2021 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

June 22, 2021

Chris Lemonis

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Postgame Press Conference

Mississippi State - 6, Virginia - 5

COACH LEMONIS: Crazy college baseball game. That's typical baseball. You gotta tip your hat. I thought their guy was for six, seven innings as good as a pitcher we've faced in the last couple of years. It was electric. We couldn't get on it.

Then we have a great at-bat by Scotty Dubrule and Kellum Clark gets us going. We talked to the team about it's hard to get the last outs in Omaha, and just to keep fighting, keep fighting, get something going, and we were able to do that. We've been fortunate all year, our best hitter comes to the plate and he gets the big hit again. A fun night for us.

Q. I know you had to take a minute to dial it back a little bit. But the emotions of that big inning, when Kellum hits the tank to right-center, I know that kind of gives you a lift, but what was that moment like in the dugout before that when you were trying to get them locked and keep fighting?

COACH LEMONIS: We pulled together that inning. And we talked about -- because the older kids knew; it felt very similar to the Auburn game in '19, where Auburn had beat us all day long, and we got something going late.

So, we just challenged them to keep playing, stay resilient. And the things that we preach all year and the things this club is. We've won so many late games just because we won't stop playing and won't stop fighting. Unbelievable job by the guys.

Q. You quipped the other night that you asked Tanner Allen when he was going to start helping the team. Would you have asked for anybody else to help in that situation, in the eighth inning?

COACH LEMONIS: Besides Rowdey, Tanner's the guy I would want at the plate. He's sitting right here, so I already gave him a compliment. As I said earlier, it seems to be when the game's on the line we have a way to get him at the plate. He produced again. He's been like that all year long. He's been the guy that just gets us going. And, man, what a great hit.

Q. It might go overlooked by some people just because of that inning you all had with the six runs, but to continue to put up goose eggs out of the bullpen, those guys to shut the game down, keep it where it was, how big was that?

COACH LEMONIS: It was huge. And we used a lot of guys tonight. I got a little worried late because we only had so much, three or four outs with Landon. We didn't have a lot. And we knew we'd have to use a lot of guys.

And they all just piggybacked off each other. I thought Chase Patrick came in and got a double play ball. Cam Tuller came in and got some big outs. Parker Stinnett, you just go on and on -- Cade Smith.

You've got to get a hold when you fall behind early, you've got to get a hold if you want to come back and we were able to do that.

I thought we played really good defense. Really proud of Kam James makes the highlight reel play where he goes into the dugout, but the play in the ninth was huge. Tanner Allen made two great plays, I thought, in right field on the ball in front of him where he got great first steps.

You just can't let people score. It's hard enough for us to catch them. Just can't let them keep getting runs and we were able to do that tonight.

We had so many guys play. So many bullpen arms. Josh Hatcher is out there, gets a big hit. Tanner Leggett is playing and Brayland Skinner is making a big catch. It was a team effort tonight.

Q. You mentioned Josh Hatcher. How big is it for a guy who is a senior making his third trip to Omaha to get in and have that kind of impact on this game?

COACH LEMONIS: It's been a tough month for Josh, I'm sure, because -- in our BPs he's swinging it great. He had a slump earlier in the year, came out of the lineup and was struggling. But he's swinging in our BPs as good as I've seen him swing it.

And Kellum Clark's been hot, and Luke Hancock has had a great year. He's not pouted or anything. He's one of our energy guys. He's cheering guys on. That's why we have a great team. We have some selfless guys like that that let you keep playing and keep doing. And when the time comes his opportunity came, he got a huge hit for us.

Q. It ended up being a funny moment in the eighth with Rowdey stuck between second and third, but while it was happening there what was going on in your head? What went on in that moment that he got stuck there?

COACH LEMONIS: Definitely wasn't funny in our dugout. It may have been up there. It was a tough play because the center fielder kind of came in on it. And I think Hatch thought it was going to get caught, so Hatch didn't extend a lot. And when the ball fell -- when the ball falls like that usually Rowdey is going to get a triple, but Josh had to hold up a little bit. That's all that happened.

