Mississippi State baseball started off regional play in emphatic fashion, racing past the 2-seed Northeastern Huskies in an 11-2 blowout victory to move into the winners' bracket. Among the biggest stories from the decisive win was the pitching performance from surprise starter Ben Davis.
The junior righty got the unexpected call to take the mound for the Bulldogs, and he put together a great outing, holding Northeastern to just one earned run (two total) in 5.0 innings of work. He allowed just one baserunner across his final three innings.
Justin Parker's decision to go with Davis paid off in a big way, and the thought was that State would then have their entire weekend rotation, including ace Pico Kohn, available for the remainder of the regional. They would be able to throw their top arm in the winners' bracket matchup against host Florida State.
But following the game, Parker revealed that he started Davis for "health-related" reasons and no starter was set for Saturday, suggesting that one of their top options was dealing some some health issue. Many, understandably, assumed Parker was referring to typical Friday starter Pico Kohn, as there was no question that he'd have started one of State's first two games.
If Kohn didn't start against Northeastern and a starter wasn't set against Florida State, it's fairly clear there were concerns about his availability for the regional. So who was ultimately going to be on the bump for the Bulldogs? We got our answer Saturday morning.
Pico Kohn to pitch against Florida State
After sweating Pico Kohn's availability overnight, Mississippi State fans can breath a sign of relief. Officially, Kohn will take the mound for the Diamond Dawgs against Florida State Saturday night. Whatever concerns there were have passed.
In 14 starts this season, Pico Kohn is 5-3 with a 4.13 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He's averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game while allowing just 25 walks the entire season. He's been prone to giving up some hard hit balls, but overall, it's been a good year for him.
MSU will need him at his best Saturday night. The Seminoles have a dangerous lineup, and they've got a potential Top 5 pick taking the mound in Jamie Arnold. If the Diamond Dawgs are to stay perfect in Tallahassee, Kohn needs to outclass Arnold.