STARKVILLE — The Cannizaro family of baseball made its first impression on Auburn coach Butch Thompson almost a decade ago.
Thompson’s first exposure to the Cannizaros came in 2008 when he was an assistant coach at Auburn trying to recruit Andy’s younger brother, Garrett, who ultimately decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps and stayed close to home to play for Tulane, but the impression was made.
“What a baseball family,” Thompson said.
Andy Cannizaro’s positive impression on Thompson has only grown since then. It peaking last weekend after Thompson’s Tigers swept Cannizaro’s Bulldogs in a doubleheader Saturday to take the three-game Southeastern Conference series at Dudy Noble Field.
“It’s incredible, and I think our whole league knows it,” Thompson said. “It’s incredible how many boys I recruited love him as their head coach.”
Despite two losses to Auburn, MSU (30-16, 14-7 SEC) slipped only one spot to No. 9 in this week’s Baseball America Top 25. MSU will try to start another streak of winning SEC series at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (ESPNU) when it takes on Texas A&M in Game 1 of a three-game set in College Station, Texas.
Cannizaro’s success at MSU hasn’t surprised Thompson, who got to know Cannizaro while he was an assistant coach at MSU and Cannizaro was a scout for the New York Yankees. Thompson fondly remembers the role Cannizaro played in helping the Yankees draft Jonathan Holder and Jacob Lindgren in the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft. Both went on to appear in games for the Yankees. Lindgren is now with the Atlanta Braves.
MSU used a strong start by Konnor Pilkington to beat Auburn 5-2 on Friday. It was the first time this season Auburn has lost a series opener in the SEC.
“Pilkington don’t lose on Friday,” Thompson said. “That hit us in the mouth, got us all starry-eyed.”
Pilkington said after the game that he tries to treat each outing like, “just another game,” but recognized the magnitude of that game late in his seven-inning appearance.
Peyton Plumlee and Riley Self pitched scoreless innings to secure the victory.
That game and Saturday’s doubleheader showed Thompson how MSU is winning with a depleted roster. Cannizaro often jokes he is unsure how the Bulldogs are winning with so many injuries, but he said an “all-hands-on-deck” style, which he likens to youth league baseball, has helped MSU survive.
Thompson was asked the same questions about MSU before his return to Starkville. He doesn’t ask those questions anymore.
“They can defend the field and their first four hitters are as good as anybody in the Southeastern Conference,” he said. “(Shortstop Ryan) Gridley’s awesome, Cody Brown killed us, (Brent) Rooker’s the best hitter on Earth, and you know what (Jake) Mangum is. Those four hitters are the four best hitters in the SEC based on what I’ve seen when they play against us.”
As easy as it is for Thompson to focus on what MSU has, he knows what the Bulldogs are missing. Given the work he did with former coach John Cohen in building the program in Starkville, Thompson knows better than most. Winning in that environment has Thompson convinced he could be coaching against Cannizaro for years to come.
“It just says he’s the perfect guy for it because he’s handling it right,” Thompson said. “I think a lot of guys not worth their mettle here could … if you had the wrong attitude with all they’ve had to deal with here it could’ve really crumbled.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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