STARKVILLE — John Cohen knows what some of his players will go through this weekend.
Nine members of the Mississippi State University baseball team are from the state of the Alabama. Those Bulldogs and Cohen, who is from Tuscaloosa, Ala., expect to see a lot of friends and family this weekend when MSU meets the University of Alabama for a three-game series. Game one will be at 6:35 tonight.
“If there’s something you always have to avoid doing from a mental standpoint (is) trying too hard because you recognize so many faces in the crowd,” Cohen said. “That was always the tough part for me, but our kids are mature, and this is a business trip for them and us as a group.”
Late-inning defensive replacement Sam Frost, from Hoover, Ala., is the only MSU position player who played in the previous MSU-Alabama series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
“You see that third-grade teacher or grandmother or whoever in the stands and you feel pressure to prove this is why I didn’t go to Alabama,” Cohen said. “Trust me, as a kid from Tuscaloosa, it’s a hard feeling to shake, but all we have to concentrate on is defeating a solid Alabama club this weekend.”
With two wins last weekend against the University of Mississippi, MSU captured its third consecutive SEC home series. The Bulldogs closed their April schedule by winning seven of their last eight games and climbing into a three-way tie for third place in the Southeastern Conference’s Western Division, They are one game out of second.
With nine league games remaining, MSU is in the thick of a tight race for a berth in the 10-team field for the SEC tournament May 22-27 in Hoover, Ala.
“We don’t speak to our kids about where we are in the SEC race or anything like that because none of that is something we can control,” Cohen said. “We can control how we react to Alabama’s Friday night starter, and that’s what we talk about.”
MSU returns five of the 10 pitchers who took the mound the last time it played in Tuscaloosa, Ala., including starting pitcher Chris Stratton and senior All-America closer Caleb Reed.
“When you’re asking players to do things in environments they’ve already seen, it’s 10 times as easier for them, especially on the mound,” Cohen said. “When you look at the size of that ballpark, it’s not dramatically different than ours, but it’s the way it plays, the way the wind travels, and Chris understands that. He’s pitched there before. That’s why I have so much confidence in our pitchers.”
The Bulldogs (27-17, 10-11 SEC) have a team ERA of 2.87 and could be well-stocked for a postseason run.
“I feel like if we do what we should do down the stretch and we get into a (NCAA) regional, I think we’re a very good team in a regional because we have pitching depth, and the quality of the stuff just continues to get better,” Cohen said.
Unlike MSU, Alabama (17-28, 6-15) will go with a pair of freshmen in their starting rotation. It will counter Stratton tonight with freshman right-hander Spencer Turnbull (2-3, 4.54). The rookie from Madison earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors this week after no-hitting two-time defending NCAA champ South Carolina for seven innings last week. A lightning storm halted the game and ended his seventh start of the year in a scoreless game.
MSU junior right-hander Kendall Graveman (3-3, 3.04) will face freshman left-hander Jon Keller (1-4, 4.37) at 2:05 p.m. Saturday.
MSU will be without sophomore outfielder C.T. Bradford. The 2011 Atlanta Regional MVP aggravated a shoulder injury Saturday when he collided with teammate Brent Brownlee in right-center field. He may need surgery to correct the injury. Cohen said this week the swelling and inflammation in Bradford’s shoulder hadn’t gone down and decisions about his future would have to be made. Bradford suffered a partially torn labrum in his right shoulder in March and sat out 16 days to recover.
In better injury news, first baseman Wes Rea, who was 0-for-8 against Ole Miss last weekend, is expected to start despite being limited this week in practice due to an ongoing nerve issue in his right arm. He and roommate Hunter Renfroe are expected to provide offensive production in a smaller ballpark that has little foul territory.
“I really believe Wes Rea and Hunter Renfroe have huge talent and their pitch selection skills aren’t there yet,” Cohen said. “That’s why in professional baseball they want you to have a number of at-bat before getting to the big leagues. Experience makes a huge difference.”
Both teams didn’t announce who would start the series finale at 1:05 p.m. Sunday.
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