Chris Lemonis talks Mississippi State win on Friday night, Khal Stephen, David Mershon and more

Mississippi State got yet another strong start from Khal Stephen as the Bulldogs were able to build a lead and keep it in a 8-1 victory over Auburn.

After the game, head coach Chris Lemonis spoke to the media about the win, Stephen’s dominance, David Mershon’s effectiveness on the bases and more.

Question: Khal Stephen had everything working tonight. What did you see from his performance?

CL: “Everything working. Three pitches for strikes. Such a high-level competitor and I keep challenging the rest of the guys to watch and learn. He has really good stuff, but it’s the makeup, it’s the competitiveness. The bigger the moment, the better he gets. Really, really good.”

Q: Take us through the final inning for him and is the umpire ok after leaving the game?

CL: “Yeah the umpire is good and he had a really good game. The guy that came in was really good too. You’re worried a new guy comes in and the strike zone might change but he did a great job too. Kind of a crazy inning and that’s kind of why we went to (Tyler Davis) in the end because we cranked him up thinking he was about to face one of those guys. (Stephen) just gutted through it.

“He’s throwing harder on those pitches than he did in the first inning. There was (95 and 96) and getting out guys that are not only some of the best in the stadium but some of the best in the country. Ike Irish is one of the best in the country and it was a battle. I told coach (Justin) Parker that I know you wanted to take him out but you’re scared to take the ball from him. He wasn’t going to give that ball up in that moment.”

Q: Went with TD for the last 2.0 innings, was that just him getting hot in the bullpen?

CL: “He got real hot and then we had the lefties coming up so we stayed with him. Once you’re hot, you’re better off (pitching). He’ll be able to pitch in the next couple of days. It wasn’t too many pitches.”

Q: Ethan Pulliam had another good night. What has he done to catch your eye?

CL: “He always shows up and is hard-working. With our young kids, we really like our young guys. We haven’t played many games to let them get out there and play and relax so he’s probably played less than he deserves. We just decided to let him get out there and play and see. He had a good fall hitting, a good spring training hitting. We bit the bullet on Tuesday. He’s seeing the ball well. He’s not chasing balls, getting in good counts, he has good hand-eye coordination.”

Q: What would it mean for Logan Kohler to come alive down the stretch?

CL: “It would be huge. He played really well. He’s in the Palmeiro every day with Jake Gautreau. He’s one of my Master’s (Degree) guys so he doesn’t go to class as much as some of the others. He’s hitting, he’s working. It was nice to see him get two hits pull side and those extra base hits.

“He’s been such a good player over his career and he’s struggled. Usually this game evens out.”

Q: We saw him struggle at Ole Miss defensively, was that the offense translating to defense?

CL: “Yeah, I mean I guess. You’re on the road. Lost the one ball up in the sky and probably sat under it too early. He hasn’t hit as much as we’d like, but he’s played pretty good defense. I thought last week the defensive stuff was abnormal and maybe because he was struggling. He’s played good defense all season, but we need to get that bat going.”

Q:  Is David Mershon changing the way you evaluate players these days?

CL: “He’s a special player. He just does it all. You can say that’s an error (on the catcher), but it puts the pressure on you. To me, it may have been the play of the game. 2-1 to 4-1, it just gave us a cushion and we seemed to play a lot more relaxed after that.”

Q: Khal had nine strikeouts in his last 4.0 innings. What does that say about a guy that tends to get stronger as the game goes?

CL: “That’s him and (Jurrangelo Cijntje). They just get stronger as the game goes on. It’s the competitive juices. You’re really getting those guys out there and competing. In all seriousness, it’s hard to take the ball away from him at the end of the game. He was exhausted after those last pitches.”

Q: You said on Tuesday that Jurrangelo was fine physically, but how was his week leading up to his start on Saturday?

CL: “He’s been normal all week. Normal bullpen, normal throwing, normal everything. Got a massage, so that may have helped him. He’s probably just trying to get a massage every week.”