Lovelady valuable for MSU

Josh Lovelady has to be one of the toughest catchers in the Southeastern Conference.

The Mississippi State senior gets banged up and beat up every game, but never complains and keeps getting behind the plate to help his team.

In the battle of the Bulldogs series in Athens, Ga., last weekend, Lovelady went down to block a pitch on Saturday, then got struck in the head with a bat on the backswing of a Georgia hitter. He shook out the cobwebs and continued in the game.

Lovelady had reached base in the Sunday game and had to dive back into first base to keep from getting thrown out. He slammed into the bag awkwardly and could have suffered a serious injury.

After taking a few minutes of being checked out, Lovelady walked it off once again and stayed in the game once again. He's just a hard-nosed guy.

While discussing Lovelady with Starkville Daily News editor Ryan Phillips a couple of weeks ago, he already knew about the reputation of the Prattville, Ala., native. Ryan heard about Lovelady during his days as the Shelton State Community College catcher.

It doesn't take long by just watching Lovelady play that he has a strong passion for the game of baseball. He's going to do whatever it takes to win and pretty much said that last week.

“I'm there to be a warrior whether it's blocking the baseball with a runner at

third or knock in a run,” Lovelady said prior to the Georgia series. “Whatever it is, I'm trying to do whatever I can to help a win.”

It's really important for MSU to keep Lovelady as healthy as possible down the stretch of the season. He's really the only catcher the Bulldogs can depend on at this point.

Dustin Skelton has pinch hit in a game late and stayed in behind the plate and Tyler Stovall could probably be used in an emergency situation, but Lovelady is pretty much the

main guy with the gear on.

Lovelady, who had a base hit in Tuesday night's 10-8 come-from-behind victory over Troy, is a part of a small State senior class that includes Cody Brown and an injured Blake Smith.

They are set to be recognized on Thursday night prior to the first game of the LSU series.

The Bulldogs will also be saying goodbye to the current Dudy Noble Field, PolkDeMent Stadium, which had just three more regular season games remaining.

There may be postseason games still to be played at home this season if MSU

hosts a regional, but the Bulldogs are going to go ahead and celebrate the memories built over the years at what's been labeled the Carnegie Hall of college baseball.

Also with a Southeastern Conference championship still in its grasp, it should be a special time for MSU in Starkville over the next few days.

Danny P. Smith is the sports editor and columnist for The Starkville Daily News. The opinions in this column are his and Do not Necessarily reflect the views of the SDN or its staff.