STARKVILLE — John Cohen knows how good the Mississippi State baseball team has been on the road.
Cohen has seen No. 3 MSU earn series wins at Vanderbilt, Florida, and LSU (all ranked in the top five at the time), but his confidence received a boost after he received compliments from former MSU pitching coach and current Auburn coach Butch Thompson and former pitching coach and current Kentucky coach Gary Henderson.
“They just said, ‘Man, everybody you play it seems like you really play with a chip on your shoulder,’ ” Cohen said. “I said, ‘That’s a tremendous compliment.’ I think that’s one of the reasons why our kids have been successful on the road. They really play with a chip on their shoulder.”
This week, No. 3 MSU (28-1-3-1, 10-8 SEC) might face an even bigger challenge when it takes on Alabama (24-18, 9-9) in a three-game series in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Game 1 will be at 6:30 tonight (ESPNU). Game 2 will be at 7 p.m. Friday. Game 3 will be at 3 p.m. Saturday. SEC Network+ will broadcast the final two games.
Last week, MSU beat Louisiana-Monroe in Biloxi and took two out of three from LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It built on that momentum Tuesday with a 2-0 victory against No. 9 Ole Miss in the Governor’s Cup at Trustmark Park in Pearl.
With finals starting Friday, it’s a busy time for Cohen’s team. He knows other teams in the league are dealing with similar situations, but it’s still tough.
“Our kids just have to take care of their bodies,” Cohen said. “They have to put the right things in it and they have to get sleep. We have to keep working. It puts a little bit more stress on your schedule.”
Junior right-hander Dakota Hudson (5-3, 2.82 ERA) and junior right-hander Austin Sexton (4-2, 3.62) will be on short rest. Hudson will throw today and Sexton will go Friday. Saturday’s starter has yet to be determined, but freshman left-hander Konnor Pilkington (1-1, 2.55) has started the last three SEC series finales.
Alabama will go with junior right-hander Geoffrey Bramblett (3-2, 2.32) today, sophomore right-hander Jake Walters (4-3, 1.89) on Friday, and junior right-hander Nick Eicholtz (3-1, 2.16) on Saturday.
MSU is 7-4 in road games and 3-0-1 in neutral site games. D1Baseball.com’s Kendall Rogers called the series wins at Vanderbilt and Florida “two feathers in the Bulldogs’ cap ” in their attempt to play host to a regional. The win at LSU is another.
Freshman right-hander Ryan Cyr, who threw four innings against Ole Miss, agrees the team has a chip on its shoulder. Although he wasn’t here last season, he knows the Bulldogs struggled and how it hurt the veterans. They don’t want to replicate that.
MSU’s only SEC series loss was a sweep to Texas A&M in Starkville. Cyr said there is no added pressure playing at home, but he said the team is confident playing away from Dudy Noble Field.
“Maybe it’s just batting first, we’ll hit them in the mouth first,” Cyr said. “I don’t think it really gets in our minds. It’s just how it’s ended up this year.”
Cohen talked about the chip on the shoulder when he first addressed the media in February. It has become a mantra for a team that is using it as motivation.
“We’re going out with a chip on our shoulder trying to beat everybody that comes up,” sophomore right-hander Jacob Billingsley said. “We’ve got Alabama (next). They’re a good group. Everybody is a good group, so we’re just going to try to get the W.”
Billingsley picked up a seven-out save in the Governor’s Cup.
MSU has won the last two series at Alabama (2014 and 2012), but this will be the first time the Bulldogs play at the renovated Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama is 15-6 at home, and has series victories against Ole Miss and Tennessee.
“I think our team’s so close,” Cyr said. “There’s nobody that your like, ‘Oh, I hate this guy.’ Everybody seriously loves each other. I think that’s one reason we’re so good because when you see somebody knocked down you know them well enough to say the right words that’s going to get that out of their head and they’re going to make the next play.”
With a road trip to Auburn sand home series with Missouri and Arkansas remaining, MSU has plenty of time to break a three-way tie with Ole Miss and LSU for second place and close the two-game gap with Texas A&M in the SEC West. Success on the road this weekend will move the Bulldogs closer to that goal and help the team build confidence as its continues on its push to win a championship.
“That’s something you can’t instill, you have to go out and recruit kids who really get that kind of stuff,” Cohen said.
n No. 9 Ole Miss will play host to No. 8 LSU on Alumni Weekend: At Oxford, the Rebels (31-11, 10-8) and the Tigers (27-14, 10-8) will square off at 6 tonight (SEC Network) in Game 1 of the three-game weekend series at Swayze Field.
Ole Miss redshirt junior right-hander Brady Bramlett (6-2, 2.28 ERA) is scheduled to go against junior left-hander Jared Poche (5-4, 3.26).
As part of Alumni Weekend, 1,000 Beat LSU Buttons will be given out free. On Friday, there will be fireworks. On Saturday, kids ill be able to run the bases after the game.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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