Postgame Quotes: Ole Miss (April 18)

2021 Mississippi State Baseball
Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss
April 18, 2021

Head Coach Chris Lemonis

Q: What was it like for the back half of your order to step up in a crunch time situation?
CL: It had been a tough weekend for the most part, offensively. You have to tip your hat to Ole Miss. We ran into some really good arms [for Ole Miss], and we had some guys scuffling a bit. We talk all the time, it's a sign of a good player if he can be 0-for-3 and still get a hit in the fourth at bat. Some of our guys showed that today. Our better at bats were at the end of the game. Just battling, hitting balls hard, controlling counts, and playing hard. Those guys did a great job.

Q: How big was it for Scotty Dubrule and Josh Hatcher to get those big hits?
CL: It was huge. Those guys are really talented players. It's been frustrating with the consistency of play. We are talking about guys who have played a lot of college baseball. It was nice to see them [have some success today]. Scotty had two big hits at the end of that game. I thought Josh's at-bats were better today. We need those guys if we are going to go on a run. It was nice to see them contribute this afternoon.

Q: How big was Josh Hatcher's play in the seventh inning?
CL: That was a big play. There were a lot of little things that happened in that game to get off the field. We talked about that a lot. We talked about it after the game. Hatcher's play was huge with getting those outs. He is a really good defensive baseman and can make a lot of plays for us out there.

Q: What does it say about your team that you have dominated this series against a really good Ole Miss team for several years now?
CL: For me it's just about today. There has been a lot of wins lately in this series. It means a lot to our guys, not saying it doesn't mean a lot to their guys. There is a lot of pride in this game. If you look at our roster there are so many kids from Mississippi. It's a big deal here. I think a little bit of that was Jake Mangum, he took a lot of pride in this series and built that up. We are trying to keep the momentum going. Like you said, [Ole Miss] is a good team, that's one of the better teams we will play this year. I tip my cap to them because those were a couple hard fought games.

Q: How did you about the pitchers getting out of those innings and didn't let the game get the better of them?
CL: I thought it was huge. Scott Foxhall did a get job managing the staff today and with every call he made ... They did get four runs with two outs and nobody on. That is just a little bit of a lack of focus from us with that walk and a home run. Jackson [Fristoe] had good stuff early. I didn't want to lose the game early and I felt like that inning got away from him. We had to chase them all day yesterday and I didn't want to chase them today. I knew [Houston Harding] would be a good match up. [Harding] was great and really threw his change-up in there. He had the two pitches he missed to the same hitter. Besides that, he was really good. Then, I think Parker Stinnett and Branden Smith were really good and obviously Landon [Sims] there at the end. Some of those guys like Stinnett, Fristoe and Harding haven't pitched with any of these crowds. I am proud of those guys for going out there and competing and getting used to it. We will be better in the long run with the more games we play like this.

Q: The big inning when Tanner Allen gets the big triple. What was going through your mind in that situation? I know you have a lot of confidence in him but when things are beginning to unfold, what is it like in the dugout?
CL: I turned to one of my coaches and said, 'this is the guy we need at the plate in this moment.' If anyone is going to be able to do it, it is going to be him. It was a great match up for us at that point and a good match up for them too. When [Broadway] fell behind 2-0, we had a feeling TA was going to get a swing off. He has been really good lately, when we need a big hit, he has gotten it for us.

Q: You said the other day that you were sitting by your pool this time last year wishing you were playing this ball game. What was it like seeing the ballpark like that this weekend?
CL: It was awesome. Yesterday was a tough day. When you don't give [the fans] anything to cheer for and it is a giant crowd, we are as frustrated as the fans. Being able to go out there today and getting our fans into the game and letting them cheer was a lot of fun ... Having our fanbase there and cheering the way they did is pretty special.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Quotes: Ole Miss (April 18)

Players Mentioned

Tanner Allen

Scotty Dubrule

Houston Harding

Josh Hatcher

Jake Mangum

Parker Stinnett

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