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re: Official 2018 Mississippi State Baseball Thread (12-10 / 0-3)
Posted on 2/11/18 at 10:04 am to BobLeeDagger
Posted on 2/11/18 at 10:04 am to BobLeeDagger
Head Coach Andy Cannizaro
On where Luke Alexander and Hunter Stovall are at this point after getting a lot of reps in at SS during the fall…
"Both of those guys had outstanding falls playing Shortstop and I have a tremendous amount of confidence in both guys if they had to play short stop. I think at this point, with a lot of confidence, I can go on and say that Luke Alexander is going to be our starting shortstop and Hunter Stovall is going to be our starting second baseman. I think when you start talking about those two guys who have played for two years now in the SEC, that give us a great veteran presence and a lot of ability up the middle of the field that is really going to allow us to defend at an extremely high level again this season. With a lot confidence, I can tell you that Hunter Stovall is the best defensive second baseman in the SEC. Watching him turn double plays every day, watching his range laterally, he is able to come get the baseball extremely well. He is a guy that is continuing to get better and better each and every day out on the field. His at bats have been outstanding and he has really become a leader this year for the first time in our program. LA is a guy that is going to slide over from third to short this year. He is a guy that has lost five to ten pounds from a year ago. He is moving better. His range is better. I think he is a guy that is really going to do an outstanding job of defending at a really high level this year at shortstop for us."
On how close the competition is behind the plate...
"Each one of those guys have their days when they play really well, but for the most part, they are competing extremely hard each and every day. I think each one of them does something a little differently than the other guy does. Marshall Gilbert has really been playing good as of late. Swinging it really well. He has a chance to hit for some power. I think he has a chance to hit some homeruns this year. He is a guy who hit a lot of homeruns in junior college and he was a guy who hit a lot of homeruns in summer ball last year. He is a little bit bigger and stronger and more physical than Dustin, but in terms of a full length of a college baseball season, when you talk about a 56 regular season, an SEC tournament, a regional, a super-regional and an Omaha run, you might be talking about playing upwards of 70 plus games this year. So, you need two guys at that position to be able to play that many games. We have a lot of confidence in Marshall Gilbert and Dustin Skelton, but we are going to let it kind of play out this last week of the season, but I have a lot of confidence in both of those guys. Both of them are certainly going to play."
On who will be playing third base…
"Someone will definitely play third. We have several outstanding candidates over there. I think a guy that has played extremely well as of late, is a freshman, Tanner Allen from Mobile, Ala. He is an outstanding, young left-hand hitter. He is an extremely tough out each and every time he is at the plate. Tanner was an in fielder/out fielder in high school and in summer ball. He is a guy who has been working exclusively at third base these last couple of weeks. We feel with a lot of confidence that he is going to be able to play that position at a high level. We have another freshman by the name of Justin Foscue that is a big, strong physical kind of kid that can certainly play some third base as well. Another freshman, Rowdey Jordan, could certainly get some innings at third base as well. Although, I kind of think Rowdey is going to start the season playing left field for us. Just with his combination of speed and athleticism, being able to run balls down, down the line or in the gaps, I love the fact that he can run, take hits away in the outfield, being a switch hitter can certainly do some things offensively to create some runs and help us score. In terms of third base, I would say right now if we play tonight, I would probably play Tanner Allen at third base and feel really comfortable with him there and certainly him comfortable in the batter's box being able to do some damage at the plate for a young kid."
On where Luke Alexander and Hunter Stovall are at this point after getting a lot of reps in at SS during the fall…
"Both of those guys had outstanding falls playing Shortstop and I have a tremendous amount of confidence in both guys if they had to play short stop. I think at this point, with a lot of confidence, I can go on and say that Luke Alexander is going to be our starting shortstop and Hunter Stovall is going to be our starting second baseman. I think when you start talking about those two guys who have played for two years now in the SEC, that give us a great veteran presence and a lot of ability up the middle of the field that is really going to allow us to defend at an extremely high level again this season. With a lot confidence, I can tell you that Hunter Stovall is the best defensive second baseman in the SEC. Watching him turn double plays every day, watching his range laterally, he is able to come get the baseball extremely well. He is a guy that is continuing to get better and better each and every day out on the field. His at bats have been outstanding and he has really become a leader this year for the first time in our program. LA is a guy that is going to slide over from third to short this year. He is a guy that has lost five to ten pounds from a year ago. He is moving better. His range is better. I think he is a guy that is really going to do an outstanding job of defending at a really high level this year at shortstop for us."
On how close the competition is behind the plate...
"Each one of those guys have their days when they play really well, but for the most part, they are competing extremely hard each and every day. I think each one of them does something a little differently than the other guy does. Marshall Gilbert has really been playing good as of late. Swinging it really well. He has a chance to hit for some power. I think he has a chance to hit some homeruns this year. He is a guy who hit a lot of homeruns in junior college and he was a guy who hit a lot of homeruns in summer ball last year. He is a little bit bigger and stronger and more physical than Dustin, but in terms of a full length of a college baseball season, when you talk about a 56 regular season, an SEC tournament, a regional, a super-regional and an Omaha run, you might be talking about playing upwards of 70 plus games this year. So, you need two guys at that position to be able to play that many games. We have a lot of confidence in Marshall Gilbert and Dustin Skelton, but we are going to let it kind of play out this last week of the season, but I have a lot of confidence in both of those guys. Both of them are certainly going to play."
