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Off The Bat: Mississippi State Gains Confidence With Sweep

SEE ALSO: Top 25

In Off The Bat, Teddy Cahill wraps up the weekend in college baseball and looks ahead.

Bulldogs Have Bounce

After winning the Southeastern Conference regular season championship last season, 2017 has been a year of transition for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs have a whole new coaching staff and lost 10 players from last year’s team to professional baseball.

But after an up-and-down first month of the season that included getting swept at Arkansas on the first weekend of SEC play, the Bulldogs are starting to hit their stride. Mississippi State traveled to Mississippi this weekend and swept the Rebels in Oxford for the first time since 2003. The Bulldogs (19-10, 6-3 SEC) capped the sweep with a 2-1 victory Saturday that extended their winning streak to seven games. Their big weekend resulted in them entering the Top 25 for the first time this season, moving in at No. 22.

All three games were tight affairs, with Mississippi State winning a pair of one-run games and another by two runs. First-year head coach Andy Cannizaro said playing close games all weekend helped Mississippi State grow as a team.

“What it takes to win these SEC games in terms of playing nine full innings, get bunts down, move runners over, turn double plays, execute pitches, all the things we talk about needing to do, we did for three straight games,” Cannizaro said. “It was really good for our confidence moving forward.”

In addition to the transition of the last year, Mississippi State has also had to deal with several injuries this season, particularly on the pitching staff. The Bulldogs are down to just 24 healthy players, less than the 27-player maximum for travel rosters.

While the injuries have limited Mississippi State’s depth, Cannizaro said the team has embraced the challenge.

“What matters is who is with us every day,” he said. “They’ve bought into the concept that we’ve got 24 guys and let’s do everything we can to help Mississippi State win baseball games.”

Two of the constants for the Bulldogs have Jake Mangum and Brent Rooker, who have both seen their roles evolve this year to help fill holes. Mangum, the SEC batting champion last season, has begun pitching for the Bulldogs in addition to manning center field. The sophomore started Saturday’s series finale and held the Rebels to one run on two hits and two walks in five innings to earn his first victory in SEC play. Mangum is also hitting .397/.448/.479 with nine stolen bases this spring.

Rooker has excelled at the plate this season and is hitting .422/.511/.890 with nine home runs and 14 stolen bases. He leads the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, RBIs (43), stolen bases and doubles (18). He ranks second in home runs and hits (46).

Cannizaro said Rooker has made some important strides in his approach this season.

“The biggest difference in Brent Rooker is he’s just continuing to mature as a hitter, recognizing spin,” Cannizaro sad. “That was something he scuffled with a year ago. He’s really doing a great job controlling the strike zone, taking walks, being aggressive in the strike zone.

“A year ago, he was so pull oriented. Now he’s using line to line. He’s so impressive. He can really process information. He understands what teams are trying to do, he takes his walks when they’re trying to walk him and steals bases.”

Rooker has also made a shift from the outfield to first base. He preserved Mississippi State’s 2-1 victory Saturday with a web gem at first, a play Cannizaro said he doesn’t think Rooker would have made a few weeks ago when he first changed positions. But he has put in the work to become a capable defender at his new position.

The road doesn’t get any easier for the Bulldogs. They return home this week to face Florida International for two midweek games, followed by a visit from No. 13 Kentucky. The weekend will feature the top two hitting teams in the SEC, as the Wildcats lead the league with a .323 batting average and the Bulldogs follow at .298. It will also be a reunion for first-year Kentucky coach Nick Mingione, who was Mississippi State’s recruiting coordinator/hitting coach for eight seasons, and Mississippi State pitching coach Gary Henderson, who was Kentucky’s head coach for eight years before resigning last June.

Cannizaro said the Bulldogs understand the challenges of playing in the SEC and are ready for the coming tests, which also include a trip to No. 11 South Carolina and home series against No. 7 Auburn and No. 15 Louisiana State.

“You never get a chance to catch your breath,” he said. “We’re taking on a heavyweight fighter type mentality. Show up every day, throw punches and do everything we can to try to win the baseball game.”

