You Have To Bring It
February 19, 2022 | Baseball, Joel Coleman
After a second loss, Bulldogs getting tested early.
STARKVILLE – It's not how Mississippi State drew it up.
Two games into the 2022 baseball season, the No. 3 Bulldogs are 0-2 after falling 13-3 to No. 24 Long Beach State on Saturday. To state the completely obvious, it's not ideal.
And no one is more disappointed in the start than the Diamond Dawgs themselves.
"When it's opening weekend and the expectations are so high, it's tough," MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said. "It's tough on our guys. Like I told them in the dugout [after the game], [Long Beach State is] good. That's a Top-10 team, Top-15 team, Top-5 team – I don't know, but they're really good. We just haven't played great. To beat good teams in this league and the schedule that we play, we have to play better."
For the Bulldogs, it really is that simple. They've got to play better.
No one questions this team's talent level. There's no doubt the ceiling for Mississippi State is remarkably high. Right now though, it's all about figuring out how to reach that potential.
They've already shown it. Some guys in previous seasons, others in scrimmages during the fall and spring. It just hasn't shown up over the year's first 18 innings.
On Friday, it was the bats that fell silent, mustering only one hit over nine innings. Then Saturday, State's pitching took some lumps.
Starter KC Hunt gave up five runs, six hits and a couple of walks over his three innings of work. This after baffling his teammates in practices over the previous months.
"He's been a lot better against us," Lemonis said. "I wish he'd have pitched the way he has against us."
Other Bulldogs' season debuts didn't go according to plan either. Cam Tullar allowed three runs in his inning of work. Jack Walker gave up four in the ninth.
Preston Johnson stabilized things for MSU over the middle innings, allowing only one run over four frames, but even he surrendered four walks.
Offensively, State got three early runs. Then Long Beach State reliever Jack Noble entered and worked 4.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to shut down the Dawgs' Saturday hopes.
"[Noble] pitched us backwards," State third baseman Kamren James explained. "He threw changeups in hitter's counts and fastballs in pitcher's counts. He had us off balance all day."
It was a metaphor for the entirety of these first two games of the year. The Bulldogs have been a bit off balance, figuratively, trying to find their footing. They're unshaken in their belief they will though.
"Just keep going," James said of the message he's passing along to his teammates. "Coach Lemonis always says, 'The sun comes up tomorrow.' It's another day to compete. But also, let them know that we're here to win. We don't just show up expecting to win because we play in the best place in the country. You have to bring it every day and be competitive every day. This league will test you."
The test continues Sunday. MSU will try to salvage a game against Long Beach State in a 1 p.m. affair. Right-hander Cade Smith will be on the mound for the Bulldogs looking to set the tone.
"He's shown good stuff – three pitches for strikes," Lemonis said of Smith. "So, I'm hoping he gets out there and gets us going on the right track. We need to get out there and have some momentum."
A little momentum is likely all this group needs to get going. But no one is going to hand it to them. The Bulldogs must take it.
"I think the confidence knowing we can play better and believing in each other is the biggest thing right now," Lemonis said. "Because when you do lose here, it's tough sometimes. Right out of the gate, these guys are getting tested a little bit about how tough mentally they are. They're going to have to come out and play good baseball [Sunday]."
