The SEC struggles continued for Mississippi State head coach John Cohen’s Diamond Dawgs as they got swept by ninth-ranked Arkansas at home this weekend.
It was the first time Mississippi State (16-16, 3-9 SEC) has been swept at home by a conference opponent since Vanderbilt swept the Bulldogs in 2008. The losses leave State tied for the worst conference record with Georgia and Tennessee, who will come to Starkville next weekend.
After Sunday’s 13-3 loss, Cohen’s frustration over how the season is going began to show.
“I’m embarrassed by where our program is right now,” Cohen said. “There are others who should be embarrassed as well. I’m not going to list them. That’s where we are. I’m a proud alumni, this isn’t where our program needs to be. I know where it’s going to be, but I’ve been here before.”
In Sunday’s game, Bulldog hitters were shut down by Arkansas pitcher Randal Fant. The freshman allowed just one run and two hits in seven innings of work.
When Fant exited the game he had retired 14 consecutive MSU batters. The Bulldogs managed just four hits in the game.
The Razorback offense took an early 4-1 lead after three innings of play, and then centerfielder Brett Eibner hit a grand slam in the seventh inning to ensure the Razorbacks would easily win the contest.
Cohen said the offensive output will have to improve as the Bulldogs continue to face tough conference opponents.
“It’s going to have to get better in a hurry, because the league doesn’t give a crap whether we can discern between balls and strikes,” Cohen said.
Friday night’s game saw the Bulldogs play even through five innings, but Arkansas scored three in the sixth and three more in the seventh to pull away.
They went on to win by a final score of 8-3.
Caleb Reed took the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs, while Drew Smyly got the win and improved to 4-0 on the season.
Saturday’s game played out in similar fashion to the previous contest. Behind the arm of freshman pitcher Chris Stratton, MSU held a 2-1 lead after six innings of play.
However, in the top of the seventh Stratton hit the first batter of the inning and Cohen decided the freshman had had enough after 106 pitches. From there, it took three other MSU pitchers to get through the inning as Arkansas rallied for four runs in the inning.
Arkansas added three more runs in the eighth inning, and a late MSU rally came up short as the Bulldogs lost 8-5, despite outhitting the Razorbacks 14-12.
Stratton scattered seven hits in six innings on the mound, gave up two runs and struck out five Arkansas hitters. The Tupelo native said he hopes to keep his pitch count down in his next outings so he can go deeper into the game.
“I got myself out of some tough jams,” Stratton said. “We need to eliminate those, so I can keep my pitch count down so I can go longer into games.”
Cohen’s team has been plagued by injuries all season, and after Saturday’s loss he said he had very limited options.
“Not having Brent Brownlee really for the season, not having (Jarrod) Parks for the season, not having Frankie Rawdow for the season, not having (Nick) Routt, these are the days where it really hurts. Because we literally only have three substitutes we can enter in a ballgame,” Cohen said.
Cohen also added that there is a possibility that Rout, a sophomore pitcher, will return to action next weekend.
As the Bulldogs come down the stretch of another season near the bottom of the SEC West, Cohen is accepting full responsibility for the way his team has performed.
“Look from the time I was a child, I would watch a TV show on Sunday where a guy would say if we lose it’s my fault, and his name was Paul Bryant,” Cohen said. “I’m not a Paul Bryant, but that’s how I’ll be. If we don’t play well, it’s my fault.”
Cohen, despite the current frustration, did maintain a positive outlook for the future of the program, and compared it to the rebuilding job he did as the head coach at Kentucky.
“I know we’re going to get better,” Cohen said. “I’ve been here before. This is exactly where we were at Kentucky. Exactly.”
The Diamond Dawgs will return to action on Wednesday when they host South Alabama in a make-up game at 6:30 p.m.