last time you were a part of a no-hitter?
CL: Maybe at The Citadel when I was a part of a no-hitter. It's been a while; I could be wrong on that but that's the one I remember.

Q: This is the third straight weekend you have played a rubber game for the series. Do you think the team is at its best under pressure?
CL: I think Jackson Fristoe has been a big piece to that on the weekends. In the Sunday games he's come out and gave us some really good chances to win. It's been a fight, the Texas Tech or the Tulane game and then Kent State. It's going to be like that every weekend. The competition level is just so high, it's harder to sweep, it's harder to do things and I give our guys a lot of credit for coming out and playing [with energy] today. I thought yesterday was our worst game of the year and today was our best. I give the guys a lot of credit for bouncing back and being mentally ready to go.

Q: What was your thought process behind the lineup switch and how did you feel like it worked out for you today?
CL: It worked out well. The guys played well, that's really what it comes down to. I knew going in before yesterday that we are trying to get Lane [Forsythe] a start, I'm trying to get some other guys a start. I got Tanner Leggett one last week. In the times that we're in you've got to have guys ready to play, even outside of the injury reasons. We switched it up a little bit to get some new guys in the lineup and switched up just a couple things. It'll keep switching as the year goes on because some guys will get hot, some guys will go through some low times. But I thought Scotty Dubrule was good today and I thought Rowdey [Jordan] was great in the two-hole. I thought he gave us some really good at-bats. It was fun to see everybody swing. We expanded it there when we put a lot of extra guys in the lineup and those guys played great and those guys deserve the opportunity to get out there and play.

Q: How difficult is it to manage this roster with so much talent trying to get everybody some playing time?
CL: It's really hard when you're trailing most games. We haven't started great, so we've been behind, so we don't get to use as many pieces. It's been difficult and hopefully we'll get a chance to play a little bit more in front from here on out and get those guys [into some games], because we have some really good players who haven't had an opportunity to get out there because the games have been so tight, and usually the decision that's made is on defense, trying to put your best defenders out there.

Q: What was it like in the dugout with your team today?
CL: Maybe I'm just oblivious, but they were pretty good. Our guys were bouncing around like a normal day. I'm sure everybody knows you're not supposed to talk about [the no-hitter], so I didn't hear anybody bring it up. It was fun to watch, especially once we got past the fifth or sixth [inning] and then those Mikey Tepper innings. Cam [Tullar] even coming in late, we thought Cam was going to come in and face a couple of lefties and then they flipped the lineups on us. It wasn't really for the no-hitter; we were trying to get Cam out there in front of a crowd. Our guys were excited about it, but I think they were relieved after we made that last catch.

Q: When you see Drew McGowan lay out full extension giving an incredible effort to keep the no-hitter intact, did you have a feeling something cool might be happening?
CL: I felt so. I felt there were a couple hard hit balls, they hit one or two to Scotty Dubrule up the middle that were played well. Then [Brandon] Pimentel catches that ball late, that's when I thought [it was going to happen]. I just didn't know we'd be tested on the last ball of the game. That was a really tough play that Lane [Forsythe] made.

Q: What did Jackson Fristoe's outing show and what about his game makes him so effective?
CL: It's a lot of poise for a young kid. A lot of poise, and you've got to look at the radar gun to see if it's a mid-90's fastball but it's also a plus slider and he's really learning how to command it. I think that's the biggest thing is putting the ball in good spots on the plate and it's just hard. He is a big kid, throws hard and you can't run on him. He does a lot of good things out there and the fun part for me is I feel like every week we see him he's getting better. He's improving. He's one of those guys that takes a lot of pride in his daily work and you can see it coming out in his game all the time. I just feel like he keeps getting better and better."

Q: How much of his emotions is something the guys can feed off of on the field?
CL: I think it's good. He is emotional. He's been less as time has gone on. His first outing he was really emotional, and the Tulane game was emotional. I felt like he was a lot more in check this weekend, it's probably why he was able to pitch with the velocity longer than normal or maybe he's building up, but I think early in the year we have some of those big starts and it's emotional and it takes away from you a little bit.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Quotes: Kent State (March 7)

Players Mentioned

Scotty Dubrule

Lane Forsythe

Jackson Fristoe

Tanner Leggett

Drew McGowan

Brandon Pimentel

Mikey Tepper

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