Mississippi State baseball coach Chris Lemonis addressed the media following the Bulldogs' 2-1 win over Ole Miss at the SEC Tournament. The transcript follows:
Question: Where does that rank in the State-Ole Miss games with you?
Lemonis: That's No. 1 for me, I think. We've had some walk-off winners, but the way they pitched tonight – you have to give a lot of credit to Riley Maddox. That was as good as anyone has pitched against us this year. For our guys to keep fighting…I thought the biggest at bat – and I know Connor's was huge – was David Mershon. It kind of got the ninth inning going, the foul balls. That Doyle kid throws that fastball by everybody. But getting something going to put some pressure on them was huge. And then Connor with the big swing.
Question: What can you say about Brooks just pounding the strike zone?
Lemonis: I wasn't sure what we were getting tonight. He hasn't had to do that a lot. He could have gone out there for the ninth. That's what we debated. He just hasn't had to pitch that much. What an effort. A night for him to remember because this is a really cool place to play. To pitch like that against your rival, great night for him.
Question: What do you think this win means for your postseason?
Lemonis: It's huge. It's huge for resume, but it's huge for us. We need to play postseason baseball. These guys haven't played in the postseason. For us to be in this environment and play in what feels like a regional, our guys need to enjoy it and be a part of it. For us to be here a couple of more days and hopefully a week. We've got a good ballclub and we're hot right now.
Question: How much has Connor been able to participate the last couple of weeks?
Lemonis: I thought so (there was rust early). I was concerned, but I felt like we had to play him this week to get him ready for next week. Jason Wire is our trainer…we probably never talk about him and his assistant, they have spent hours and hours trying get him better. He's probably back a little sooner than you think, but you have to tip your hat to all the people who work behind the scenes.
Question: What does it mean to have so many fans here in Hoover in the middle of the week?
Lemonis: I didn't realize we had as many. It's a Tuesday night game and it was bonkers. We have the best fans in college baseball. It doesn't matter where we play or what we do, they show up. That was a fun time after that home run.
Question: What does Connor add to this team?
Lemonis: In SEC play, Connor's been our best guy by far. He gives protection to Hunter and Dakota. His own production and his ability to play center field, he just does so much for you. He's had a great year. People don't talk about him as much as everybody else but I think he was like fourth in the league in hitting in SEC play. We've really missed him the last two weeks. Him being out has been tough for us. Having him back has been awesome.
Question: Tell us what you're expecting from the Aggies?
Lemonis: We don't know our pitching plans yet We'll discuss it tonight. I have a pretty good idea, but I thought they were the best team we played all year. We played them when they were hot as a firecracker. But they have one of the better lineups in the country and some really good arms. We had to use a little bit of ours tonight. But Brooks took a lot of that. If you go out and play good baseball, it could be a game that puts us over the edge.
Question: What's it like for Brooks specifically to have a day like today?
Lemonis: These kids work so hard. And then you get to see them enjoy a moment like that. We were joking with him just to get him to loosen up before the game. We said 'it's like pitching against Itawamba.' He means so much to us. And he's carried so many roles so humbly. He could want to be a starter and demand to be a starter, but last week we had to put him in at Arkansas to get the win in that middle game. He's done everything we've asked for and he works his tail off. He deserves a night like tonight.
Question: TD got you out of the ninth too, maybe an under-rated moment?
Lemonis: Not for me. I told him that was a huge pitch. Great teams, their pitchers do that. Furniss has played really well against us this year.
Question: How much did the guys lean on the experience of all the tight games this year?
Lemonis: It's the SEC, it happens to everybody. The ninth inning is the hardest inning. That's why I go back to David Mershon's at bat. When you walk that first guy in the ninth, everybody in the dugout is 'oh.' You have that feeling. We've played the game on both sides. We understand it. They just keep playing and Connor was able to jump on one.
