STARKVILLE — In a blow to the Mississippi State baseball team’s talented pitching rotation, sophomore right-hander JT Ginn is experiencing arm soreness and will not pitch in this weekend’s series against Oregon State in Starkville.
Head coach Chris Lemonis confirmed the news during Thursday’s media availability session after ESPN.com’s Kiley McDaniel reported Wednesday night that Ginn was out indefinitely with arm soreness.
Lemonis said that Ginn, last season’s National Freshman of the Year, felt pain as he warmed up for a scheduled bullpen session Tuesday and never threw.
Ginn didn’t quite look himself in his three-inning start Friday as the Bulldogs opened up the season against Wright State at Dudy Noble Field. Held under 60 pitches by Lemonis, Ginn allowed three hits and two runs while walking two batters in an uninspiring effort.
But Lemonis said the injury didn’t affect his prized right-hander, a consensus first-round pick in June’s MLB First-Year Player draft, until Tuesday.
Ginn’s absence leaves the Bulldogs (3-0) with a 6-foot-2, 200-pound hole in their weekend rotation, which Lemonis said wouldn’t change much for now.
Redshirt freshman Christian MacLeod and sophomore Eric Cerantola will hold onto the Saturday and Sunday slots, respectively. Graduate right-hander Carlisle Koestler, who gave up three runs on five hits in two innings Friday against Wright State, will fill Ginn’s spot for now.
“We don’t know anything really yet besides that he is not pitching this weekend,” Lemonis said of Ginn. “We’ll kind of play it as we get more from doctors and from JT and kind of go from there.”
First pitches are at 1 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Dudy Noble Field.
Here’s another storyline to follow as the Bulldogs prepare for this weekend’s nonconference series.
College World Series rematch
Jordan Westburg is still angry.
Two years ago, when the shortstop was a freshman, Oregon State eliminated Mississippi State from the College World Series by beating the Bulldogs twice to reach the championship series against Arkansas. The Beavers staved off almost certain defeat when the Razorbacks lost a foul pop in the sky, rallying to win that game and the next to take the national championship.
“They had the upper hand on us the last time we met, and I think we’re still a little pissed off about that,” Westburg said. “We’re excited for them to come in here and excited for a really fun and competitive weekend of baseball. … It should be an easy one to wake up for and a fun one to compete in.”
Westburg and Mississippi State’s returning players from two years ago remember the “gritty” team they saw in 2018 — reminiscent of the Bulldogs themselves.
“They played a similar style of baseball to us, I think,” he said. “They were just grinders. They were hard outs. They played really well on defense. They pitched it well. They did every facet of the game really well. They were just a really good team.”
All four previous matchups between the two schools have been in the CWS at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska, but playing the series at Dudy Noble this weekend should benefit the Bulldogs this time around. Mississippi State went 21-1 in nonconference home games last season, dominating its home park.
“We get a three-game series here, so hopefully we’ll get some redemption,” senior right-hander Riley Self said.
The Beavers have dropped off, too, from the 2018 title run. With players like Adley Rutschman and Nick Madrigal now top major-league prospects, Oregon State is 2-2 on the season with losses to Gonzaga and BYU.
“Looking at this year, they’re a new team like us,” Westburg said. “They’re a young team. They’ve got a lot of talent, as do we, and I think it’s just gonna be a really competitive three games.”
Lemonis compared Oregon State to Wright State, the team Mississippi State faced in its opening series over the weekend. Like the Raiders, the Beavers have experienced pitchers but lost a lot of hitters.
“They’ve got some veteran guys,” Lemonis said. “We’re gonna see some older arms this weekend. I think they’ll really pitch, they’re really gonna defend, and we’re gonna have to compete.”
Mississippi State swept Wright State, after all, and if the Bulldogs can pull off something similar this weekend against one of college baseball’s most successful programs, the “revenge” Westburg and his teammates want will be theirs for the taking.
“It’s gonna be huge to get a series win or a sweep in terms of getting that redemption and being able to say, ‘Hey, we came back; we got better; we did some things different,’ and beat that program,” Self said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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