STARKVILLE — John Cohen hopes his starting pitchers are anxious to get back on the mound.
After seeing four starters not do what they were expected to do last weekend, the Mississippi State baseball coach is looking for more from Dakota Hudson, Daniel Brown, Austin Sexton, and Zac Houston this weekend when No. 24 MSU (2-2) plays host to Massachusetts Lowell (0-0) and Nicholls State (4-1). MSU will play UMass Lowell at 4:30 p.m. today (SEC Network +) and at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The Bulldogs and Colonels play at 11 a.m. Saturday and at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
“We just didn’t answer the bell the first weekend,” Cohen said. “I think they’ve made some pretty good adjustments this week, and I think they’re chomping at the bit to get right back out there.”
Hudson, a junior right-hander, made his first start since 2014 last Friday and only lasted five innings in a loss to Florida Atlantic. He allowed two runs on five hits, but he settled down after allowing two runs in the first inning.
The Dunlap, Tennessee, native will start tonight against sophomore right-hander Andrew Ryan, who was 2-2 with a team-low 2.67 ERA in 11 appearances (seven starts) last season.
Sexton, who allowed four runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings Saturday in a loss to FAU, was the only starter to earn a decision.
“We felt like we came out and we threw strikes, for the most part, but we felt like we really needed to extend our outings a little bit,” Hudson said. “We just need to be a little more efficient getting through the innings and doing our jobs as starters to help our bullpen.”
Hudson threw 94 pitches in five innings. The four starters threw 383 pitches in 18 innings. Hudson struck out a career-high eight, as the starters had 24 strikeouts, but that led to more pitches.
Cohen agrees with Hudson that the starting pitchers need to be more efficient.
“If you can trade a five-inning outing and have 20 less pitches and subtract two or three strikeouts, it helps, especially early in the year when you don’t want to tax a starting pitcher too much,” Cohen said. “We’ve got to do a better job being more economic.”
Sexton and Brown will pitch Saturday, but Cohen said they will wait to determine who goes first. Houston started last Sunday, but Cohen said he is unsure who will start this Sunday. He mentioned Vance Tatum, but he said it depends who is used out of the bullpen in the first three games.
All four starters were involved in a big inning last weekend. Hudson gave up two runs in the first, Brown allowed two runs in the third to South Dakota State, Sexton gave up three runs to FAU in the fifth before being pulled, and Houston gave up four runs in the third to SDSU, including a three-run home run that tied the game at 5.
Even though the starting pitchers didn’t perform like they wanted to, Hudson feels it wasn’t all that bad and many of the things that went wrong are fixable.
“I think we just need to stay away from the big inning,” Hudson said. “Whenever we’re in the middle of a situation, just making a pitch. It came down to really one or two things we were doing mid-game. We need to make adjustments quicker.”
Sexton started all 13 of his appearances last season. Including Saturday, he has made 17 starts in his career. Before their starts this past weekend, the other three pitchers combined for six starts, including Houston, who made his first.
Cohen said there is no doubt each pitcher will be better because the Bulldogs need them.
Hudson, a preseason All-American by several publications, is anxious to prove himself, but he knows he it is a process.
“I’m just trying to build throughout the season, so my next start is always the biggest one,” Hudson said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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