STARKVILLE — A month after introducing a new lineup to Mississippi State University baseball fans, the program will be forced to do it again.
A rash of injuries in the past two weekends has forced MSU coach John Cohen to add newcomers to the lineup to replace players on the disabled list.
On Friday in the series opener against Mercer University, Brayden Jones made his first start at third base and hit ninth in place of sophomore Daryl Norris, who hit in the middle of the order. Norris suffered a detached knee cap after fouling a pitch off his knee. He suffered strained ligaments in the knee and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
“There’s some holes on our team now, and the resolve of this team will be tested from here on,” Cohen said Thursday. “What I love about this team is they’ll miss C.T. (Bradford), Daryl, Brent (Brownlee), and everybody that’s out, but our weight training session early the next morning was our best yet.”
Sophomore Hunter Renfroe made his first start in center field Friday. It was the fifth position the redshirt sophomore has played in a little more than two seasons on the active roster.
Renfroe, who was recruited to MSU to play catcher or first base, said Thursday he had played center field in American Legion summer ball, but that he hadn’t practiced the position for more than four years. The right-handed hitter, who is highly coveted by professional baseball scouts, opened the game with a double to the left-field corner.
Renfroe, who entered the game Friday night hitting .317 with eight RBIs, said he has changed his batting stance to a wider approach that allows him to be more balanced against curveballs on the outer half of the plate. It also helps him cut down on his strikeouts.
“The coaching staff one day this week asked me if anybody asked me to do that and I said, ‘No, it’s just something I’ve found that works’, and they said to continue doing that, meaning be in control of my game,” Renfroe said. “(I know) I’ve got to become less swing and miss.”
Renfroe said the return of designated hitter Trey Porter gives MSU a 3-4-5 of Wes Rea, Porter, and himself that will force pitchers to work carefully through the middle of the order.
“We’ll be limited without having Daryl in the lineup, no question, but the power is still there,” Renfroe said. “I talked with Daryl today and I’ve had the injury he’s going through. People need to realize it’ll be four to six weeks before he can do anything, like move it. I have no idea when he’ll be back for us.”
After being suspended from the opening weekend of action due to a violation of team rules, redshirt freshman Demarcus Henderson has balanced his struggles in learning right field with a eye-popping .381 batting average and a .458 on-base percentage.
Henderson, who turned down a six-figure signing bonus from the Houston Astros out of Wayne County High School, is taking over for Brownlee (ligament damage to his knee) in right field. He will try to use his athletic ability to match the defense MSU loses without the senior Brownlee.
“We know Demarcus can play out there with his speed, but also (freshman OF/RHP) Brandon Woodruff is one of the best athletes on our club,” Cohen said.
Against Mercer on Friday night, left-handed redshirt freshman Ross Mitchell (0-0, 0..00) was paired with right-handed starter Chris Stratton. Mitchell left with the lead after two innings. He allowed just one run and struck out one.
“It will really depend on the lineup we’re facing as far as going with a left-right combo on Friday nights,” Cohen said.
After returning from Tommy John surgery this season, MSU opening night starter Ben Bracewell hasn’t surrendered an earned run in 10 1/3 innings, but he felt discomfort after his March 3 start against the University of Connecticut.
“We’re going to be slow in getting Ben back on the mound,” Cohen said. “The plan and schedule is to get Benny back for the SEC opening series at LSU.”
In the meantime, MSU (13-2) will continue to play without four starters. It knows it can’t collapse like it did in 2010 if it wants to qualify for back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances.
MSU will use the three-game series against Mercer, which entered the set with 11 victories, as a warmup act for its Southeastern Conference opening series next weekend at LSU.
“I really don’t think this team will suffer too badly without those key guys for a while,” Renfroe said. “We really understand we have young guys itching to get their opportunity. Now they have it.”
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