Chris Lemonis talks Diamond Dawg series win over Alabama

Mississippi State put together another complete game against Alabama on Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs had 10 hits and got 7.0 innings of one-run ball from Jurrangelo Cijntje in an 8-1 victory at Dudy Noble Field.

After the win, MSU coach Chris Lemonis broke down his team’s play.

Question: Jurrangelo didn’t have his best stuff but he would grind through that. What did you see from him?

CL: “I thought he had a great performance. Even in the sixth, (Justin Parker) challenged him to go back out in the seventh because he was only at 83 pitches right handed. It was hot today but I think that’s where Loo is really growing. That competitive piece. Holding the ball, going late in games.

“Park went to take him out and he didn’t want to come out which was good to see. Where he’s come from last year to this year is such a growing process for him. Not just the stuff, it’s more the maturity of competing and the toughness piece this year.”

Q: Was it a blister or contacts issue for him today?

CL: “It was a contact. He was sweating like crazy. It felt like one of the hottest days ever. Some of the guys were monkeying in our dugout and I told them it’s 82 (degrees). You get in a Regional and Super Regional and it’s 100 so we’re going to have to get used to this heat.”

Q: What are you seeing from your lineup right now?

CL: “In the last two weeks, I think you’ve seen Amani (Larry) have some big days, Logan (Kohler) have some big days and Hunter (Hines) have some big days and everybody else has been pretty steady in there. You’re getting a little more from everybody. It’s amazing, Johnny (Long) has a big at bat once or twice every game and then maybe a bad at bat, but he’s able to help the lineup and usually with runners in scoring position.”

Q: Another big day for David Mershon. What do you like about what he brings to the lineup in the two-hole?

CL: “What I like about David Mershon is he brings the same thing every day. I never put my head on the pillow and think about what David Mershon is doing. He is a true baseball rat. He loves the game, he plays it so hard. It doesn’t matter if we’re winning or losing, he’s playing good or he’s playing bad, you get the same thing from that kid every day. He’s a really good player.”

Q: You had an animated speech to your dugout in the fourth inning. What was that about?

CL: “Just yelling some frustration about bad body language. We’re up 3-1 and we won the first game of the series. (Bama) doesn’t get to see anything. They shouldn’t see any frustration from us or anything like that. It was from a couple of guys who were really good players that weren’t having as much success as they wanted. It’s about us winning games, so we have to be able to put that aside and play the game a little more poker face.”

Q: Did you think that the pitching would have this big of a jump?

CL: “Well it’s made a big jump. Justin and the pitchers on the staff have done a great job. We did have the feeling that we had some talented guys. Last year we got beat up a lot that we didn’t take more guys out of the portal but our guys were better than a lot of guys in the portal. I just felt like we had to get them playing good baseball and I think Park has done that and created an identity of toughness.

“You look up at some of the talent we had like Jurrangelo, Justin got hired and the next day we were in Miami meeting with Jurrangelo and his family and letting him meet Park. You knew how great he could be.”

Q: What’s the update on Ethan Pulliam’s injury?

CL: “Ethan is fine. He had an X-Ray – no breaks, no concussion, no laceration, just a knot.”

Q: The last two years you’ve mentioned a few times that your teams haven’t been able to let the atmosphere at Dudy Noble work in your favor. How does it feel to see that back this season?

CL: “The funny thing is I can remember sitting there the last game of the year and place was packed. Getting them in the game and having the Dude Effect is a big deal. We talked about it this week that this is our house and people are coming here to play us and we’re going to be packed. Our town lives for this so it’s been fun. You’ve got to get them into it and I think they’ve done a nice job of that.”

Q: How does it feel to get the first two games of the series?

CL: “The third game is huge. You’re fighting for a Regional, to host one, and you’re fighting against Alabama. You win all three. You leave no doubt. It’s good to win them, but in this league you’re just chasing the next one and the next one is 15 which is a big one in this league. For us to jump out there and get one tomorrow is huge.”

Q: We’ve seen Johnny get wider in his stance on two strikes. Is that just him?

CL: “We give everybody a little bit wider and he gets a lot wider. He’s got some real personality. He sent a text to the whole team this morning and I can’t read it to you. It’s a little inappropriate. He’s one of the alphas of the team and he’s a fun kid to coach.”

Q: Do you guys talk about the prospects of hosting right now?

CL: “That’s the major goal in this program is for us at the end of the year to host. The major goal is to go to Omaha, but we all know the percentages when you host so that’s out there all the time. I just don’t want them to feel satisfied. Every one is you building a resume. Wednesday night was a big one for us. Not just beating Ole Miss, but as we win more games we’ve given ourselves a chance with that possibility. We can control that. We can play well through the end here that we can host and that’s a big thing for us.”