After finishing Saturday night’s game — a 3-2 loss to Georgia — with just two starters remaining and multiple pitchers in the lineup, Mississippi State was staring down the possibility of playing Sunday’s contest with a similarly shorthanded roster.
Only shortstop David Mershon and center fielder Connor Hujsak played Saturday from start to finish. The rest of MSU’s starting position players were lifted for either pinch-hitters or defensive replacements, and the Bulldogs wound up with two pitchers in the outfield. Khal Stephen, who had never batted in his collegiate career, wound up at the plate with the game on the line.
Following a tag play at home plate in the top of the eighth, MSU catcher Johnny Long stood over Georgia baserunner Dillon Carter and stuck his knee into Carter’s ribcage. Players from both benches emptied onto the field, although the coaches from both teams managed to pull their players back before any pushing or shoving ensued.
NCAA Rule 5.16.c states that any players “who leave the dugout or bullpen to enter the field at the time of a potential altercation or fight shall be ejected and suspended for one game.” Several of the MSU players who were ejected had already been on the field and were rushing in to either congratulate their teammate or try and diffuse the situation, as head coach Chris Lemonis pointed out postgame.
At 10:19 a.m. Sunday, less than three hours before first pitch, athletic director Zac Selmon posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter), informing fans that only Long and third baseman Logan Kohler would be unavailable for that day’s game.
“The process and outcome of last night’s eighth inning in our game against Georgia was absurd, ridiculous and embarrassing on so many levels. I understand why so many are outraged, as am I,” Selmon wrote. “We will always fight for our players, for our fans and for Mississippi State. This is no exception. We will continue to seek answers and explanations as to why this was handled in the manner it was during the game.”
Two of Georgia’s starters were also presumably ejected, considering they were replaced defensively in the bottom of the eighth. At 10:46 a.m. Sunday, the Southeastern Conference posted a news release that announced the one-game suspensions for Long and Kohler, as well as three Georgia players.
Because both of UGA’s catchers were on the list, though, Georgia was allowed to stagger their suspensions, playing without Henry Hunter on Sunday. Fernando Gonzalez served his suspension for UGA’s next game Tuesday against Kennesaw State.
“The ejections on Saturday night were the result of the application of NCAA Rule 5.16.c which states that team personnel who leave their position to potentially participate in a verbal altercation or physical confrontation shall be ejected and suspended for one game,” the SEC’s statement read. “After further video review by the Conference office and consultation with the NCAA, the player suspensions were narrowed to five players.”
Lemonis made it clear after Sunday’s game — a 9-8 win for MSU in which State trailed three different times and overcame an early five-run deficit — that he had no issue with how the umpires on the field handled things Saturday.
The SEC office communicated with the teams and the NCAA’s security-rules editor before deciding to narrow the list of suspended players. A spokesman for the conference did not respond to The Dispatch’s requests for comment.
“I was pretty upset in here (Saturday) night, and rightfully so, I think,” Lemonis said. “But it was never directed about the crew of umpires we had on the field. I thought they were phenomenal. They handled everything the way you could do it. … I was on the phone with Zac Selmon at 3 in the morning and back on it at 6:30 a.m. So (it’s been) a long 12 hours. I need a nap, is what I need.”
Long also posted a statement on X/Twitter on Sunday evening, writing that he let his emotions and adrenaline get the best of him in the heat of the moment and that his actions “were not reflective of my true character.”
Lemonis said Long, a fifth-year senior who previously played at Florida Gulf Coast and Pittsburgh, was “crushed” to not be able to play Sunday and is one of the team’s emotional leaders. Even in his first year with MSU, Long led a players-only meeting after State lost two midweek games to Austin Peay early in the season.
“You have a kid who plays with a lot of edge (and) probably hasn’t played in this emotional environment as much, and it just got the best of him,” Lemonis said. “He is such a wonderful kid and such a great addition to our team. I hated it for him. It probably beat him up more that everybody else got pushed out with that. I think that weighed on him a lot. But he’s at the top of our clubhouse in terms of leadership.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
