Team White swept the Maroon squad in the 2012 Mississippi State Fall World Series by scores of 6-2, 8-3 and 2-1 last weekend.
Returning pitchers Kendall Graveman, Evan Mitchell and Luis Pollorena picked up wins on the mound for the White, and sophomore closer Jonathan Holder preserved two of the wins in flawless outings.
Graveman, who served as captain for the White team, said he was pleased with the way both teams performed over the weekend.
“We drafted early this week and got together as a team,” Graveman said. “We pitched well. I think that was a good thing. Both sides hit well and both sides pitched well, but we ended up winning all three games so that was good for the White team.”
Graveman also complimented the performance of some of the younger players over the weekend, and said many of the experienced players are starting to find their role.
“We got some guys that were big for us, especially on the mound, that aren’t here anymore and some guys that have really stepped up and hit the ball and played their position,” he said. “As far as the older guys leading for the younger guys, it’s been important from the beginning from the fall until now in the World Series. It’s a little more comforting when you have somebody that is an older guy there assuring you that it’s going to be good, especially when things get kind of tough.”
For the White team, returners Adam Frazier, Hunter Renfroe, Daryl Norris and Tyler Fullerton all had a solid weekend while veterans C.T. Bradford, Demarcus Henderson and Mitch Slauter led the Maroon team offensively.
Head coach John Cohen praised some of the experienced players and said he is pleased with the progression of his team throughout the fall.
“Frazier had a fractured finger, so he had to play first base, but he had a great offensive weekend. I think that C.T. Bradford is a returner who had a great weekend and a great fall overall,” Cohen said. “I think we had several guys play well. I think both of our catchers (Mitch) Slauter and (Nick) Ammerati caught very, very well.”
Cohen also said pitching matchups were key in the weekend, and depth on the mound will play an important role in the spring when going against a variety of offenses.
“Even when we divided up teams, I thought they were great matchup situations by our bullpen,” he said. “I think that’s a strength of our club – all of those little parts that are coming out of the bullpen that allow us to match up against hitters. I think we really match up well against a lot of different offenses the way we pitch.”
Bradford said the experience on the team will be its strength.
“We had a lot of experience my freshman year, and that was obviously a really good year for us when we went to Super Regionals,” he said. “I feel like this is the next year where we actually have a lot of older guys to lead and guys to push the younger guys. We have a lot of guys to fill in a lot of roles so we’ll be good.”
Newcomers Jacob Robson, Zack Randolph and Cody Brown also had a good offensive weekend, which Bradford said compliments the Dogs’ top-30 recruiting class.
“They’ve brought in an awesome class. I can go through a whole list; they’ve all been really good for us this fall,” Bradford said.
The Bulldogs will now resume small group and individual workouts in preparation for the 2013 season opener against Portland Feb. 15.