AUBURN, Ala. — With his team playing a critical Southeastern Conference baseball game against No. 24 Auburn, Mississippi State University starting pitcher Kendall Graveman has plenty of reason to be excited as he heads to the ballpark today.
Graveman will make his third straight SEC start before a host of family and friends. A junior right-hander, Graveman was a prep standout at Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City, Ala., about 30 minutes from the Auburn University campus.
“I was really set to go to Auburn,” Graveman said. “(MSU pitching) coach (Butch) Thompson was recruiting me hard when he was on the staff at Auburn. Coach Thompson left and (Auburn head) coach (Tom) Slater resigned. I was still committed to Auburn.
“However, coach Thompson came to MSU and he told (head) coach (John) Cohen about me. The Lord closed one door and opened another. It has worked out for the best.”
Moving Graveman into the SEC rotation also has worked out for the best for the Bulldogs. A former journeyman reliever and midweek starter, Graveman has given an already solid pitching staff an extra boost. In his last two conference starts, Graveman has allowed three earned runs in 14 1/3 innings. Graveman still has the squad’s only complete game this season.
“Pitching on Sunday is about focus and determination,” Graveman said. “Especially, if you are on road. You have been on the road in a hotel room all weekend and the guys are naturally a little tired. You will be the freshest player out there. So it is your job to go out and set the tone from an energy standpoint.”
MSU will play the rubber game of a three-game SEC for a second straight weekend. A week ago, the No. 3 University of Arkansas won Graveman’s start, 8-5 in 11 innings.
Another pitching move
While Chris Stratton and Graveman have impressed, the struggles continue for MSU junior left-hander Nick Routt. Routt fell to 1-4 Saturday after matching his shortest start of the season, working two-plus innings in a 10-6 loss.
After the game, Cohen indicated his pitchers had to improve immediately.
“Nick has to prove he can throw it down in the strike zone if he wants to see any more mound time against SEC competition,” Cohen said. “The first couple of innings, he did not pitch badly. We failed to make some plays behind him. However, to be effective in this league. You have to prove you can throw it down in the zone. He has not been able to do that.”
The Bulldogs still hope Routt can recapture the form that saw the Silver Springs, Md., native throw a complete-game win against Georgia Tech in last season’s Atlanta Regional championship.
Almost healthy again
Once down five regulars, it appears the MSU injured reserve list is getting shorter. Pitcher Ben Bracewell could be used this weekend in a relief role. Outfielder Brent Brownlee returned to the lineup Friday night in a 5-3 victory. Brownlee had been sidelined for close to a month.
Making his impact felt right away, Brownlee threw a perfect strike to catcher Mitch Slauter to put out the potential game-tying run with two outs in the eighth inning.
“I had some miscommunication with (outfielder) C.T. (Bradford) in the first inning,” Brownlee said. “We both caught a fly ball at the same time and it almost dropped, so we cleaned that up. In the eighth inning, that was a really big play.
“The ball was not as deep as I first thought it was going to be. When I caught it, C.T. said, ‘Get him’, so I knew than I had to make a great throw. It felt really good to be back out here helping the team win.”
Bradford had returned from an injury himself for the Arkansas series. Once Bracewell returns to the mound, the Bulldogs will lack only Taylor Stark and Daryl Norris from their opening-day lineup.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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