Luckily they were in tandem and nobody was there to cover the base. It put us in a good situation. What a big hit by Rowdey there.

Q. You look back at that inning, the big rally, and I guess it works out that way, the three guys that you have that have ended their seasons in Omaha, all three years of their career -- you've got Hatch, Rowdey and Tanner all played huge roles in that inning. I know you probably don't have a whole lot of time to think about that in the moment. But how cool is it that three guys that have, I guess, built this program into what it's become in the last three years get that moment in that huge inning?

COACH LEMONIS: It's awesome. They came here to win it. They've been here. They've walked off this field and felt they could have done more. And they're invested right now and they're playing great baseball. And we've just got to get our work in and let these guys just keep playing games. And the way they're playing we have a chance to play for a while.

Q. You're one of the most even-keeled guys out there. But what were you kind of going through? And take me through your emotions when you heard Tanner hit that ball in the eighth inning to take the lead?

COACH LEMONIS: What's funny is everybody else is celebrating and getting -- having at-bats. And my mind goes to the next six outs. Who do we have in the pen, where are we at, how do we get it to Landon, who is warming up, those types of things?

So many times people are celebrating in those late moments. And myself and Foxhall are trying to figure out the last six outs or what we have left in the pen. Because we had used, in this tournament you have 13 pitchers, and we used a bunch, used some the other night. So that's where your thought and focus go to.

Q. I know not the best night for Christian MacLeod. What do you think he was doing there that they had a lot of contact off him? And how can he regroup for the rest of the series?

COACH LEMONIS: I hated it for Christian. We get here. He's one of the big reasons why we're here. And just didn't have a good night. Just didn't hit spots. Just left some balls over the plate. They took advantage of it. And we just couldn't go any farther behind.

Usually at home, maybe I'll let him fight through that a little more. But here with everything on the line we just couldn't.

So he'll have an easier chance of bouncing back getting back out there and get him the ball. And, like I said, he's bounced back before from a bad outing. I hate it for the kids to be on this stage and not have the opportunity to play their best. Hopefully we'll get a chance to get him back out there to pitch again.

Q. This team hasn't always had pretty ballgames, and tonight getting no-hit into the seventh or eighth inning, or whatever it was. But they just don't seem to budge. They just find a way, it seems like every single time. What have you seen from these guys that have made them so special to allow them to do that?

COACH LEMONIS: I know this sounds crazy but the ability to take a punch and keep playing is one of our greatest assets we have. We've taken punches all year long. We take punches -- that's one thing in our league and playing against the best every weekend is, man, you get knocked back and you've got to stand up and fight.

And our kids, that's what they do. I've used the word "resilient" all night, but that's who we are. Some teams may have more of something else but we're a tough, gritty team. And they'll never stop playing. These guys will play until the last out every time.

Q. How big was Preston Johnson to kind of come in there and settle the score for you? And also to -- looking forward to the rest of the tournament, you've been able to get a lot of those guys an inning or two. How important is it to get them, kind of get that out of the way now?

COACH LEMONIS: Well, that was a little bit of the plan. We were, for a minute there, I was trying to get a rain delay. I was just running guys out, taking my time because that guy was pitching so good, trying to get out there.

But those guys getting out, getting their feet on the rubber some action -- I thought Parker Stinnett was good. I thought Chase was good and Cam. And Cade Smith, okay, but he still threw up a goose egg.

We're going to need all these guys. We need them all. Landon can't pitch every inning out of the pen. We need guys to come in throw strikes, make pitches. Maybe Landon can -- he's sitting right here -- maybe; he's shaking his head.

But we have to have a whole staff. I'm proud of our team tonight. We've had so many guys, and some guys hadn't played in weeks because of postseason play. And it's what we preach all the time, just be ready. Be ready, your time will come. Some of these guys got their time on the biggest stage.