STARKVILLE — It happened again.
And John Cohen could barely hide his disgust.
Cohen, Mississippi State’s seventh-year baseball coach, talked to media after an 8-4 loss to Alabama on Sunday, a loss that once again featured a meltdown by the normally reliable bullpen.
In the finale of the three-game series, MSU relievers failed again to get the job done in the eighth inning, allowing four runs to turn a nip-and-tuck game into a runaway for the Crimson Tide. The implosion came 24 hours after the bullpen yielded eight runs in the eighth in a 10-5 loss.
The setbacks dropped MSU to 15-7 and 1-2 in the Southeastern Conference and cost it a chance to win its first league series of the season.
“It’s my responsibility, my fault,” said Cohen after watching three relievers give up three hits and issue four walks in the eighth. “We’re going to find some guys on our roster who want to pitch in the eighth and ninth inning.”
On Saturday, the Crimson Tide erased a 5-2 deficit. A day later, the teams were tied at 4 entering the eighth. By the time the Bulldogs came to bat in the bottom of the frame, they were down four runs.
Junior reliever Myles Gentry pitched one-third of an inning and took the loss. He left after allowing a single to second baseman Will Overstreet and walking first baseman Chance Vincent. Sophomore Zac Houston threw five balls before giving way to senior Ross Mitchell, who walked in a run and allowed a two-run single to leadoff hitter Chandler Avant.
“Just got to be better,” Mitchell said. “That’s pretty much it. The starters are doing great, and we are not. We’re not performing the way we’re capable of. We’ve got a lot of work to get done, but I still believe in this team and this bullpen.”
On Saturday night, starting pitcher Austin Sexton went the distance for MSU’s only win of the series. On Sunday, sophomore Vance Tatum allowed four runs in seven innings. But once the bullpen took over, MSU fell apart. The Bulldogs have led in six of their seven losses. MSU has been outscored 22-2 after the seventh in those loses.
“I liken to our pitchers trying to walk through the rain without getting wet,” Cohen said. “It’s a very tentative approach, and it’s not getting the job done.”
While MSU’s relievers have struggled, the Bulldogs’ hitters haven’t been much better. With eight more stranded runners Sunday, the Bulldogs left 37 men on base in the three-game set. MSU is 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
On Sunday, only center fielder Jacob Robson (2-for-3) and John Holland (2-for-4) had multiple hits. Reliever Ray Castillo allowed one hit in 2 2/3 innings to earn the win.
“I think today we did a better job than we have been,” Robson said of MSU’s inability to get the big hit. “Instead of seeing it as stressful, we should see it as an opportunity to get something done. I have confidence we will approach it that way soon.”
MSU’s starters Preston Brown, Sexton, and Tatum allowed seven runs in 22 innings in the series, while the Bulldogs’ bullpen yielded 12 runs in five.
“We’re not challenging people in the strike zone,” Cohen said. “In the information age, with all these advance scouting reports, people know if you’re not going to throw strikes, so they go up there and take, take, take. We are not challenging them. With our ballpark, we should be making people beat us with the bat instead of giving them free passes.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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