STARKVILLE — The left side of Mississippi State”s infield has been injured for most of the 2011 season.
Still, third baseman Jarrod Parks and shortstop Jonathan Ogden have started all but one game.
No one knew until Monday morning that Parks, just a year removed from season-ending back surgery, was having lingering issues from the injury and is receiving periodic treatment to help a disc problem.
Ogden has played with what MSU coach John Cohen called a “pulled ab muscle”, and likely will receive a Cortisone shot to help ease the pain.
“They”re such tough kids. They don”t really talk about how much pain they”re in,” Cohen said Monday during his teleconference. “They”re in significant pain, and they”re seniors and they”re leaders, and we want them out there. With the positions they play and our depth, they know how badly we need them, and they will say or do whatever it takes to get on the field.”
Parks leads the Southeastern Conference with a .409 batting average and a .533 on-base percentage. He notched his 18th and 19th multi-hit games last weekend against the No. 2 University of South Carolina. He has registered at least one hit in 33 of 39 games this season.
Cohen said Parks won”t miss time, but he is limited to certain workouts in the weight room. Without a midweek game this week, Parks will have time to rest for a weekend series against the University of Alabama (25-18, 8-10 SEC), which includes a double-header on Saturday.
“To see what Jarrod has done with the situation with his back, it”s a great testament to how tough a kid he is and how dedicated he is to his craft,” Cohen said.
Ogden has endured a rough defensive season with a league-high 16 errors, including seven since April 5. He has long been lauded for his ability to get to balls other shortstops can”t, but he has had miscues, including a pair of two-out errors, that have led to opponents” runs.
Cohen has repeatedly backed Ogden through the mistakes, but Monday marked the first time he”d revealed a reason why Ogden has struggled.
“It”s become more and more painful for him to get to a fielding position,” Cohen said.
Ogden”s batting average (.274) has dipped, too. He has driven in just two runs and is 5-for-29 since hitting a pair of home runs in a series-opening win against Florida on April 8.
Ogden and Parks aren”t MSU”s only ailing players. Cohen said Monday freshman outfielder/pitcher CT Bradford suffered a hamstring injury in MSU”s Governor”s Cup win against the University of Mississippi last Tuesday. The knock took him out of contention to pitch against South Carolina.
“Our kids played hard and they”re really banged up,” Cohen said. “We”re trying to get them back healthy for really the most important weekend we”ve had thus far. Our destiny”s in our hands. I really feel like we match up well over the last four weekends with the teams we play.”
—-Rotation issues continue
MSU has relied on relievers Luis Pollorena and Caleb Reed to carry the load on Sundays in three SEC series.
The goal still remains to find a starter to go four to five innings to help preserve this year”s stars of the pitching staff.
In a 13-4 loss to South Carolina on Sunday, MSU starter Daryl Norris pitched just one inning and gave up two earned runs. Devin Jones, who coaches felt was finding his way back to form after being removed from the Friday starting role, gave up four earned runs in 2/3 innings and got the loss, his fifth of the season.
The Bulldogs used six pitchers Sunday following the combined efforts of Reed and Pollorena in a 5-3 win Saturday.
Sunday marked the second straight weekend a MSU starting pitcher didn”t log more than one inning in the third game of a series.
The Bulldogs still are looking for a reliable arm for Sundays following Cohen”s decision to move junior Nick Routt from Sunday to Saturday and former Saturday starter Chris Stratton to Friday.
“The issue with us and our starting pitching lately is just throwing more strikes and pounding the strike zone,” Cohen said. “That”s why Chris Stratton, we thought was really excellent at Arkansas because he really pounded the strike zone. That”s kind of the issues with us. If we”re getting hit hard on 0-0, that”s not a problem. If you”re getting hit hard on 2-0, 3-1 that”s a real problem for everybody.”
Pollorena and Reed have proven they can pitch extended innings this season and pitch out of jams, so why not use one of them as a starter?
Cohen doesn”t want to do that because he feels both of them are too valuable in their current roles, and that the chances of Reed pitching on Saturdays is high.
If Reed is available on a Sunday, that also lessens the possibility of Stratton or Routt being bumped back to Sunday, as Reed is capable of throwing more innings.
“That”s why the starting part is usually easier, and you want to, in the case of Pollorena and Reed, you want to hold it back because those are the tougher innings and where the hitter is used to their environment and much more comfortable,” Cohen said.
—-Cohen likes chances against remaining SEC opponents
After playing three top five opponents in the first half of league play, MSU will try to make a run at the SEC Western Division title.
Currently fifth in the West, MSU (24-16, 7-11) is two games out of first place with nine of its 12 remaining league games against West opponents Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss, which are a combined 21-33 in league play.
MSU also has a series against Tennessee, which is 5-13 in SEC play.
The SEC East has four teams above .500 in SEC play, while the West has three teams at .500.
“Our coaching staff and our kids still believe we have a chance to win the SEC West,” Cohen said. “The most difficult part of our schedule — they”re all difficult — but the most difficult part of our schedule is behind us. We feel like we match up well with the next four clubs. Matching up and playing well are two different things, but we”re excited about the stretch run, and we feel like we”re in pretty good condition.”
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