STARKVILLE — This season is all about stability for Mississippi State senior outfielder Elijah MacNamee.
Construction at Dudy Noble Field meant last season’s squad couldn’t practice in its ballpark. Once the season started, a coaching change three games into the campaign muddied the waters even more.
Now, the Bulldogs are stable again and are eyeing a return trip to Omaha and the College World Series.
New coach Chris Lemonis will make his debut at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, against Youngstown State.
“We will be a much better prepared team this year,” MacNamee said. “A year ago, we were clearly not ready when we played at Southern Miss. It’s just night-and-day difference, being able to go through a fall in your own park. Getting the proper reps in and growing together as a team.”
After a three-game sweep at Southern Mississippi, Andy Cannizaro resigned and was replaced by interim coach Gary Henderson, who led the Bulldogs back to the College World Series for the first time since 2013. After a 14-15 mark in the first half of the season, the team rallied to be one of the final four standing at TD Ameritrade Park.
“The biggest thing is starting strong, being the team we want to be from the beginning of the season and not starting in late March,” MSU senior outfielder Jake Mangum said. “We are light years ahead of where we were a year ago at this time. Just having everybody on the field together, as one, practicing this whole time. There is some unfinished business.”
As the program inches closer to a first national championship, Mangum said the team can relish last season’s unlikely run but needs to understand there is more work to be done.
“My first two years here, were 0-2 in super regionals,” Mangum said. “That makes you want to go back and do more. Last year, you go to Omaha but you don’t win the championship. The goal is to win the national championship. We aren’t going to back down from that. Anything less than that will bring some type of disappointment until it gets done.”
Lemonis comes to MSU after four seasons as coach at Indiana. He said the situation he inherited here was similar.
“At Indiana, the program had recently gone to Omaha,” Lemonis said. “It’s more of the same here. We aren’t building here. We are trying to continue, maintain a very strong, national program. We are going to keep pushing for that national championship. In this particular setting, we are blessed to have some seniors who have been around the program a lot.
“I have leaned on Jake (Mangum) a lot. He knows the feeling of everybody in the room. It helps to have that veteran presence. It also helps that your All-American is out there giving his everything like it is his first day. The younger players see that and want to be that way.”
Lemonis also said the team will benefit from a full fall and early winter practices in their stadium. He said the team will have one of the best defensive outfields in the country with MacNamee and Mangum leading the way. Rowdey Jordan has moved from the infield and figures to be the other starter.
“I pretty much text Jake every day. We talk about everything from the direction in the ballpark to how well the ball carries,” Lemonis said. “It’s a learning experience for all of us. Our stadium will be the nicest in the country. It will be a huge asset for this program going forward.”
While the Bulldogs needed time to learn the stadium, the same can be said for the coaching staff. Assistant coach Jake Gautreau is the only holdover from last year’s staff. Scott Foxhall is the new pitching coach. Kyle Cheesebrough (camps coordinator / volunteer assistant), Roger Rodeheaver (coordinator of baseball operations), and Tyler Younger (coordinator of player development) round out the staff.
“It took us a couple of months to get comfortable with (the new staff),” MacNamee said. “After a couple of months, coach Lemonis started cracking jokes with us. He really is a wise guy, with a great sense of humor. Once he loosened up a little bit and the players knew what to expect from him, well after that, I knew we were going to have a great season.”
NOTES: Lemonis said junior left-hander Ethan Small has the only set spot in the weekend rotation. Small will pitch on Friday nights for the Bulldogs. He said five or six pitchers are in the mix for the other two starting spots, and that those spots will be resolved in scrimmages in the next couple of weeks. … Junior right-hander Spencer Price is 100 percent after undergoing Tommy John surgery last season. Lemonis said Price mostly likely will be the team’s closer, but will be used sparingly in the first month to have him fresher for the end of the year. Junior right-hander Riley Self also will close some. Graduate student right-hander Cole Gordon also will pitch in the back end of the bullpen. Lemonis said the biggest challenge in the weeks ahead is finding a left-hander out of the bullpen for late-game situations. … After losing shortstop Luke Alexander and second baseman Hunter Stovall off last year’s team, the middle infield spots remain the team’s biggest question marks. Lemonis said sophomore Jordan Westburg is the front-runner at shortstop. Lemonis said Westburg impressed with his production at the plate in fall drills. Second base is uncertain, with junior college transfer Gunner Halter being the most likely choice. Lemonis also said sophomore Tanner Allen has seen practice time at all four infield spots. … The catching competition is projected to go to opening day. Junior Dustin Skelton is the front-runner. However, Lemonis said he likes to play multiple catchers, so senior Marshall Gilbert and freshmen Hayden Jones and Luke Hancock should see playing time. … The completed Dudy Noble Field was open to spectators for the first time with the outfield available for Saturday’s scrimmage. Most of the stadium is still listed as a construction zone and finishing touches are being completed. Fan Day is set for 3-5 p.m. on Feb. 9 at the Palmeiro Center. … Mangum hit a home run to left field batting right-handed Saturday in the team’s scrimmage, which ended tied at 1 after five innings.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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