Freshman pitcher Eric Cerantola strolled off the mound at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium to a chorus of scattered cheers from the remaining Mississippi State fans.
Though the crowd had thinned after five innings, the substantial attendance at last week’s Southeastern Conference tournament was far from new — Cerantola had already pitched in front of as many as 8,000 people this season. The cheers directed toward him, however, were new.
After a two-inning, one hit, one strikeout appearance, Cerantola received a cordial applause from the remaining MSU crowd as LSU eliminated the Bulldogs from the SEC tournament in a 12-2 rout. Final score aside, the sentiment remained. Cerantola had earned the audible support.
“I feel like these last couple outings I’ve been getting better every time,” he said postgame.
Physically, Cerantola is as gifted as young pitchers come. A 30th round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in last year’s MLB First Year Player Draft, his fastball consistently touches 97 miles per hour on the radar gun. There’s also the matter of his 6-foot-5 frame, one that is closer to 7-foot-3 when standing atop the mound.
Yet in 14 1/3 innings pitched this season, Cerantola has been a perplexing mix of high-ceiling talent and inconsistency finding the strike zone.
After combining for six innings and allowing just three hits while striking out six in starts against Jackson State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Cerantola looked the part of the No. 3 or midweek starter that MSU desperately lacked at the time.
Then came the midseason lull.
In started against Arkansas-Little Rock and Mississippi Valley State — teams that finished a combined 16-68 this season — Cerantola lasted just one inning, allowing seven runs, two hits and four walks.
With the struggles in tow, he sat down for meetings with MSU coach Chris Lemonis and pitching coach Scott Foxhall. While Lemonis reassured him to continue working at his craft, Foxhall got down to the crux of the issues. The two watched film and broke down Cerantola’s form in attempt to bring more consistency in his game.
“Big thing I’ve been working on is getting more on top of the ball so I can keep the ball down,” Cerantola said. “But overall, just trying not to do too much and fill up the zone.”
Beyond the motion, the difference between Cerantola’s struggles and brushes with brilliance come down to strikes. In strong outings against Jackson State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and LSU, he threw 63.1 percent of his total pitches for strikes.
By contrast, just 46.6 percent of Cerantola’s pitches against MVSU and Arkansas-Little Rock were strikes.
Now boasting a slightly retooled approach and a formula for success, he has seemingly thrust his mid-year woes behind him. Lemonis has even said he expects Cerantola to play a piece in the upcoming postseason run — something that just a month and a half ago was virtually unthinkable.
“I’m ready to help out the team whenever they need me,” Cerantola said. “Whenever they put me in, I’m going to do my best.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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