STARKVILLE — As of Wednesday afternoon, Mississippi State baseball coach Andy Cannizaro didn’t know who was going to start the final game of this weekend’s three-game series against Oregon.
The doubt had nothing to do with that final spot in the starting rotation.
“Everything we’re going to do this weekend has the full priority of strengthening that bullpen,” Cannizaro said.
Injuries and recent ninth-inning struggles have led Cannizaro to focus on his bullpen as MSU (6-3) enters its first traditional three-game weekend series of the season. The series at Oregon, which begins Friday night, is MSU’s only non-conference road series prior to the start of Southeastern Conference play in two weeks at Arkansas.
“We have to find guys that can pitch at the end of the ballgame,” Cannizaro said. “I have the utmost confidence in Riley Self. I have the utmost confidence in Spencer Price. We have to find more guys than that that can pitch in the back end of ballgames.”
Two potential options have suffered injuries. Senior Blake Smith has an elbow injury, according to Cannizaro, and won’t be available against Oregon. He said Tuesday the team would know more about Smith’s status after it reviewed his MRI.
Ryan Rigby also is battling a groin injury Cannizaro said plagued him throughout the fall. Cannizaro said Rigby pitched well in his only appearance — a two-inning outing out of the bullpen Feb. 18 against Western Illinois — but could barely walk the next morning. Cannizaro didn’t say he was unavailable this weekend.
MSU has allowed 21 ninth-inning runs compared to 25 ninth-inning runs all of last season.
“It’s really important to develop some other guys so we don’t have to keep going to Riley Self or Spencer Price every time we have the lead,” Cannizaro said.
Morehead State scored 10 runs on Feb. 21 to rally for a 13-8 win 13-8. Two days earlier, MSU allowed four runs in the top of the ninth to Western Illinois before it won 10-9 in extra innings on a Brent Rooker single. MSU also gave up six ninth-inning runs to Indiana State in a win last Friday.
One potential solution is Graham Ashcraft, who started and threw nine innings in the first two weekends.
“Him not starting Friday or Saturday is zero indication on what he has done, it’s more of a promotion for him to where I have the confidence in Graham that I know I can bring him out of the bullpen and shorten the game on a Friday or Saturday,” Cannizaro said.
In the preseason, Ashcraft separated himself as one of few on the staff with elite velocity. Cannizaro even teased the possibility of bringing Ashcraft out of the bullpen in front of a large crowd to see if the adrenaline could get Ashcraft’s fastball as high as 97 or 98 mph.
Ashcraft said he didn’t know how hard he could throw his fastball in a bullpen scenario because he always has been a starter, but he downplayed the difference in preparation for the two roles.
“It’s just the same thing I always do, go out there and try to pound the zone,” Ashcraft said. “I think coming out of the pen might give me more of rush, not trying to go out there and last the whole game. Stuff may be a little more live. I don’t know how it is. I haven’t done it yet.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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