STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball coach John Cohen is seeing some similarities with this year’s team to a team from the past.
Cohen feels like the 2016 club is a lot like the 2013 team that finished as the national runner-up to UCLA in the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. He feels this way mainly because of the team chemistry.
“They’re really relaxed and loose, they have fun being around each other and they have fun practicing,” Cohen said. “Not every group in the country has fun when they’re practicing and this group does and it’s really important.”
Top-seeded and No. 6 national seed MSU (41-16-1) plays fourth-seeded Southeast Missouri State (39-19) at 1:30 p.m. today (ESPN3) in the Starkville Regional as part of the NCAA tournament.
After winning the Southeastern Conference regular-season title and going 1-2 in the conference tournament last week, Cohen feels like his team is ready to compete and begin the journey back to Omaha. Playing in the SEC has given Cohen confidence his team will be ready for the grind a regional presents.
MSU and SEMO were originally scheduled for 6:30 p.m., but Cohen decided to play the early game to give his team the best chance of winning the regional. It is expected to be around 86 degrees at first pitch. The No. 4 Bulldogs have practiced midday every day this week in preparation.
Junior first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who played at St. Johns River (Fla.) State College last year, says it hasn’t been that bad and the team is enjoying the preparation.
“We have heat just like this with humidity four times worse in Florida, so I’m kind of used to it,” Lowe said. “Getting out there in the middle of the day gives us a bit of an edge over the guys from different parts of the country who may not have seen weather like this before.”
Confident Titans
California State University at Fullerton is no stranger to winning postseason games on the road.
Last season, Cal State Fullerton won a super regional at Louisville to advance to the College World Series. That gives the Titans some confidence.
“You shouldn’t be playing if you’re not confident that you can compete at this level,” coach Rick Vanderhook said. “We have some guys that have been in an environment, not similar to this. You can’t play in an environment similar to this unless you’ve played at LSU or Mississippi State before. You can’t replicate it. Hopefully we can handle the situation.”
Second-seeded and No. 21 Cal State Fullerton (35-21) plays third-seeded Louisiana Tech (40-18) at 6:30 p.m. today (ESPN3). Cal State Fullerton hasn’t announced a starter, while Louisiana Tech will go with junior left-hander Phillip Diehl (5-5, 4.70 ERA).
Vanderhook was an assistant on the 1988 Cal State Fullerton squad that won the South Regional at Dudy Noble Field. Cal State Fullerton beat MSU twice before taking down Texas A&M in the final to advance to the College World Series.
The only thing Vanderhook really remembers from that regional is the Left Field Lounge. He knows the environment his outfielders, and his whole team for that matter, will face.
“They’re going to get hated while they’re on the field,” Vanderhook said. “I’ve warned my left fielder, centerfielder and right fielder, ‘You’re going to have to be able to handle some bullets and you’re going to have to tune some things out that’s part of competitive athletics.'”
Swinging Tech
Louisiana Tech coach Greg Goff joked that his confidence in his offense went down when he saw Cal State Fullerton’s team ERA.
The Titans lead the NCAA with a 2.21 team ERA. However, Louisiana Tech has faced some good pitchers in the last month and fared well.
But Goff wants his batters to be wary of Dudy Noble Field.
“The field’s a lot bigger than it was down in Hattiesburg (last week at the Conference USA tournament), so we’re going to have to get back to being hard on top and try to use the gaps more,” Goff said. “If we try to lift in this ballpark, it will be a long day for us.”
The Bulldogs are batting .293 and went 24-8 down the stretch to finish fifth in Conference USA.
Raphael Gladu leads the Bulldogs with a .365 batting average, while Sean Ullrich is second with a .333 batting average. But Louisiana Tech goes as junior Chase Lunceford goes. The Clinton native and Hinds Community College transfer is batting .325 with a team-high 62 hits, 11 home runs and 49 RBIs.
“He’s so good because he doesn’t think very much,” Goff said. “He’s just one of those hitters. It’s amazing what he’s really done, especially the last part of the year. He’s really carried us. He’s a really confident kid and has really had some breaks go his way. When he steps into the box, you can tell our team and everybody is kind of waiting for something to happen. He’s just been that electric.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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