On who will be playing third base…
"Someone will definitely play third. We have several outstanding candidates over there. I think a guy that has played extremely well as of late, is a freshman, Tanner Allen from Mobile, Ala. He is an outstanding, young left-hand hitter. He is an extremely tough out each and every time he is at the plate. Tanner was an in fielder/out fielder in high school and in summer ball. He is a guy who has been working exclusively at third base these last couple of weeks. We feel with a lot of confidence that he is going to be able to play that position at a high level. We have another freshman by the name of Justin Foscue that is a big, strong physical kind of kid that can certainly play some third base as well. Another freshman, Rowdey Jordan, could certainly get some innings at third base as well. Although, I kind of think Rowdey is going to start the season playing left field for us. Just with his combination of speed and athleticism, being able to run balls down, down the line or in the gaps, I love the fact that he can run, take hits away in the outfield, being a switch hitter can certainly do some things offensively to create some runs and help us score. In terms of third base, I would say right now if we play tonight, I would probably play Tanner Allen at third base and feel really comfortable with him there and certainly him comfortable in the batter's box being able to do some damage at the plate for a young kid."
This post was edited on 2/11/18 at 10:05 am
1
Posted on 2/11/18 at 10:06 am to BobLeeDagger
Junior LHP Konnor Pilkington
On the mindset of the team
"We can be as good as we think we can be. This is a team that pushes each other. I see these guys every day, the work ethic and the confidence that this team has. It's not like it was the last two years. We had big-name guys come through here the last two years, but it's the confidence and the make-up of this team that gets us to the next level. We're going to take it one game at a time, one pitch at a time. With all that being said, you can't look at the big picture, you can't look at Omaha. You have to look at it as we're starting off in Hattiesburg that Friday night and go from there. We're going to take it one game at a time. Everybody has that mindset right now."
Junior OF Jake Mangum
On why he returned to MSU for his junior season
"[We have gone] 0-4 in super regionals. There was no way I was going to leave after that. We went 0-2 at home and then 0-2 on the road. I'm not ending on that. [Konnor Pilkington] will agree with me, that wasn't fun. We want to go to Omaha. That's all we have been doing since August: getting ready for that."
On the "Warriors" mantra of this year's squad
"That goes back to Coach Neal. Brian Neal, our strength and conditioning coach, has pushed us. It's the most that he's pushed us in my three years here. He has gotten the new guys mentally tougher since August and he has pushed us every day. [We've had] Tons of 6 a.m. workouts when it was literally freezing. He had us running outside and up hills, sliding down and running back up. It was a grind, but it goes back to him. He has gotten everyone mentally stronger. Our first home game is March 6th, but until then we're going to be ready to go on the road."
On freshman infielder Josh Hatcher
"[I like his] Mentality. I think the hardest thing to do as a freshman is being able to handle failure. Hatcher has that mentality where if he has a bad opening night, I know he's going to be able to go out there the next day and flush it. He'll still have good at bats. That says a lot about him for him to be able to do that as a freshman. He's produced when we've played squad games out in the field. He has always had that mindset, since I've met him. I think the most important time for a freshman is your Christmas break of your freshman year. It slows down a bit. In the fall, you're running around like your head is cut off just trying not to get yelled at. Christmas break as a freshman does a lot for you. It's the most you mature as a player and as a person. He came back ready to go. He knew he had a job that he could possibly win, and he's done that so far."
On the mindset of the team
"We can be as good as we think we can be. This is a team that pushes each other. I see these guys every day, the work ethic and the confidence that this team has. It's not like it was the last two years. We had big-name guys come through here the last two years, but it's the confidence and the make-up of this team that gets us to the next level. We're going to take it one game at a time, one pitch at a time. With all that being said, you can't look at the big picture, you can't look at Omaha. You have to look at it as we're starting off in Hattiesburg that Friday night and go from there. We're going to take it one game at a time. Everybody has that mindset right now."
Junior OF Jake Mangum
On why he returned to MSU for his junior season
"[We have gone] 0-4 in super regionals. There was no way I was going to leave after that. We went 0-2 at home and then 0-2 on the road. I'm not ending on that. [Konnor Pilkington] will agree with me, that wasn't fun. We want to go to Omaha. That's all we have been doing since August: getting ready for that."
On the "Warriors" mantra of this year's squad
"That goes back to Coach Neal. Brian Neal, our strength and conditioning coach, has pushed us. It's the most that he's pushed us in my three years here. He has gotten the new guys mentally tougher since August and he has pushed us every day. [We've had] Tons of 6 a.m. workouts when it was literally freezing. He had us running outside and up hills, sliding down and running back up. It was a grind, but it goes back to him. He has gotten everyone mentally stronger. Our first home game is March 6th, but until then we're going to be ready to go on the road."
On freshman infielder Josh Hatcher
"[I like his] Mentality. I think the hardest thing to do as a freshman is being able to handle failure. Hatcher has that mentality where if he has a bad opening night, I know he's going to be able to go out there the next day and flush it. He'll still have good at bats. That says a lot about him for him to be able to do that as a freshman. He's produced when we've played squad games out in the field. He has always had that mindset, since I've met him. I think the most important time for a freshman is your Christmas break of your freshman year. It slows down a bit. In the fall, you're running around like your head is cut off just trying not to get yelled at. Christmas break as a freshman does a lot for you. It's the most you mature as a player and as a person. He came back ready to go. He knew he had a job that he could possibly win, and he's done that so far."
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