STARKVILLE — Gavin Collins isn’t passing the blame.
The Mississippi State junior third baseman recognizes his defensive struggles. Collins, who is playing third base for the first time in his college career, has committed 17 errors and has a fielding percentage of .898.
One of the biggest miscues came against Texas A&M in Game 3 of the three-game Southeastern Conference series on April 17. Collins didn’t handle a routine ground ball that allowed Michael Barash to reach in the fifth inning. Barash scored one of two unearned runs in the game that MSU lost 10-5.
Despite the struggles, Collins has tried to be optimistic and to give his best effort.
“When you make an error in the field, you really want another one to make up for it,” Collins said.
Collins will try to have a good defensive showing this weekend when No. 6 national seed and No. 4 MSU (44-16-1) plays host to Arizona (42-21) at 5 p.m. Friday (ESPN2) and at 5 p.m. Saturday (ESPNU) in the best-of-three Starkville Super Regional at Dudy Noble Field. If needed, Game 3 will be at 5 p.m. Sunday (ESPN2 or ESPNU).
Collins didn’t have the best defensive effort early against Cal State Fullerton on Saturday in the Starkville Regional. He committed two errors, but the Titans couldn’t capitalize.
After the errors, starting pitcher Austin Sexton told him to forget about the mistakes and be ready for the next opportunity.
Collins was.
After Scott Hurst doubled to start the bottom of the sixth, Collins barehanded a sacrifice bunt by Jerrod Bravo and fired to second baseman John Holland, who was covering first base for the first out. With a 1-0 lead, MSU coach John Cohen decided to bring the infield in. Chris Hudgins hit a chopper that took Collins into foul territory. He handled the hop and threw to catcher Jack Kruger just in time to erase Bravo for the second out. The crowd of 10,656 at Dudy Noble Field fans rose to cheer and acknowledge the play.
“It was a good feeling,” Collins said. “It’s something to always find the positives out of games. You look at what you did wrong, the negatives, and learn from them. The positives kind of propel you and keep you going.”
Collins had five assists in the 4-1 win. The two errors appeared to fuel his defensive effort down the stretch.
“He still wanted the baseball,” Cohen said. “He made about four big league plays in a row. Most kids kind of shy away from the game when it’s not going your way defensively. He just kept attacking the baseball.”
The Lake Forest, California, native came to MSU in the fall of 2013 as a catcher. He earned All-Southeastern Conference freshman honors, but he suffered a hamate bone injury before his sophomore season. The injury forced him to miss 13 games. After having surgery, he didn’t participate in summer ball.
To protect his hand, Collins decided last fall to move from catcher to third base. He played the position at El Toro High School as a senior. He immediately began watching shortstop Ryan Gridley and second baseman John Holland because he respected them as defensive players. He even asked them for advice.
“I’ve come a long way,” Collins said. “I’m always asking those guys question, ‘What do I do in this certain situation? Give me some tips.’ Those guys have really helped me out along the way.”
Collins said Cohen also has worked tirelessly with him to improve at the position. While he has had his ups and downs in the field, Collins has remained consistent at the plate. With a .301 batting average, he is one of seven Bulldogs hitting .300 or better. He has scored 42 runs (tied for third), has 63 hits (fourth), 12 doubles (fifth), 10 home runs (first), 38 RBIs (fifth), 107 total bases (fourth), and slugging percentage (.512).
Collins hasn’t always had the best luck. One of his errors Saturday hit the where the grass meets the dirt and took a bad hop. The official scorer charged Collins with an error, but it wasn’t an easy play. There also have been times where he hasn’t fielded the routine ground ball, but he has made his fair share of the tough plays, like Saturday’s, look easy.
“I guess I’m just staying calm and knowing the runner still has to run all the way to first base,” Collins said about making the tough plays look easy. “The ball travels faster than the runner can run. I just take my time and catch ball, throw ball.”
MSU has committed 69 errors and has a team fielding percentage of .970. With Gridley and Holland up the middle, Nathaniel Lowe pulling down everything at first base, and Jacob Robson and Jake Mangum covering a lot of territory in the outfield, Collins is thankful he has teammates to pick up him up after a mistake.
“We’re so resilient, offensively and defensively,” Collins said. “When someone makes an error, one of our biggest attributes this season has been being able to eliminate that error and eliminate the big innings.”
n In related news, MSU junior right-hander Dakota Hudson and freshman outfielder Mangum and Ole Miss junior outfielder J.B. Woodman earned All-America honors, Baseball America announced Tuesday.
Hudson and Woodman were named to the second team, while Mangum to the third team.
Hudson was named a first team All-American by Collegiate Baseball last week. The USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalist is 9-4 with a 2.62 ERA and 109 strikeouts.
Mangum, who was named SEC Freshman of the Year, is tops in the SEC and fourth in the country with a .418 batting average. The Pearl native was the recipient of the 2016 C Spire Ferriss Trophy, an award given to the top collegiate baseball player in the state of Mississippi.
Woodman is the 23rd All-American in Ole Miss baseball history. One of three team captains, Woodman hit .323 and led the team in runs (53), RBIs (55), and slugging percentage (.578). He is the SEC’s home run leader with 14.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.