I know most are frustrated with an 0-3 weekend at Mississippi State. But the Bulldogs are the same team that won a series against Ole Miss a few weeks ago. And, the SEC beats up on the SEC like no other league. Florida is first and they are No. 1 and defending national champs. Next best team? Arkansas is tied there at 10-8. No one is going to coast through this league. That was a tough weekend, for sure. Don’t want to get swept. But it’s going to be tough every weekend. There aren’t any bad teams in the league. There are no easy weekends.
It’s a marathon not a sprint. I know some are probably disappointed, but I figured there would be a bad weekend somewhere. Things went right to get two shutouts of South Carolina in the same day and to blister Kentucky with 13 home runs last month. That is when things fall right everywhere. There are usually some where it doesn’t fall right and then you have to fight your way back out of it.
Never do you get all your hitters going at the same time. Koch has had some ups and downs. So has Fletcher. they are pre-season All-Americas. The surprise on the weekend was Cronin walking three and getting a loss. That probably shook the team’s confidence a little bit. That wasn’t supposed to happen.
This will be a big week. Five home games. And, they can jump right back up in the RPI with two good games against Texas Tech. I’m interested to hear about the pitching plan today when we talk to Dave Van Horn.
This past week has proven that for sure, Clay.
You give any team momentum and confidence, anything can happen. You’ve got to come into every game with the mentality that you are there to give them a beat down!
For me, it wasn’t so much who we lost to as to how we lost. We just didn’t play well in any phase. THe one area that has been consistently bad this year is base running and in Starkville it was the lack of driving in runs, not so much with lack of hits that bothered me, but lack of moving runners or sac flies or hitting to the right side, all things that MSU did consistently.
Jackson Rutledge will start Tuesday. Wednesday is TBD. Rutledge has had a sore arm earlier this spring. But he’s full speed. Key for him is landing his curve for strikes. He did that in fall. Not so much this spring. He’s located the fast ball better.
Of course Shaddy (bruised) hand and Casey Martin (sore hip flexor) are out tomorrow. They are questionable Wednesday.
Shaddy told me both hands are now swollen. I expect him to rest them again tonight. Good to have some depth. Hunter Wilson and Jack Kenley are both competent fielder’s and getting better at the plate.