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Cowbell Corner

Short Turnaround Creates Pitching Challenge for No. 4 Mississippi State

The Bulldogs must navigate limited rest for its pitchers with a quick turnaround on Tuesday against Grambling State and then No. 5 Georgia on Thursday.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State Pitcher Chris Billingsley Jr. (#25) during the game between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Dudy Noble Field at Polk-Dement Stadium in Starkville, MS.
Mississippi State Pitcher Chris Billingsley Jr. (#25) during the game between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Dudy Noble Field at Polk-Dement Stadium in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

No. 4 Mississippi State, like most SEC teams this week, faces a unique dilemma with its pitching staff this week.

After wrapping up a three-game series sweep of then-No. 18 Ole Miss, the Bulldogs have a day off before hosting Grambling State on Tuesday night. That’s normal. What isn’t normal is having only one day off before the next SEC series.

The Bulldogs will welcome to Dudy Noble Field the SEC’s other Bulldogs, No. 5 Georgia on Thursday. All SEC series will start Thursday to give teams Easter Sunday off. It’s a nice gesture, but does put some strain on pitching staffs.

It was in the back of Mississippi State coaching staff’s minds during the weekend in Oxford and moved to the forefront on Monday.

The short turnaround gives Mississippi State pitchers less recovery time, which means some of the arms won’t be ready to go by Thursday. Or by Saturday, depending on how many pitchers are used Tuesday.

Making the problem even harder is the injury to starting pitcher Ryan McPherson. The regular Friday starter missed the weekend series against Ole Miss after leaving his start against Vanderbilt with a forearm strain. It’s not a serious injury, but his availability isn’t guaranteed. Even if he is available, how long he’s able to pitch isn’t known.

To help put this problem into better perspective, here’s all the pitchers Mississippi State used this weekend with the total number of pitches thrown (starters are in bold):

Mississippi State Pitchers Used vs. Ole Miss

Charlie Foster – 64
Tomas Valincius – 90
Duke Stone – 98
Jack Gleason – 17
Maddx Webb – 46 (15, 31)
Dane Burns – 18 (5, 13)
Ben Davis – 58 (19, 39)
Tyler Pitzer – 19
Brendan Sweeney – 23
Maddox Miller – 31

Stone, Davis and Burns were the only pitchers used on Sunday, meaning everyone else on that list has an extra day of rest. None of the starters will be available on Tuesday and only Gleason, Burns and Pitzer threw less than 20 pitches and could be available.

However, one variable to this problem is known.

Mississippi State announced Monday that junior college transfer Chris Billingsley Jr. will start Tuesday’s game against Grambling State. It’ll be his second start of the season after starting last week’s game against then-No. 11 Southern Miss.

Billingsley held the Golden Eagles to just two hits and two strikeouts in two innings of work. It was a solid starting appearance against a team some think will be in Omaha in June.

It apparently was good enough to get another start and if he could go longer than two innings, nobody in the Mississippi State dugout would complain.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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