Old Dominion Continues Strong Start

Old Dominion did not allow a run for the final 23 innings of it series against Charlotte. The Monarchs threw back-to-back shutouts in the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader and Sunday’s series finale to clinch its seventh straight winning weekend to open the season.

ODU improved to 22-6 and 7-2 in Conference USA. It is tied with Florida Atlantic, last season’s champion, for second place in the conference, one game behind No. 21 Southern Mississippi (24-5, 8-1).

Even in ODU’s one loss of the weekend, a 3-1 setback in Saturday’s opener, their pitching staff held Charlotte’s strong offense in check. Coach Chris Finwood said the Monarchs are used to playing in low-scoring games which helped them in a difficult weekend.

“That’s a really good club and I think at end of the year people will see that,” he said. “Back-to-back shutouts against them, that’s a heck of a job by our pitching staff. I thought our guys pitched well.”

ODU used only five pitchers all weekend and all five contributed to the 23-inning scoreless streak. Senior righthander Sam Sinnen (8 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 4 K) took the loss in the opener and Michael Blanchard followed him with a scoreless inning of relief. Adam Bainbridge followed with a four-hit shutout in the night cap. The senior lefthander was a model of efficiency, needing just 102 pitches while striking out seven and walking one batter. Freshman lefthander John Wilson (7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K), the son of longtime Twins’ scout John Wilson, and redshirt-junior righthander Craig Lopez (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K) combined for another four-hitter.

Good pitching is nothing new this season for ODU, which has a team ERA of 3.68. Its rotation of Sinnen (1-1, 3.63), Bainbridge (6-1, 1.31) and Wilson (5-0, 2.97) has been especially tough this spring.

“We’ve gotten really good starts on the weekend,” Finwood said. “Sinnen and Bainbridge going out giving us seven or eight innings makes managing the game a lot easier—you don’t have to piece it together. And the guys coming out of the bullpen have done a great job. We’ve had different heroes out of the bullpen each week.”

ODU again got consistent offensive production from the duo of freshman first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and junior shortstop Zach Rutherford, who hit back-to-back in the lineup. Pasquantino (.369/.446/.515) hit a two-run home run to give the Monarchs the lead Sunday, while Rutherford (.352/.441/.505) went 4-for-8 and drove in two runs on the weekend.

Rutherford, a career .322 hitter, has been a constant presence in ODU’s lineup for three seasons now. But he has made important strides defensively this season. After committing 12 errors in 56 games last season, he has made just one in 28 games this year.

“He’s just very consistent,” Finwood said. “He works every day at it.”

The Monarchs have excelled at home this season, where they are 18-5 and have played all but five of their games. ODU will hit the road this week for five games–midweek visits to No. 23 Virginia and Virginia Military Institute before a weekend series at Middle Tennessee State.

If the Monarchs can carry their momentum with them on the road, they could be in for an important week as they try to build their resume with an eye on returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014. Southern Miss has established itself as the favorite in Conference USA, but the league appears to be more wide open than ever, particularly with perennial powerhouse Rice and Louisiana Tech, a regional team a year ago, tied for last at 2-7.

ODU is ready to step up and fill the void at the top of the conference. Finwood said winning series against West Virginia and Rice and winning close games like they did this weekend has the Monarchs playing with a lot of belief.

“We play a lot of close games and find a way to win most of them,” Finwood said. “When you do that, it creates a lot of confidence. So far that’s what we’ve done.”

Eight for Omaha

Cal State Fullerton, Florida, Louisville, North Carolina, Oregon State, South Carolina, Texas Christian, Texas Tech

We have reached the halfway point in the regular season, and the top teams are starting to truly separate from the pack. One team that seems to have done so is North Carolina, and the Tar Heels enter the field in this week’s update. UNC has played the third-toughest schedule in the country, according to WarrenNolan.com, and has navigated it impressively, showing off the all-around strength of its roster. So UNC moves in this week, with Louisiana State dropping out. After losing its series against Texas A&M, LSU has now had three losing weekends this season. LSU’s bullpen has been shaky of late, which cost it against the Aggies. I also considered Clemson this week, but opted for UNC due to the depth of its pitching staff, and chose to keep South Carolina in the field despite its own bullpen issues as power-armed closer Tyler Johnson could soon return from injury for the Gamecocks.

