John Cohen’s first two seasons as head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team did not go as planned. After finishing 25-29 (9-20 SEC) in 2009, the Bulldogs slipped back to 23-33 (6-24) in 2010. Despite this slide, Cohen is optimistic this will be the year the Bulldogs turn the corner.
“From the moment we got together this fall, I felt things were going to be different from last year,” Cohen said.
In order to increase the winning percentage, the Bulldogs will have to improve the pitching; last year, the pitching staff posted a team ERA of 6.87.
Cohen sees sophomore Chris Stratton as the key pitcher of the season. Stratton pitched the most innings of anyone on the staff last year, and his ERA of 5.29 is the best of all returning pitchers.
“If Chris Stratton doesn’t pitch 80-100 innings this year, it is really going to affect us. He is much more polished from a year ago, and he now knows what to expect,” Cohen said.
Stratton, who averaged nearly one strikeout per inning last season, said he expects to improve.
“I have more confidence,” he said. “I learned that as long as you keep pumping strikes you can go a long way.”
Cohen said junior Devin Jones will also have to step up this year. Jones posted an ERA above eight in each of his first two seasons with the Bulldogs, but Cohen believes this year Jones will finally piece it all together.
“I think Devin is ready to prove some things not only to our fans and coaching staff, but also to the professional baseball world. I think he will be a nice draft pick at the end of the year,” Cohen said.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, pitching depth has been hit hard by injuries.
Junior Nick Routt led the team in innings pitched and ERA as a freshman in 2009 but missed most of last season with an arm injury that has not completely healed. Junior Tim Statz pitched well in 2008-09 at Hutchinson Community College but has not pitched in nearly two years after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Sophomore Ben Bracewell, who recorded four saves and an ERA of 5.50 last season, is still recovering from a shoulder injury sustained last May.
All three of these pitchers will likely pitch some this season, but it remains to be seen which, if any, can get back to 100 percent. The significance of these injuries is not lost on Cohen.
“The one thing that keeps me up at night is worrying about possible injury situations,” Cohen said. “If you take away a few pieces, then we are right back to starting some freshmen that might not be ready.”
If necessary, however, Cohen has brought in a highly touted group of freshmen. Cohen especially praised the athleticism and work ethic of infielder Demarcus Henderson.
“[Henderson] has a chance to easily be a top two or three round guy for the majors. He is that athletic, and he is getting better every single day,” Cohen said.
In addition, several of the freshmen received high accolades last year as high school seniors. Infielder Brayden Jones was named the Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year, while infielder/pitcher Daryl Norris was named the Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year and Mr. Baseball. Outfielder/pitcher C.T. Bradford was named last year’s Florida 5A Player of the year and Mr. Baseball.
Defense was a problem for the Bulldogs last year, as the team posted a dismal .959 fielding percentage, the worst in the SEC. Cohen believes it will improve this year, thanks partially to senior shortstop Jonathan Ogden.
“[Ogden] is one of the premier defenders in the SEC,” Cohen said. “His great lateral quickness, tremendous arm strength and leadership make him the total package. He played in 56 games last year with a broken foot and did not mention it to the media one time. I think that is a testament to his work ethic and his toughness. He knew we had to have him last year, and he toughed it out. As a defender and a leader, he is special.”
Shoring up defense at first base this season will be senior Ryan Collins, who played in the outfield in his first three seasons at MSU.
“[Collins] is an incredibly athletic first basemen. We aren’t giving up on the fact that we will have to play him in the outfield sometimes, but the things he has showed us over the last two months have been phenomenal,” Cohen said.
One new wildcard factor for all college baseball teams this season is the new NCAA-mandated weaker bats. Due to concerns over fan safety and inflated offensive numbers, the NCAA now requires players to use weaker bats which perform similarly to wood bats.
Senior infielder Jarrod Parks believes the new bats will make a difference.
 ”We do not have a lot of power with them,” Parks said. “We’re going to have to be scrappy and do a lot of fighting. We’ve been practicing everything.”
On the other hand, Stratton sees the bats as a new opportunity for pitchers.
“Our ballpark plays big. Instead of walking the batter, you can let them play up the middle because you know it is not going out,” he said.
The Bulldogs open the 2011 season today at Dudy Noble Field against the Akron Zips at 4 p.m. Last year, Akron finished 21-34 and came in 12th in the Mid-American Conference.
Saturday, the Bulldogs face the Lamar Cardinals, who finished 35-26 and tied for 6th in the Southland Conference last year, at 11:30 a.m. The Bulldogs play Akron again at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and wrap up the weekend with another game against Lamar at 2:30 Sunday.