STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball coach Chris Lemonis said Monday was “one of the hardest days” of his coaching career after he made the decision to fire pitching coach Scott Foxhall.
“(We had) a couple of great years pitching, won a national championship with a great pitching staff, but the last two years have been tough,” Lemonis said on his weekly radio “Dawg Talk” radio show. “Just after the weekend, the way we were moving just felt like it was the time and place.”
That time came Monday afternoon when MSU and Lemonis announced through a press release that the baseball program had decided to part ways with Foxhall.
Foxhall had been on Lemonis’ staff since both arrived in Starkville from Indiana five years ago. Under Foxhall the Bulldogs had built one of college baseball’s best pitching staffs, which set an NCAA single-season record in 2021 with 817 strikeouts. However, the past two seasons have seen a dramatic decline in pitching development and effectiveness.
Last season, MSU held a Southeastern Conference worst team earned run average (6.07) and held hold an SEC-worst 6.62 ERA this year. MSU also ranks last in the conference in runs allowed (321), earned runs allowed (276), walks (255), 13th in home runs allowed (65) and 11th in hits allowed (389). The Bulldogs’ struggles on the mound reached a breaking point after last weekend’s sweeping by No. 18 Tennessee, where MSU’s pitchers gave up 33 runs in three games and were run-ruled in Saturday’s 13-2 loss to end the series.
Trending in the wrong direction over the past two weeks when it comes to NCAA Tournament possibilities, and with only three weeks in the regular season remaining, Lemonis said he could have waited to make the call on Foxhall’s future, but had a gut feeling it was what his team needed.
“I am appreciative of Scott and his family and all they did,” Lemonis said. “…My job is to protect the program.”
Lemonis added the team had a meeting today regarding Foxhall’s firing and there was some shock regarding the decision. However, MSU’s sole focus is moving forward with its season.
“We got a job to do,” Lemonis said. “…Right now the message is go out, play good baseball and have fun. We know there is work to do and we have to make up games, but you play a lot better when you just enjoy playing the game and that is the mindset right now.”
The Bulldogs (24-20, 6-15 SEC) return to play Friday at Dudy Noble Field against No. 6 Arkansas with first pitch scheduled for 6 pm (SEC+).
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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