STARKVILLE – To reach a NCAA Super Regional, freshmen must grow up over the course of the season.
C.T. Bradford, one of several Mississippi State freshmen to contribute to MSU”s turnaround season, is the only one to make an impact as an everyday player.
Originally projected to pitch, hit and play the field, the 2010 Florida Class 5A Player of the Year entered the program with much expected of him, and he”s delivered.
Bradford ranks third on the team with a .309 batting average and has hit safely in 11 straight games. The last time Bradford didn”t register a hit in back-to-back games was March 30. In fact, it”s only happened once twice this season.
So while much has been made of Bradford”s 7-of-13, five-RBI performance in the Atlanta regional – which earned him Most Outstanding Player honors – it probably should have been expected since he”s produced all season.
“He”s made some adjustments and taken every ball in the dirt and hasn”t swung at one of them,” teammate Nick Vickerson said. “They”ve got to pitch to him some time; you don”t want to put the leadoff man on. He”s done a good job with the pitches he”s got to hit and he”s used the whole field, so there hasn”t been just one way to get him out here lately. That”s a big deal for him.”
While Bradford arrived here as a top-flight talent, much of his freshman success can be attributed to an atmosphere that”s helped develop young talent.
“It”s definitely tough (making an impact as a freshman),” Bradford said in Atlanta, “but I think when you get a group of guys who get along so well, it”s contagious and it”s tough to beat.”
Bradford is the type of player coach John Cohen is trying to stack his program with – talented, motivated and hard-working. For Cohen, that”s a tough sell to players who aren”t willing to put forth the effort Bradford and his teammates have this season.
“There”s the old recruiting saying ”You get who you are, not who you want,” ” Cohen said. “There”s so many times in coaching (when) you want the five-tool guy – well those are the guys who are first or second-round guys out of high school. You get who you are and I think your kids that are attracted to the program are attracted to the way you run it.”
It helps to have a parent who has been through the process.
C.T.”s father, Mike, played at Mississippi State from 1982-83, and Cohen credits his C.T.”s parents just as much as C.T. and the MSU coaching staff for his center fielder”s quick rise.
“A lot of our kids are mature, and again, I think their parents are a big part of that,” Cohen said. “That”s one of the things that really attracted us to CT was his level of maturity and the way he works at it every single day, it”s fun to be around that type of element. And you need that type of element in your program to win.”
Three Bulldogs, two signees selected in MLB draft
Junior right-hander Devin Jones was selected Tuesday in the ninth round by the Baltimore Orioles, senior infielder Nick Vickerson was a 20th-round pick of the Texas Rangers and senior third baseman Jarrod Parks of Madison, Miss., was a 24th-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels.
Jones has appeared in 17 games in 2011, drawing eight starts with a 2-5 record and a 4.45 earned run average on MSU”s Super Regional team. In three seasons, Jones has made 15 starts in 49 career appearances, registering 92 strikeouts in 106.2 innings with four wins, one save and a 6.50 ERA.
Jones was drafted in 2008 by the Cleveland Indians (49th round) following his prep career at Eupora High School.
“Talking to [the Orioles] initially, they said they were going to take me between the sixth and 10th round,” Jones said. “I feel like a weight is lifted off my shoulders.”
Jones, the only underclassman selected, has a tough decision ahead of his senior season: entertain offers to begin his pro career or return to MSU for his senior season.
He admits watching Connor Powers drop 10 rounds after deciding to return for his senior season could play a factor in his decision, which will also hinge on his family”s advice.
“You don”t want to leave because it”s a place I”ve grown up around,” Jones said. “All these guys, we”ve made a bond and gotten close as a team. We”ve had a successful season so far, and that”ll make it tough.
It”s something you don”t want to happen to you (dropping rounds), but I”d like to try and get some fair deal out of it.”
Vickerson is hitting .314 and leads the team with 53 runs scored, 26 extra-bases hits and 25 stolen bases. He registered game-winning hits in all three of MSU”s NCAA Atlanta Regional wins last weekend and enters this weekend”s Gainesville Super Regional riding six-game hitting and RBI streaks. Vickerson has a .320 career batting average with 46 extra-base hits and 35 stolen bases. He was drafted as a shortstop.
Parks, the 2011 regular season batting champion in the Southeastern Conference, leads MSU with a .365 batting average and a league-leading .513 on-base percentage. He also leads the club with 73 hits, 36 RBIs and 43 walks. He sports a .346 career batting average in 78 career games played.
Two MSU signees also were selected in the opening rounds of this year”s professional baseball draft. Right-handed pitcher Brandon Woodruff of Wheeler (Miss.) High School was selected in the fifth round by the Texas Rangers while left-handed pitcher Jacob Lindgren of St. Stanislaus High School in Bay Saint Louis, Miss., was a 12th-round pick of the Chicago Cubs.
Routt, Mitchell likely to start against Florida
John Cohen has had pitching issues at various points of the last two seasons.
Rarely has he had a selection headache based on stellar play.
But that”s exactly what the MSU coach faces in deciding who will pitch the two, and possibly three, games against Florida in this weekend”s NCAA Super Regional in Gainesville.
Left-hander Nick Routt is coming off MSU”s first complete game performance of the season in 7-3 win over Georgia Tech, which helped the Bulldogs clinch the Atlanta regional.
Freshman righty Evan Mitchell turned in a hometown gem, going eight-plus innings in an 8-3 win over Austin Peay in Game 2.
Then, there”s sophomore Luis Pollorena, who unlike Routt and Mitchell, worked with little run support to pitch six hitless innings in a 3-0 win over Southern Miss for its fifth shutout win of the season.
“We”re just so proud of what Routt did,” Cohen said, “and if he pitches like he did last weekend he”s certainly capable of beating anybody in the country.
“You feel really good about Evan because he pitches really well against left-handed hitting, and Florida”s got outstanding left-handed hitters. You feel, right now, that it”s gonna be Evan and Routt. In what order? You don”t know.”
The only pitching staff issue Cohen faces is the lack of bullpen arms used in Atlanta. Outside of Caleb Reed”s three innings Friday and Daryl Norris” one inning Saturday, MSU didn”t use former starters Devin Jones and Chris Stratton, or setup man Chad Girodo.
“It”s good because they are fresh, but it”s bad because they can”t go two weeks without pitching,” Cohen said. “Today, we did some simulated stuff – Tuesday usually fills that void for us. They pitched to live hitters today in extreme heat. Each one of them threw 20-25 pitches to live hitters. I”m really pleased we didn”t have to use them, but at the same time we have to get them right back out there for those situations.”
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