New Dawgs Off To Strong Starts On The Mound
February 19, 2024 | Baseball
State pitchers pave way to series win.
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State opened the 2024 campaign with a productive weekend on the mound that propelled the team to a series victory over Air Force, and a plethora of new faces were at the forefront of the Bulldogs' pitching prowess.
Junior Cam Schuelke got his first taste of the Dudy Noble Field atmosphere on Friday night when he picked up the first save of his career in the season-opening 8-4 win. Schuelke, a junior college transfer from the College of Central Florida, entered in the eighth inning and retired all six batters he faced with a pair of strikeouts.
The righty from Dorr, Michigan brings a different style to the mound for the Bulldogs, using three different arm slots to attack opposing hitters. He closed out the eighth inning by catching an Air Force hitter looking at an overhand breaking ball and sealed the victory on a whiff against a changeup from one of his lower arm slots.Â
"He's just different," head coach Chris Lemonis said. "It's funky. You're not used to it. You don't know what's coming. He's really a tough kid. I'm always worried when a guy throws here for the first time, and it didn't seem to faze him. He was actually better than he's been in practice."
Lemonis' trust in Schuelke to close out the season opener shows the type of competitor the Bulldogs are getting in the former NJCAA Division I All-American. He's not your typical junior college transfer, in that he's faced the best that college baseball has to offer while pitching for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League for the past two summers.
"It prepared me a ton, just facing dudes who you know are going to get drafted," Schuelke said. "I've faced a couple guys that are already in the big leagues. They put up tough at-bats, so you have to raise your own level, and then you learn how to compete at that level. That's what we're doing here. That's what we're going to do in SEC play. That's what we're going to do all year, so it prepared me a ton."
Saturday saw Purdue transfer Khal Stephen toe the rubber at The Dude for the first time, and the junior right-hander put together a memorable performance in his Maroon and White debut.
Stephen, an All-Big Ten performer for the Boilermakers last season, gave the Bulldogs seven strong innings while punching out a career-high 11 hitters. He pounded the zone with a 94 miles-per-hour fastball landing 59 of his 80 pitches for strikes, while surrendering just three hits and one earned run with zero walks.
"It was impressive, and what I really liked is he got better as the game went on," Lemonis said. "You look up at him and it's the sixth inning or seventh inning, he's still throwing with velocity and the slider was better. He really competed out there."
These types of games are what Stephen envisioned when he decided to come to Mississippi State, but he knew he had to earn the opportunity to become a weekend starter. He worked his tail off to become a starting pitcher in the SEC, and it was a rewarding feeling when the Bulldog coaches told him that he'd earned a spot in the rotation.
"When I came here, that's what I wanted," Stephen said. "I didn't come here begging for it. I'm a confident person and I came here to prove it. I think it's definitely cool. The conversation we had was pretty business-like, but it was like, 'You've earned the spot.' So, it definitely felt good to be told that."
Sunday's win saw a trio of newcomers close out the 10-2 Bulldog victory during the game's final three innings. Miami [Fla.] transfer Karson Ligon held Air Force to one hit in the seventh while notching his first strikeout as a Bulldog. Freshman southpaw Luke Dotson punched out two in a 1-2-3 eighth inning before Gavin Black clinched the series victory by striking out the side while allowing just one base runner on a walk.
"I thought the last three guys that came out were pretty good," Lemonis said. "Karson Ligon was really good. Luke Dotson, for a freshman to run out there was really good, and then Gavin Black at the end. We're going to need all those guys, and they're very talented."
On the weekend, the five new faces to take the mound for the Bulldogs combined to toss 12 innings. They allowed just four hits and one earned run, and they struck out 17 batters with only one walk. What goes unnoticed is the leadership that Mississippi State got from behind the plate from a pair of new catchers in Johnny Long and Joe Powell.
Long, a transfer from Pittsburgh, started Friday's and Sunday's games while Powell, a Cincinnati transfer, was in the squat during the final two innings on Friday and for Stephen's terrific start on Saturday. The two veteran backstops did a fantastic job framing up strikes for their pitching staff and communicating with them when they fell behind in a count.
"[Long] and Joe did an amazing job this weekend," Lemonis said. "We're looking at our charts, and the amount of strikes we're getting that are balls and vice versa, we're winning that battle by a good way. I like the communication. I like the talk. I like the energy from both of them. Luke Dotson fell behind a guy today and I can hear him back there chirping, and I like that. I like that in a ball club, and I like that in our catchers."Â
The catalyst for Mississippi State's opening weekend success can be credited to pitching coach Justin Parker. He's placed an emphasis on pounding the strike zone, and he's helped the pitching staff with their mechanics on the mound.
"Super diligent on cleaning up mechanics," Schuelke said. "Really just working command, because obviously you can't get guys out if you're not throwing strikes. Parker's been a huge help with that, getting guys synced up and just moving well down the mound."
