STARKVILLE — There isn’t a ton that head coach Chris Lemonis and the Mississippi State Baseball team can feel good about coming out of last weekend’s Southeastern Conference series loss at Auburn. But Monday did start out with some positive news, in that Nate Dohm’s arm injury may not be as bad as initially thought.
Dohm, a sophomore transfer from Ball State, exited the eighth inning of Sunday’s 12-11 loss to the Tigers after throwing a pitch and immediately grabbed his right elbow. But what looked like a devastating injury at first glance, doesn’t appear to be season-ending, according to Lemonis.
“He’s going to be OK,” Lemonis said Monday night on his weekly “Dawg Talk” radio show. “We got a good report today, so I feel like, knock on wood, he will need some time, but I don’t think it is anything major.”
Lemonis didn’t provide any specifics to what Dohm’s injury was.
Dohm, who gave up a three-run home run on the previous pitch to give Auburn an 11-10 lead in a contest the Bulldogs initially led 7-0, was the second pitcher of the game to exit with an injury, as Auburn’s starter, Zach Crotchfelt exited after 1 2/3 innings after being looked at by a trainer.
Dohm, who has been used in a variety of roles within MSU’s pitching staff this season, had been one of its more effective relievers in recent outings, giving up two earned runs in his past eight innings of work.
Lemonis also said MSU has a chance to get starting pitcher Landon Gartman back “soon” after he missed Saturday’s start with an undisclosed injury and was replaced in the rotation by Colby Holcombe.
“His (Gartman) wasn’t anything too serious,” Lemonis said. “This (past) weekend, you look up, not having Gart, it trickled down. It is four, five more innings on the weekend you are trying to find, knowing you are playing Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.”
The Bulldogs (23-17, 6-12 SEC) begin a four-game week Tuesday night against Ole Miss (21-19, 3-15 SEC) at Trustmark Park in Pearl, before heading back on the road for a three-game weekend series at No. 24 Tennessee, which just swept No. 5 Vanderbilt this past weekend.
With the busy schedule, the bullpen’s struggles to close out games and mounting injuries, Lemonis said his team is in need of young arms to step up.
“We need some extra guys to help us right now,” he said. “We need some guys to go out there, be aggressive and pound the zone.”
That begins with Tuesday’s contest, where freshman Evan Siary will get the start for the Bulldogs.
Siary, from Columbus, hasn’t pitched since April 11’s game at University of Alabama-Birmingham, where he allowed three runs (two earned) and four hits in two innings of work. Of his nine appearances this season, only one has gone four innings.
Lemonis also mentioned Brock Tapper, another freshman who hasn’t pitched since the UAB game, that could get some more innings when needed, too.
On the year, Siary has allowed 13 earned runs in 21 1/3 innings. But Tuesday could be a chance for him to show he could be a much-needed trusted arm in the bullpen, or as a spot-starter, over the final month of the regular season.
“It is what it is,” Lemonis said. “Nobody feels sorry for us. You got to go back out and get some guys to go out there, be aggressive and pound the zone.
“We have a bunch of young (arms), so they will have to go out there, compete and help us out.”
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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