Bulldogs may have to win four games in two days to capture regional
Bulldogs will have to win four games in two days to capture regional crown
HATTIESBURG – It only took a half of an inning for Andy Cannizaro’s decision on the mound for Friday to become a topic of scrutiny among those watching Mississippi State and South Alabama.
When Cole Gordon gave up a three-spot to the Jaguars in a game that he would throw just two innings and lose, the benefit of hindsight came into play. What if the Bulldogs would have thrown ace Konnor Pilkington in game one?
For Cannizaro, he had no secondguessing. He felt it was still the right decision even though the end result was a loss for the Bulldogs.
“Cole Gordon had been pitching extremely well his last four or five outings and our team had the utmost confidence in Cole,” Cannizaro said. “In order to win this tournament, you have to have outstanding starting pitching and I felt like we had two guys that had been pitching extremely well.
“We felt like Cole Gordon matched up extremely well with (South Alabama). He just didn’t do it (Friday). We’re going to see if we can continue to win ball games this tournament and see if we can hang around a little bit. Hopefully we can play long enough to get him back on the mound in this tournament in some capacity.”
While South Alabama slugged two home runs on their way to a 6-3 win that sent MSU (36-25) down to the loser’s bracket, the Bulldogs’ next matchup will present some different challenges.
Illinois Chicago (39-16) may be the No. 4 seed in the regional, but the Flames are anything but a cupcake. The Horizon League champion is at the top of the country in pitching and defense holding a 2.60 earned run average for the year as a staff.
They also showcased their offense on Friday when they put a scare into host Southern Miss before losing 8-7 in game one. With the pitching and hitting capabilities alike, it makes for a dangerous matchup that will have Bulldog ace Konnor Pilkington (7-5, 3.13) on the mound.
“He’s going to throw his fastball over the plate,” Cannizaro said of Pilkington. “His breaking ball and changeup have gotten better as the season has progressed. He’s our best starting pitcher and we expect him to come out and pitch a very mature game.”
What’s added another wrench into the Bulldogs’ gameplan with their already-short pitching staff was weather on Saturday. The entire day was wiped out because of heavy rainfall now scheduling three games today weather permitting.
For MSU to win the whole regional, it’s likely going to have to win four games in just two days. To do that, they have to win game one today at 10 a.m. and Pilkington heads to the mound with confidence.
The sophomore lefty is coming off quite possibly his best outing of the year. He threw eight innings with six strikeouts against Georgia in the Southeastern Conference Tournament and has seen his production increase as the year has gone on to make himself a true ace in the SEC.
“It boosts my confidence a lot being able to locate my pitches better,” Pilkington said. “We have six or seven guys that we know we can roll out there at any point in the game. We’re going to go from there and if that doesn’t work, we have to deal with it. I’m going to go as long as I can and give it all I’ve got.”
State’s arms and bats are going to have to be as good as it has all season over the next two days to continue the year. The offense has been held short of five runs in five-straight games and the bullpen has officially run out of gas.
If Cannizaro and his Bulldogs have stated anything this season, though, it’s to never count them out when they’re presumed dead.
“Our backs are against the proverbial wall and the season is on the line,” Cannizaro said. “I expect our guys to come out and play better (Sunday). I know we’ll come out and they’ll put it on the line to make UIC beat us.”