You name it — Mississippi State’s pitching staff was bad at it in 2023.
The Bulldogs had the Southeastern Conference’s worst team ERA of 7.01, allowed more walks than any other team in the SEC and surrendered more home runs than anyone in the conference outside of Ole Miss. Those struggles led to MSU missing out on the SEC Tournament for the second straight year after winning the 2021 national championship, and cost former pitching coach Scott Foxhall his job with three weeks left in the season.
Head coach Chris Lemonis was able to land one of the best available candidates to replace Foxhall as Justin Parker, previously South Carolina’s pitching coach, was hired to manage the Bulldogs’ pitching staff in June. Under Parker’s tutelage, the Gamecocks had the SEC’s second-best team ERA and reached the NCAA Super Regionals.
“He’s built a great relationship with (our pitchers), so there’s a lot of trust going on right now,” Lemonis said. “Even going from fall to now, there’s still been a lot of growth. They learned a lot in the fall, but putting it in in the middle of a game was probably a little bit tougher. They’re a little more confident, a little bit more comfortable with what he’s teaching and doing.”
Junior right-hander Nate Dohm, in his second season with MSU after beginning his collegiate career at Ball State, is the Bulldogs’ Opening Day starter and will take the ball Friday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field against Air Force. Dohm made just two starts last year with 15 relief appearances and posted a very solid 4.07 ERA with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of greater than four to one.
Dohm said the adjustments Parker was having him make felt unnatural at first, but he feels more comfortable on the mound now than he ever has before.
“I wasn’t fighting, but I guess unconsciously my body was fighting what he was teaching,” Dohm said. “I would get better every day in drill work and make it muscle memory. It’s just the process of getting through the rough patches where you’re not feeling right. And now, in the spring, I’ve never felt this good on the mound. I’ve never felt so smooth, just the ability to move smooth down the mound, I think that will translate to velocity.”
Khal Stephen, a transfer from Purdue, will start for MSU on Saturday. Stephen went 7-4 with a 5.21 ERA for the Boilermakers a year ago as Purdue’s Friday starter, and he will be followed by the ambidextrous Jurrangelo Cijntje on Sunday. Cijntje started 13 games for the Bulldogs last year, more than anyone else on the team, and opponents hit just .238 against him despite his 8.10 ERA.
Cijntje is stronger from the right side, but prefers to throw both ways and came to MSU because the Bulldogs’ coaching staff told him he would be able to do so. Lemonis said he tops out at 96 miles per hour on his right-handed fastball and 93 miles per hour as a left-hander. The biggest issue for him, Lemonis said, is not throwing enough first-pitch strikes.
“There was a lot of maturity last year, pure experience and figuring out how to train himself as an ambidextrous pitcher,” Lemonis said. “It was a really high ratio when he flipped right to left or left to right, didn’t matter, he’d be 1-0 on almost everybody. … He has to be really good at being able to flip back and forth.”
Lefty Bradley Loftin is also a candidate to start later on after recording a 3.08 ERA in 26.1 innings as a freshman, as is Karson Ligon, a transfer from Miami who made 10 starts with the Hurricanes in 2023 and pitched to a 4.80 ERA.
Out of the bullpen, sidearming righty Cam Schuelke, an outstanding junior college pitcher last year at the College of Central Florida, was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List, presented to college baseball’s top relief pitcher. MSU will also get back Stone Simmons, the only remaining player from the Bulldogs’ 2021 championship team who has missed almost all of the last two years with injuries and is coming off Tommy John surgery.
“Rehab in general is really tough, especially off of Tommy John, but just watching the team try to perform and struggle these past couple seasons has been so brutal for me,” Simmons said. “Thankfully, I think we’ve made a big turnaround this offseason. We’ve made a lot of strides. I feel really prepared to help the team as a leader and be the best teammate I can possibly be now that I’m healthy.”
Pico Kohn and Brooks Auger are also back after missing all of last year with injuries. Lemonis said Starkville Academy graduate Evan Siary could emerge as a high-leverage option after an outstanding summer with the Amsterdam (N.Y.) Mohawks of the Perfect Game Collegiate League. MSU also has left-handers Tyler Davis, Cole Cheatham and freshmen Luke Dotson and Nolan Stephens.
Some of the Bulldogs’ hitters have noticed improvements form the pitching staff in preseason scrimmages, and second baseman Amani Larry said Parker has been approachable to the position players as well. Parker did scout MSU’s hitters last season when the Bulldogs played South Carolina.
“I know it’s not as easy to hit against these guys this year, and that’s a good note,” Larry said. “Coach Parker is doing an amazing job. The good thing with Coach Parker is he’s not focused on just the pitchers. Me and (Dakota Jordan) or (Hunter) Hines want to go ask him a question about what he thinks pitchers will do in this situation, he’s always helping us out.”
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