Starting hurlers shine for State before exiting
HOOVER, Ala. – Beyond ace Konnor Pilkington, Mississippi State's starting pitching has been in a state of flux all season long.
Now, after a pair of strong starts on Friday at the Southeastern Conference Tournament, the Bulldogs are feeling a little better about where they stand on the mound with a likely NCAA Regional looming next week.
Right-handers Cole Gordon and Jacob Billingsley both dominated their respective opponents on Friday before MSU ultimately lost both games and bowed out of the SEC Tournament.
Gordon was especially sharp. The Tampa, Florida, native shut down his home state's Florida Gators in the day's first game. Gordon nohit the Gators through four innings and went on to complete seven total frames in which he surrendered just one run on four hits.
“Cole Gordon was outstanding,” MSU head coach Andy Cannizaro said. “He threw seven shutout innings against one of the best teams in the country. He is a Tampa kid and what he did against the University of Florida was incredible. He had three pitches going for called strikes. He battled. He competed. He was awesome.”
Prior to Friday, Gordon had never pitched more than four innings in any game. His seven strikeouts also set a new career high.
Billingsley also had a strong day as he faced Arkansas later on Saturday. The righty tied a career high with five innings pitched. He allowed three runs and struck out five batters. It was just the fifth time in 26 career appearances that Billingsley struck out five or more in a game.
“Billingsley was outstanding and got us halfway through the ballgame,” Cannizaro said. “He did a great job of throwing his fastball and slider for strikes.”
Though the day ended with a pair of defeats and concluded State's run in the SEC Tournament, Cannizaro is optimistic Saturday's starts were a sign of better days to come this postseason.
“I thought there were some really good things,” Cannizaro said.
Florida ties record
Though Gordon was spectacular, all was not fine in MSU's game against Florida.
The Bulldogs led 3-0 entering the eighth inning before the Gators put together an 11-run inning against State's bullpen on the way to defeating MSU 12-3. The 11 runs Florida scored in the one inning tied the record for the most in a single inning in SEC Tournament history.
Counting Gordon, who only gave up a leadoff single in the disastrous eighth, six Bulldogs pitched in the frame. Spencer Price, Riley Self, Trey Jolly, Jacob Barton and Andrew Mahoney all made appearances.
Self especially found trouble. Pitching for the third day in a row, Self worked 2/3 of the inning and gave up three hits and five runs.
Prior to the frame, MSU's previ-
ous high for runs given up in an inning was 10. That came all the way back on Feb. 21 against Morehead State.
“We ran out of bullets,” Cannizaro said of the happenings against Florida. “That's what happened. It's just really disappointing.”
Rooker's struggles
Florida and Arkansas did on Friday what few teams have done all year – shut down SEC Player of the Year Brent Rooker.
Rooker was a combined 0-for-9 with three strikeouts over the course of the two games against Florida and Arkansas.
It was a stark contrast from Rooker's performances in recent days. Prior to Friday, Rooker had hit in six-straight games and was 14-for-24 with four doubles and a home run in that span.
Rooker pitches
Rooker likely won't remember the day for his offensive struggles.
In the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs against Arkansas, Rooker made his collegiate pitching debut.
He faced three batters and allowed a walk, a hit, a fly out and one run.
“He's been begging for the ball all season long,” Cannizaro said of Rooker. “I think everybody would agree he's earned the opportunity to go to the mound.
“Really I just wanted to help his Golden Spikes (Award) candidacy. Now everyone can talk about him being a two-way guy.”
Vansau shines
Designated hitter Hunter Vansau bounced back from a tough showing on Thursday to nearly be MSU's offensive hero against Florida Friday.
Vansau was 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in State's Thursday night win over Arkansas, but he rebounded with two big hits versus the Gators.
“Vansau picked up some tremendous, big base hits for us,” Cannizaro said. “He hit a lot of balls hard.”
Vansau ended the game against Florida 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and two RBI.
On deck
Mississippi State will learn its postseason fate on Monday. The NCAA will announce the field for the 2017 NCAA Tournament on Monday at 11 a.m.
The selection show will be broadcast live on ESPN2.