Eye-Catchers

Five players or programs who stood out this weekend.

Alex Cunningham, rhp, Coastal Carolina: Cunningham struck out 11 batters in a five-hit shutout Friday against Georgia State, his second straight shutout. He became the second Chanticleer to ever throw back-to-back shutouts, joining Austin Kerr, who did so in 2014. In the last two games, Cunningham has 21 strikeouts and has allowed just six hits and two walks.

Connecticut: The Huskies (16-9) swept East Carolina on the road on opening weekend of American Athletic Conference action. ECU went into the weekend ranked No. 25, giving Connecticut its first sweep of a ranked opponent since it swept Notre Dame in 2002.

Conor Davis, 1b, Auburn: With Auburn down to its last out Sunday against South Carolina, Davis a freshman, stepped to the plate as a pinch hitter and delivered a walk-off, three-run home run for a 6-5 victory. The home run was the first of Davis’ career, and gave the Tigers their first home series win against the Gamecocks since 1996.

J.C. Keys, rhp, Southern Mississippi: Keys threw a one-hitter Sunday to help NSouthern Miss to a 13-1 victory in eight innings at Western Kentucky to complete a sweep. Keys (2-1, 3.56) struck out seven and walked two. The Hilltoppers’ lone hit against Keys was a solo home run.

Oregon State: With a sweep at Stanford, No. 1 Oregon State extended its winning streak to a program-record 19 games. That streak includes three straight sweeps to open Pacific-12 Conference play, and the Beavers are the first team to start the Pac-12 season 9-0 since the conference eliminated its division format in 1999.

Looking Ahead

Three weekend series we’re most excited for

(9) Oklahoma at Texas: This rivalry really didn’t need any added storylines, but it got one this year as Oklahoma’s pitching staff has experienced a resurgence under new pitching coach Skip Johnson, who long filled that role for Texas under Augie Garrido. The Longhorns (19-12, 4-5) have lost two of their first three Big 12 Conference series, but could get right back on track with a series win against the Sooners (25-6, 4-2) this weekend.

(15) Louisiana State at (16) Arkansas: LSU (18-10, 5-4) entered the season as the favorite in the SEC West, but sits in fourth place after three weeks, two games behind surprise leaders Arkansas (22-6, 7-2) and Auburn, who both missed the SEC Tournament last season. The Tigers have lost back-to-back SEC series and will be eager to avoid a third losing weekend.

(25) Maryland at Nebraska: Nebraska (15-10-1, 2-0-1) opened Big Ten Conference play with a series win at Indiana and will now return home to take on Maryland (18-8, 5-1), the preseason favorite. The Terrapins are 17-3 since starting the year 1-5 and have a chance to add a quality road series win to their resume.

Two weekend series you shouldn’t overlook

Dallas Baptist at Missouri State: This weekend’s showdown between the Missouri Valley Conference’s two best teams will likely have significant implications on the conference title race. Both DBU and Missouri State are 18-9 and swept their first MVC series, and both could use a quality series win to pad their NCAA Tournament resumes.

San Diego at Gonzaga: The West Coast Conference looks strong this season with six teams ranked in the top 100 of the RPI. San Diego (19-6, 8-1) tops the conference standings with Gonzaga (14-13, 7-3), which tied for first last season, two games off the pace.

One midweek game to keep an eye on

(13) Kentucky at (2) Louisville, Tuesday, 6 p.m. ET: Kentucky (21-8, 7-2 SEC) and Louisville (24-3, 10-2 ACC) both enter the first edition of this year’s Bluegrass State rivalry ranked in the top 15 and riding hot streaks. The Cardinals have won five straight games against the Wildcats, a streak that dates back to 2014.

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