Postgame Quotes: Ole Miss (April 17)

2021 Mississippi State Baseball
Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss
April 17, 2021

Head Coach Chris Lemonis

Q: What all can you say about Doug Nikhazy and why was he able to keep you guys in check all day long?
CL: He's really good. He's pitched really good of late. He's pitched this well his whole career. He's one of the better arms in our league and in the country. They got him the lead and he took that lead and just jammed it down our throats all day long. [He works a] Three pitch mix and it was just really good. We never got on anything for the whole day.

Q: What's your message to the team to keep them even keel after a disappointing day like today?
CL: Well, that's exactly what I told them. They're going to have to respond tomorrow. We felt like a million bucks last night and they were pissed. Now we're the ones that are pissed. We have to get a good night's sleep, get back and be ready to go. The sun comes up tomorrow. It's a new day and we've got a chance to win a big ballgame against our rival. It's going to be a heck of a game tomorrow, but we've got to come out and play better. We've got to be in every phase of the game.

Q: What did you see from Eric Cerantola and was it good to build his confidence today?
CL: He matches up. You know, they had some left-handed hitters in their lineup. He's got power stuff so, we've been trying to get him out of the bullpen. He just came in and I thought he was pretty good. He walked the first guy, but I thought he was pretty good after that.

Q: What went in to Luke Hancock at first base?
CL: It's a little bit [of a matchup], but [Josh] Hatcher has got to give us better at-bats. I mean it was more about Hatch's at-bats going forward. We need more [at-bats] like he had against Auburn. We need him to swing. We're just trying to get an extra hitter in the lineup. Obviously, against Nikhazy, [Luke's] really good with left-handed pitchers.

Q: What did you see from Cam Tullar on the mound today?
CL: He was good. He left his fastball in the middle of the plate a few times. I thought he'd get ahead in some counts and give him an opportunity to get ahead. He's been really good of late. I think his best outing of the year was last weekend, so we came in thinking he'd be a good matchup. He just gave them an opportunity to put the barrel on the ball and put some balls at play.

Q: How do you think the team will respond with this loss and get back on the right track again tomorrow?
CL: Well the good thing is we're playing Ole Miss tomorrow. They're pissed. I think they'll come out abd they'll be ready to go with a lot of energy. I would imagine we'll have another full ballpark. It's about performance and out-playing them. Getting out there and having great at-bats, playing great defense, and our pitchers attacking the zone and making pitches. They'll be ready to play, there's no doubt about that. It'll be a pretty hype day tomorrow at the park.

Q: How comfortable was Luke [Hancock] at first and do you feel like you sacrificed a little bit of defense there?
CL: Well, we did and that's another reason why Hatcher has stayed in there. He's an above-average defender. We're trying to put another bat in there and you're going to lose something. I don't know if it gets you every time but you're obviously not as good defensively when Hatcher isn't in there. That's one of the reasons we've held onto him so long.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Quotes: Ole Miss (April 17)

Players Mentioned

Eric Cerantola

Luke Hancock

Cam Tullar

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