Postgame Quotes: UAB (April 20)

2021 Mississippi State Baseball
Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. UAB
April 20, 2021

Head Coach Chris Lemonis

Q: Eric [Cerantola] had another good inning. It seems like maybe he's beginning to take some strides. As his coach, where do you see his progress?
CL: I liked him a lot tonight. I felt like he really commanded. It's not that hard when it's 97-98 [mph] throwing strikes. He's landing his breaking ball ... I was very pleased tonight. Hopefully, he's getting comfortable in that role. I don't want to say that it was a big spot this weekend that we put him in, but it's just a lot more people in the ballpark. He got out of it, which I'm proud of him for, but tonight, he was really sharp. It was real. He would really help us out a lot if he could pitch like that more often.

Q: Do you think he's [Eric Cerantola] more comfortable in the stretch?
CL: I think so. I just think it's a simpler move. Sometimes I feel like in the windup, he shows the hitter the ball a little bit too much. I think it's a little bit more effective not doing as much by just coming in and throwing 12-15 pitches. It's a little easier for him.

Q: Logan Tanner was 3-for-4 tonight with two doubles and a homerun. What was it like to have a night like that from him?
CL: He's got a lot of power. He's really trying to tap in and see how to use it. The homer in the first was huge to give us some leeway there. It got us a little [separation] from them, and we needed it. We ended up having a bad second inning. He had big hits all night long. Watching him hit, and Scotty Dubrule, we need some more guys like that. Luke Hancock had a better night. He had a really tough weekend and was able to get some swings off tonight. Getting all those guys going in the middle is big for the weekend.

Q: How much better is your lineup with guys like Logan [Tanner], Luke [Hancock], Scotty [Dubrule] are putting in consistent production like that?
CL: It's just giving us some length to our lineup being able to have some extra guys. On weekends, when we play well, when we go to Auburn, Lane Forsythe is playing well, and different guys are giving us a little bit extra. It gives us real length to our lineup. That's the key for us. This past weekend, we had some tough spots in our lineup. It made it hard to score at times.

Q: It seems like Scotty Dubrule is playing with a lot more aggressiveness now. Is that a product of him figuring things out?
CL: I challenged him on the one pop up that dropped. It really was more the offense that got him out of there. I think he realizes he's a really good defender and a fifth-year senior and that he should be in control and go get balls. He's played really well defensively just about all year. That was kind of a weird ball, but that ball happens when he was 0-for-4. Sometimes we take our offense and take it to the defense. We just can't do it, not in this league.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Quotes: UAB (April 20)

Players Mentioned

Eric Cerantola

Scotty Dubrule

Lane Forsythe

Luke Hancock

Logan Tanner

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