Bulldogs set to move on after losing pair
MSU plans to shake off being swept Saturday
One bad day doesn't define a season.
That's the message Mississippi State head coach Andy Cannizaro preached to his team in the moments following Saturday's two losses in which Auburn swept a doubleheader from MSU and claimed the weekend series.
“It's just one day,” Cannizaro said. “That's exactly what I told our guys. At the end of the day, let's not lose the fact that we beat Auburn (Friday). (Saturday) was just one day at the ballpark that didn't go our way. When the weekend ends, we're going to be tied for first place in the SEC.”
The Bulldogs, Tigers and Kentucky Wildcats are now all tied for the league lead with identical 14-7 Southeastern Conference records. Kentucky made it a trio at the top after defeating South Carolina 9-4 on Sunday.
Following Friday's series opener, it looked like MSU might exit the weekend in an even better spot.
Behind seven strong innings on the mound from Konnor Pilkington, Mississippi State beat Auburn 5-2 on Friday. Things went downhill for the Bulldogs from there though as the Tigers claimed 17-8 and 5-3 victories on Saturday.
Some might look at Saturday as the day the wheels fell off for MSU. State slugger Brent Rooker looks at it as another opportunity for the youthful Bulldogs to continue to grow and improve.
“It's kind of introducing young guys to what the SEC is,” Rooker said. “You come off a big sweep (over Alabama) last weekend, but then you have the No. 5 team coming into town. You lose this series, but now you have to go to Texas A&M next weekend, (which is) a really
tough place to play against a really good team. This league never stops. The competition never stops. It's just learning to try and weather the highs and lows with an even-keel mentality. Never get too high. Never get too low. Just keep working and grinding throughout the whole season. It really is a test of ability and endurance because every single team you play is as good as there are in this league.”
Cannizaro carries a similar mindset to Rooker.
“The whole weekend isn't lost,” Cannizaro said. “We beat (Auburn's) ace on Friday night in the SEC. We were able to win one game. We just need to use (Saturday) as a learning experience for our club. We need to say, ‘Hey, when we're winning, these are the things we are doing well. When we lose, these are the things that we don't
do well.' It's just about continuing to keep getting better and continuing to make improvements.”
Three tough series still await MSU in the regular season in its quest to repeat as SEC champions. The Bulldogs travel to Texas A&M and Georgia the next two weeks, then they host LSU to close out the regular slate.
MSU now enters that stretch having experienced the lows of the Auburn series, but Cannizaro is quick to point out his club may have been down for one day, but they're nowhere near out.
“There wasn't anybody under the sun that thought we'd be tied for first place after seven weeks in the SEC,” Cannizaro said. “At the end of this seventh weekend though, we're tied for first place in the SEC, which is pretty dang cool to me.”