Jun. 25—Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis said all hands are on deck tonight for his pitching staff.
MSU, which is 2-0 in the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, has been sitting in the bracket final waiting to find out its next opponent.
Texas defeated Virginia 6-2 in a weather-delayed game Thursday night. The Longhorns are scheduled to play the Bulldogs tonight at 6.
And while junior left-handed pitcher Houston Harding has started MSU’s third game in both the regionals and super regionals, Lemonis said he was waiting to see how his team matches up with its potential opponent.
“Well, we haven’t made a decision yet on our starter,” Lemonis said on Thursday morning. “We want to see who we play first. We’re throwing these guys in practice, they’re throwing some in between, they’re throwing pens. Shoot, Houston warmed up in the pen the other night. … All arms are ready to go.”
The only pitcher that is likely not available for the game is starter Will Bednar, who threw 108 pitches on Sunday and will be needed for a later game. Harding could start, along with Christian MacLeod or even Jackson Fristoe.
MacLeod started Tuesday night’s game but was pulled after allowing four runs in only 1 1/3 innings. He threw only 35 pitches.
Fristoe has only pitched once since May 22, and that was in the regional championship against Campbell. He threw 1/3 of an inning in a start and allowed three earned runs. He has not been seen since.
If he was to make an appearance, it would likely be out of the bullpen. He’s only come out of the bullpen twice this season, though, against LSU and Jacksonville State. In those two appearances, he tossed a combined 5 innings and allowed one earned run on three hits with seven strikeouts.
“We’re kind of grooming him right now,” Lemonis said of Fristoe. “He’s had some good bullpens the last couple of weeks. I know he had a disappointing start in the regionals, but he’s such a talented kid. He may be an x-factor while we’re here if we can get him going. He’s definitely in the mix.”
Mississippi State has used 10 pitchers so far in the CWS — two in Sunday’s win and eight in Tuesday’s win. The only pitcher that has been used twice is closer Landon Sims, and it isn’t going to be the last time he’s seen this week.
He threw 52 pitches in a three-inning save against Texas on Sunday, then turned around and threw 15 pitches in a 1 1/3 inning save against Virginia. He wasn’t at his sharpest in the second outing, but MSU earned an extra day’s rest due to him securing the win.
Now, if he pitches on Friday night against whichever opponent wins the elimination game, Sims will have two full days of rest to allow his arm back to full speed.
“I like the extra day rather than having to play so you can rest your pitching,” Lemonis said. “Every other day is fine to keep your hitters going. But It’s more about pitcher’s rest. That’s where the extra day pays off.”