STARKVILLE — Zac Houston’s performance last week was an eye-opener.
In front of a large crowd in Hoover, Alabama, at the Southeastern Conference tournament, the Mississippi State baseball right-handed pitcher recorded 26 outs before Alabama was able to push a run across. Houston began the season as a starter, but because of struggles, he was moved back to the bullpen.
After working with pitching coach Wes Johnson, Houston and Johnson approached coach John Cohen about letting Houston take the mound to begin the SEC tournament.
“I really hadn’t thrown as much as I’d like to have this season,” Houston said. “I pitch better when I’ve got a chip on my shoulder, when I’m trying to prove something. I wanted the ball and I told them that. They gave me that opportunity and I ran with that.”
Houston and top-seeded MSU play fourth-seeded Southeast Missouri State at 1:30 p.m. today (ESPN3) in the first game of the Starkville Regional as part of the NCAA tournament. Neither team has announced a starting pitcher.
MSU enters the tournament with a No. 6 national seed — the first in program history.
Houston (5-0, 1.93 ERA) threw a career-high 8-2/3 innings against the Crimson Tide, giving up one run on four hits as the Bulldogs won 4-1. He recorded five strikeouts and didn’t issue a walk. Houston’s longest prior appearance was six innings against Nicholls State Feb. 28.
He got the start against Louisiana-Monroe April 20 and threw two innings before being lifted. He allowed one hit, no walks and struck out two. He started against Troy May 11, but threw one inning and gave up two walks and one hit.
Johnson decided to tweak a couple of mechanics with Houston.
“I’ve really been working on shortening up on the backside and getting his timing with his front leg,” Johnson said. “We’ve thrown some really long bullpens.”
Many of the bullpen sessions lasted 80 pitches and that was what built up the stamina that Houston was able to rely on in Hoover.
Johnson said Houston is aware of the mechanical adjustment and he can see them paying dividends on the mound. Although Johnson hasn’t gotten Houston 100 percent corrected, the progress is more than enough for Johnson and Cohen to trust him in a big game this weekend.
“We just kind of worked on staying behind the baseball,” Houston said. “We tweaked a couple of things with my off-speed that really helped me throw harder with more spin.
“I was able to stay on my back leg longer, get through the ball longer, which allowed me to kind of stay behind the baseball instead of getting off on the side and cutting it.”
Johnson said he will continue to push Houston with a constant work ethic.
The Poplarville native has the build at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds and the stuff with a fastball that has topped out at 96 miles per hour to be a dominant force on the mound. Johnson said it was about harnessing his physical abilities and his pitching tools and making him more accurate. Johnson had to overcome 15 years of Houston pitching without much guidance. It was tough, but Johnson saw real potential there.
Aiding in Houston’s development was his ability to watch junior right-handers Dakota Hudson and Austin Sexton. Hudson, the ace, burst onto the scene and is expected to be a first round draft pick in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft next week. Sexton has been steady this season and understands his limitations and uses his changeup quite a bit.
Houston is more like Hudson, both being power arms. Although he knows his style is different from Hudson and Sexton’s he does try to emulate them in ways.
“I watched them every game, I’d watch what they do and I’d watch their confidence and that was big for me,” Houston said. “Seeing them go out there and throw complete games and go really deep into games, that’s what I saw myself doing. I kind of modeled myself after them.”
His performance last week not only gets him more consideration to be a starter this weekend, it also showed professional scouts what he is capable of. Houston will more than likely hear his name called in the draft. He knows that, but his focus is MSU and getting to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
“We’ve still got a lot of baseball to play,” Houston said. “If I’m thinking about that it’s kind of hard to stay focused on this.”
With the highs and lows Houston has experienced, they haven’t bothered him. He said he is not emotional and takes things as they come. He tries to let the lows roll of his back.
That’s a good attitude to have and one that will serve him well. But after his near complete game, he is self-assured.
“It feels great. You keep building confidence the deeper you go,” Houston said.
n In other baseball news, MSU’s Hudson and junior first baseman Nathaniel Lowe were named second team All-Americans by Louisville Slugger, Collegiate Baseball announced Thursday.
Hudson, a semifinalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, is 9-4 with a 2.35 ERA. The All-SEC selection struck out 107 in 103-1/3 innings.
Lowe, a St. Johns River (Fla.) State College transfer, is batting .355 with a team-high 81 hits, 20 doubles and 48 RBIs.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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