Chris Lemonis Previews Opening Weekend vs. Air Force
As we've eclipsed just under 48 hours until Mississippi State baseball takes the field against Air Force, head coach Chris Lemonis spoke about his team's mindset ahead of opening weekend during Wednesday's press conference.
The Air Force Academy Falcons had a relatively subpar 28-31 record last season, but they finished third in the Mountain West by going 17-13 against their conference rivals. In the conference tournament, they made it all the way to the Mountain West Championship but lost in game seven.
Lemonis is very aware of Air Force's success and commends head coach Mike Kazlausky for how he's built the program. Furthermore, he previewed what he expects from them this weekend.
"Knowing how hard their teams play, I think you're gonna get a group here with 5-6 position players back that plays really really hard, including two All-Americans in that lineup," Lemonis said. "They've been really good and play really tough schedules. I think they played in their championship last year and they won it the year before and went to a regional. It's a regional quality team and we have to show up and play really good baseball."
The Bulldogs are aiming for a much better season in 2024, as last year's team finished with a 27-26 record, including an abysmal 9-21 record in the SEC, which was second-to-last in the West division.
Lemonis said that his players are keeping last season in mind, which is one of the things that excites him most about opening weekend starting Feb. 17 at 4 p.m. CT in Starkville, Miss.
"Our guys are walking around with a chip on their shoulder," Lemonis said. "There's not a lot of love which don't deserve because we have to earn everything. I think that's what's been the most fun part with this group as they're all a little pissed off and they feel like they have something to prove. I think we have a lot of talent in that ball club, but we haven't played well and we don't deserve anything right now. Whatever we get whatever we do, it has to be earned and I think that's what you'll see with this group right now."
