STARKVILLE — In one week, 20 prospective regional host sites will be nominated by the NCAA for 16 college baseball regionals.
Ranked No. 4 in the country in the D1Baseball.com national rankings, Mississippi State figures to be safely among the 20 nominated with three weeks remaining in the regular season. According to a report from D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers, the 20 possible host sites for the 16 regionals will be revealed either Thursday or Friday of next week, but they will not be given a ranking.
Of course, the Bulldogs have higher aspirations than just hosting a regional; they’d like to finish as a top eight seed to secure a site to host a Super Regional. They’ll need a strong showing against No. 19 South Carolina to ensure that. Chris Lemonis knows it. His players know it. But the third-year MSU coach said the Bulldogs won’t put any extra pressure on themselves.
“I think we have a chance to be a national seed,” Lemonis said. “We’re top five in the country right now. If you have a good weekend here, you’d think you’d solidify it … Honestly, we have a big place to host that makes money for the NCAA. It gets big crowds. They’ve done it before. It’s our job to win games. That’s where we keep our focus.”
Should the Bulldogs rack up the wins, the coveted regional bid will come. How many will get to be there to watch it is another mystery.
According to Mississippi state law, there are no attendance restrictions on outdoor gatherings. Mississippi State currently has no attendance restrictions for baseball games, as more than 30,000 fans attended the MSU-Ole Miss series over the course of three days. But last week, the NCAA recommended all regionals allow no more than 50 percent attendance. And what started as a recommendation may soon turn into a requirement.
“We’d definitely like it at 100 percent,” Lemonis said. “We’re just in different times right now. A lot of it is, if you get to go to a regional at Mississippi State, it’s 100 percent, and if you go to South Bend (Indiana), it’s 30 percent. You’re looking for a fairness piece. That’s why you have some of that. Would I like to see it come up? Yes. I’d like to see as many fans as we can safely into our park to enjoy the experience, and that goes for our opponents, fans and everybody else too.”
Before the MSU athletic administration and Lemonis worry about attendance, a formidable opponent in South Carolina (26-15, 11-10 SEC) stands in its way of a Super Regional. The Gamecocks announced a change in their pitching rotation Thursday, as South Carolina will throw Saturday starter Brannon Jordan (4-3 record, 3.42 ERA) on Friday, Sunday starter Will Sanders (6-2, 3.38 ERA) on Saturday and Friday starter Thomas Farr (2-5, 3.67 ERA) on Sunday.
Despite the changeup, Lemonis won’t alter the schedule of starting pitchers Christian MacLeod, Will Bednar and Jackson Fristoe.
“We’re staying with our same rotation,” Lemonis said. “I think since they had their doubleheader day, they let them move some guys around. “Everybody is trying to position themselves for after this weekend when we go to (a schedule of) Thursday, Friday, Saturday. And then you go into the conference tournament, which makes it tougher to match up. Everybody is just trying to get their pieces in place.”
After excelling in relief, Harding set to stay in his role
MSU relief pitcher Houston Harding gave Lemonis a glance of how the senior left-hander could fare in an extended role Saturday in a doubleheader against Texas A&M, pitching five innings of shutout ball with four strikeouts. On the season, Harding has a 2.34 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched with 44 strikeouts.
Lemonis said Fristoe would remain the team’s Sunday starter and Harding will still stay in the bullpen moving forward.
“Does Houston Harding deserve to start? I’d say yes,” Lemonis said. “He’s been really good. So has Jackson Fristoe. We have the luxury of having both those guys. In the next couple of weeks, when you get into these funky weeks, you may see some of that type of stuff going into the tourney and needing an extra starter who didn’t start on the weekend.”
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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 46 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 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion