STARKVILLE — The running game is one of the many things the Mississippi State University baseball team has taken special pride in since John Cohen became head coach.
That running game and situational execution failed MSU on Saturday in a 4-3 loss to Vanderbilt University in 12 innings.
Cohen counted five situations in which MSU (19-12, 4-7 Southeastern Conference) swung and missed on 3-1 pitches with runners on base. The inability to put the baseball in play led to the Bulldogs being 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Even though MSU had two players get caught stealing at second base by a large margin, Cohen refused to say his philosophy doesn’t work in one of the nation’s best baseball leagues.
“You know you’re going to get a fastball in a 3-1 count and if the pitch is out of the zone, you take your walk,” Cohen said. “It’s not that difficult and it’s something we’ll do every time because you have to put pressure on the pitcher and the defense. You just have to.”
In the fifth inning, freshman second baseman Phillip Casey missed a 3-1 fastball from starting pitcher Tyler Beede, which allowed catcher Spencer Navin to throw out designated hitter Daryl Norris by at least four steps at second base. Norris had just reached base with the Bulldogs’ first hit against Beede.
“We didn’t execute any of the hit and runs or stuff where we try to put guys in motion well at all today,” MSU sophomore outfielder Hunter Renfroe said. “We just haven’t gotten the hits we need in key situations to turn this around. We talk about it but we never do it.”
Norris is nursing a severe kneecap injury, and Cohen said after the game there’s no way he would have the 226-pound infielder trying to steal without two healthy legs.
Cohen immediately replaced Casey, who struck out looking on the next pitch, with freshman Matthew Britton.
“That’s a hit-and-run there and Phillip will one day learn how to execute in that situation, but he’s just not there yet,” Cohen said.
In the 10th, no one wearing a MSU uniform seemed to understand what was happening. In another count, MSU outfielder C.T. Bradford, who already had cost his team a run with two errors on one play in the sixth, swung and missed at a breaking ball out of the strike zone. Sophomore Demarcus Henderson, who was pinch running for catcher Mitch Slauter, took off from first base but pulled up when he didn’t see contact and was thrown out by at least two steps.
“They’re not hit-and-runs because at 3-1 you can take the pitch. That’s the luxury,” Cohen said. “What you’re doing there if you have experienced hitters that know what you’re doing there, you’re forcing the pitcher to hurry his delivery because he knows you’re running.”
Cohen executes what is seemingly a risky move because it allows a runner on first base to potentially score on a hit in the outfield because the runner is off after the pitch.
“What is happening with our lineup is they’re unable to take these concepts and do them in a game,” Cohen said. “That’s my job, and we have to do that to win baseball games.”
Beede showcases first round stuff in Starkville
The Bulldogs couldn’t touch an 18-year-old pitcher who already should be a multi-millionaire.
Tyler Beede, the 21st pick in the first round by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft, turned down $2.5 million to honor his commitment to Vanderbilt University. MSU fans would much rather the 6-foot-4 prospect be working his way to Double-A instead of pitching in the Southeastern Conference.
Beede had hitters out in front all afternoon with a dominating changeup that fooled the Bulldogs even when the freshman right-hander was behind in counts.
“He’s the first guy to throw that with confidence behind in counts,” Renfroe said. “When somebody is that good and they’re on like that, you take what he gives you and today that wasn’t much.”
Throwing from a high three-quarters arm slot, Beede touched 95 mph with his fastball and didn’t use a developing slider MLB scouts want to see before he’s draft eligible in two and a half years.
“His bread and butter is his changeup, and he’s getting used to pitching with his fastball more,” pitching coach Derek Johnson told Baseball America. “Once he does that, his velocity will spike. I’m not worried about his velocity. I thought the breaking ball was just a very average third pitch when he got to us, but I think it’s a much more usable pitch now. It’s a true curveball; he’s worked hard on it. He’s got everything but experience.”
After getting his first SEC win last weekend against the University of South Carolina, Beede dominated for six innings, allowing just one run on two hits in an 84-pitch, no-decision effort. He didn’t allow a hit until the fifth, and the Bulldogs hit just four baseballs out of the infield.
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