HOOVER, Ala. — The training staff for the Mississippi State University baseball team has to get to work as soon as possible.
For the Bulldogs (36-22) to make a run similar to what they accomplished last season, junior right-hander Kendall Graveman has to be healthy. His past two outings against the University of Kentucky suggests something is wrong with Graveman.
On Thursday, a groin injury limited Graveman to 2 1/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season, in a 5-1 loss to Kentucky on day three of the Southeastern Conference tournament at Regions Park.
“We now must focus on getting that young man healthy for an NCAA Regional because clearly we’re going to need him if we’re going to advance,” MSU coach John Cohen said.
Graveman (4-4) allowed five hits and two runs. He struck out one and walked none. The performance came on the heels of a 3 2/3-inning effort Friday in a no-decision against the Wildcats in Starkville. After that game, Cohen first suggested Graveman’s groin injury was a problem. The injury is even more problematic because the Alexander City, Ala., native needs to use his legs to drive off the mound to get power sink on all of his three pitches. Graveman hasn’t been able to do that in each of his past two starts, which has allowed Kentucky (43-15) to lift hits deep into the outfield in each of the first three innings.
Cohen has been unclear about when or how Graveman, who leads the team in starts (14) and is second on the team in innings (84), suffered the injury that has hampered his ability to throw bullpen sessions in normal week-long preparation before starts.
Graveman, who was unavailable to the media after the game, will get treatment on his injury throughout the week. He still is likely to be a key member of MSU’s rotation as it prepares to play in the NCAA tournament. The NCAA will announce its 64-team bracket and eight national seeds at 11 a.m. Monday (ESPNU).
With a second game of an NCAA Regional slated for June 2, Graveman likely will have eight days until he pitches again. However, with MSU likely to receive a two-seed in a four-team regional, MSU ace Chris Stratton likely will pitch in the first game, meaning Graveman could be needed against a top-seed in its ballpark or in an elimination game if the Bulldogs lose the opener.
Gausman cements top five overall status in 2012 MLB draft with win
There’s little doubt as to why LSU right-hander Kevin Gausman is
considered a top five pick in the upcoming Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft.
If there were any doubters in the stands Thursday at Regions Park, the
Tigers’ 21-year-old eliminated them by earning his 10th win of the season in a 11-2 victory against the University of Mississippi in an elimination game.
Gausman struck out the final batter of the inning in the first three frames. He also had seven strikeouts to take the SEC strikeout lead back from Stratton. He now has 125, which is third in the nation.
Gausman, who has started on Friday nights all season, also earned his 10th win, which is second in the SEC behind Stratton (11) and is tied for fourth in the nation. In 15 starts, Gausman has pitched at least seven innings or more nine times.
“When Kevin Gausman gets the ball you like your chances,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “What you have to guard against is you can’t take it for granted. Kevin has great stuff and deserves all of the accolades he gets just based on his ability.”
LSU (43-15) will face MSU at 3 p.m. today in the quarterfinals. The loser will be eliminated.
“He is a different pitcher this year,” Mainieri said. “He has this innate ability to raise his game to a different level when he needs to. That is what gave me the confidence that we could win this ball game. We just needed to give him some runs and play defense behind him.”
With a fastball consistently touching 96 mph, the 21-year-old Gausman (10-1) limited the Rebels to two runs on seven hits in seven innings. He walked one.
“I really like the way we approached the ballgame today after yesterday’s loss (to Mississippi State),” Mainieri said. “There was no sulking and no one was hanging their head. We came to the park with a lot of energy and a determination to extend our stay here. We love playing in Hoover, and we’d like to stay here for as long as possible.”
Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco, who has coached starting pitchers Lance Lynn and Drew Pomeranz who are in the majors, left the tournament convinced he’d seen another eventual professional.
“He’s as good as anybody we’ve seen,” Bianco said. “(Chris) Stratton is terrific and has had a terrific year, but Gausman’s fastball’s just explosive. It’s tough to catch up to. I thought today his offspeed stuff was terrific. A guy that has that kind of fastball and lives in the strike zone on both sides of the plate is tremendous. I think his upside’s huge. He’s going to pitch in the big leagues. No doubt about it.”
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