STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s baseball season is being delayed a touch.
Originally slated to open the season Friday in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown, MSU head coach Chris Lemonis confirmed multiple reports afternoon that the tournament will now be held on Saturday, Sunday and Monday due to inclement weather in the Dallas-area during a conversation with the Starkville Rotary Club Tuesday afternoon.
Steve Robertson of 247Sports first reported the news.
With the change, MSU will now play No. 9 Texas Saturday, No. 10 TCU Sunday and No. 3 Texas Tech Friday. The Bulldogs closed the COVID-19-shortened 2020 campaign with a two-game sweep of the Red Raiders in Biloxi last March.
“The pieces are more complicated than ever, when you talk about COVID,” Lemonis said in reference to MSU’s travel to Dallas. “… So you’re having to do all different types of things, but we’re working on it. We don’t have anything laid out. We don’t know anything about next week. We’re just trying to get there and get playing this week.”
Beyond opening weekend, Lemonis spent a bulk of Tuesday’s talk previewing the 2021 campaign and the balancing act coaches are having to play in shuffling a loaded roster week after week.
With a slew of returners in the field, including juniors Tanner Allen, Rowdey Jordan and Josh Hatcher, the Bulldogs bring back all but second baseman Justin Foscue and shortstop Jordan Westburg from last year’s starting lineup. Foscue’s slot is expected to go to Jacksonville transfer Scotty Dubrule, while second-year freshman Kamren James is a likely candidate to move from third base to Westburg’s vacated spot at short.
On the mound, MSU brings back a wealth of talent including projected weekend starters Christian MacLeod, Eric Cerantola and Will Bednar. Seventh-year senior Carlisle Koestler, junior Houston Harding and freshman Landon Sims should all get a handful of starts this spring as well.
Where the roster gymnastics get most complicated is in the bullpen. Returning a slew of power arms, Lemonis projected as many as 14 or 15 players on his staff have hit 95 miles per hour on the radar gun this offseason.
“The hardest part for me is I gotta I gotta sit down and make some phone calls,” Lemonis said. “Some kids don’t get to go to Texas and some kids may have to redshirt and some kids — it just gets tough — may not pitch as much as they would in a normal year because we’re really talented.”
Heading into a season unlike any other, Lemonis offered empathy for players, parents and fans that could be affected by the bizarre and, at times, disconcerting changes to the usual slate. The third-year head coach said he held a conference call with players’ parents this past week and voiced sympathy for those fans frustrated by the limited capacity at Dudy Noble Field this spring.
That said, Lemonis also offered solace for those that will be watching from home or in the stands.
“I did tell (the team) though, the Los Angeles Dodgers won a World Series this year and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl and the Crimson Tide won the national championship,” he said. “So somebody gets to be a champion.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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