STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball coach John Cohen has resisted the urge to move sophomore reliever Luis Pollorena into the starting rotation.
With the Bulldogs” window to clinch a spot in the Southeastern Conference tournament shrinking by the week, Pollorena “has a very good chance” of starting Friday or Saturday in a three-game series at the University of Tennessee, Cohen said Monday.
“There”s no secret Pollorena”s been one of our best guys, and that”s been our biggest weakness (getting a strong five- or six-inning performance),” Cohen said. “Who he will replace, I don”t know that yet. But I think there”s a very good chance he”ll pitch because we”re trying to curb that issue.”
Pollorena, a 5-foot-6 left-hander who pitched at Marion Military Institute last season, is second on the team with a 1.65 ERA and a 5-3 record. He is fourth on the team in innings (32 2/3).
This season, he has served as setup man for closer Caleb Reed and as a situational pitcher in the middle innings.
However, the inability of MSU”s starting pitchers to go deep into games has stretched Pollorena on a number of occasions. The inconsistency of the starting pitchers already has forced Cohen to shuffle his weekend rotation.
Last weekend against the University of Alabama, starters Kendall Graveman and Nick Routt failed to pitch past the fourth inning. Routt hasn”t pitched past the fourth inning in each of his past three starts.
“You can lose just as many ballgames at the beginning as you can at the end,” Cohen said. “We”re gonna be willing to make that trade — Pollorena in the middle of the game versus Pollorena at the beginning of a game.”
Pollorena was a starter in his only season at Marion, going 11-2 with a 1.27 ERA. He also was a starter at United High School in Laredo, Texas.
Pollorena has pitched at least three innings in three of his past four appearances, and has given up just two earned runs in that span.
He hasn”t entered a game with a lead since MSU (25-18, 8-13 Southeastern Conference) beat Alabama A&M 18-0 on March 30.
His resilience and ability to pitch the Bulldogs through tight situations will be just one of several qualities he”ll provide at the start of a game.
“The thing Pollorena brings to the table, it”s more than even a matchup thing, it”s a vibe, energy and leadership, it”s controlling the running game,” Cohen said. “Our kids really respond to him, so, in that respect, that, coupled with (the fact) we”ve got to get six or seven innings into a ballgame from our starter, we feel like he can just cut through it and get us to that moment. I think that”s what our needs dictate at this time.”
MSU will play at 6 p.m. today at South Alabama (22-21) at Stanky Field. MSU sophomore right-hander Andrew Busby (1-0, 8.49) is scheduled to make his second career start.
Cohen anticipates using multiple pitchers in spot work to compensate for midweek bullpen work.
Seniors stepping up
Seniors played a key role Sunday in an 8-5 win against Alabama. Cohen hopes it”s a turning point that leads to continued production in the last three league series.
Cody Freeman, Jarrod Parks, Jaron Shepherd, Ryan Collins, and Nick Vickerson accounted for 11 of MSU”s 13 hits and three of the six RBIs.
Seniors accounted for six of nine hits in a 5-4 loss in Game 2, and 13 of 15 hits in the 5-4 loss in 10 innings in Game 1.
Shepherd hit his first two home runs of the season Friday.
“You want those guys to be hot down the stretch, and they played really well this weekend,” Cohen said. “It”s just a shame, you lose two one-run ballgames and say those guys really came through for you. You get one break, you”re winning one of those games. You get two breaks and you might be sweeping Alabama. Now, all of a sudden, you”re on a real roll heading into Tennessee.”
Senior shortstop Jonathan Ogden, who has battled an abdominal injury, picked up another knock when he took a ground ball off his nose during Game 2. He was replaced by Adam Frazier but played Sunday. Despite his recent trouble in the field, where he leads the SEC in errors, Ogden played error-free baseball against Alabama.
“I think he finally got some relief from his abdominal area, and I think he got to a better fielding position,” Cohen said. “From a throwing standpoint, I think he was much better. I think it”s gonna be important down the stretch for him to be healthy.”
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