After being hampered by wet conditions to start the fall schedule, the MSU Diamond Dogs have gone into full gear during this four-week fall practice period. Much of the fall schedule will be dedicated to intrasquad scrimmages used for the coaches to teach and instruct the Bulldogs. “We have put in a new system, and the players are taking to it very well,” new MSU pitching coach Daron Schoenrock said. “During the scrimmages, we (coaches) are able to see the players in game situations. Then we are able to better teach the players.”
The early scrimmages for the Bulldogs have been of a different variety than the normal practice. During these games, batters have started with 2-1 or 1-1 counts, depending on the game.
“Using these counts really allows us to work on a variety of different things during the games,” Schoenrock said. “It teaches the pitchers the importance of getting ahead in the count, teaches batters to be more selective and allows for more action. The defense is able to get more opportunities during the games because there are more baserunners.”
With all of the men on base during these games, the coaching staff has been able to work on one of the important aspects of the defensive game-holding runners. With the coming of a new coaching staff, all of the pitchers have been under the watchful eye of Schoenrock.
“In the early scrimmages we just let the guys play. In those scrimmages there were a bunch of stolen bases, but we have put in our new system now. Those should go down in the next scrimmages,” Schoenrock said of his pick-off system.
In addition to putting in the new system for the pitching staff, Schoenrock said the new coaches have also worked heavily on the new system for communication between players. The coaches have also been able to get every player on film either hitting or pitching.
“One of our first goals as a coaching staff was to learn the players and their abilities,” Schoenrock said. “The next thing we wanted to do is film every player. Having film of the players allows us (coaching staff) to better work on mechanics and help to make small changes.”
With two and a half weeks now in the books, the Bulldogs will focus on baserunning, looking for leaders to fully develop and getting ready for the Bulldog World Series.
“Coach Polk will be putting in his baserunning system during the next week as we continue to scrimmage,” Schoenrock said of the team’s upcoming plans. “So far we have been happy with the leaders that are here; we just have to help them continue to improve.
“We are now looking toward the end of the fall schedule to our full scrimmages. We will divide the team and coaching staff into two squads and play our version of the World Series during the last week of practices.”
The Bulldogs practice every weekday afternoon, and, as always, the practices and scrimmages are open to the public.