Mississippi State Baseball Should Have A Rested Bullpen Against North Carolina
By Ethan Lee
The Mississippi State baseball team was efficient in its use of pitchers against the Washington Huskies
The Bulldogs did well against the Huskies on several fronts. Most importantly, MSU won 1-0. But, the second most important thing that the Mississippi State baseball team did in its opening win in Omaha was to keep its pitching staff fully available for the rest of the 2018 College World Series.
Gary Henderson’s team and his management allowed for the Bulldogs to get through game one with a huge win and without taking any damage to the bullpen. That could yield some rather important results when Mississippi State baseball faces off against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Monday.
Ethan Small was crucial in this.
Small gave the Mississippi State Bulldogs a real chance with his outing against the Huskies. In 7.0 innings, Small threw a little over 100 pitches, which means that he’s certainly out for Monday’s game against North Carolina. But nobody was counting on Small to be ready in that game. And his 7.0 innings allowed Henderson to keep his other pitchers fresh.
But Mississippi State did need its bullpen.
JP France, Cole Gordon, and Zach Neff all took the mound in a relief effort against the Huskies and all of them could be good to go again on Monday, depending on how they hold up. The trio of pitchers combined to throw a total of 31 pitches in 2.0 innings and hold Washington off the board.
None of them did anything too extensive or exhausting. And when one of them got into trouble, Henderson pulled him and moved on to the next pitcher.
When North Carolina played against Oregon State, the Tar Heels turned to five pitchers from its bullpen. Three of those five threw at least 25 pitches. All five combined for a total of 137 pitches against the Beavers.
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Mississippi State baseball might have something that resembles a solid advantage in this area now. The Bulldogs won’t have an easy road to victory when they play North Carolina on Monday. Still, every little bit certainly helps.