With a swing of his bat in the game against Wright State University, Logan Tanner sent the baseball soaring through the air and over the fence for his first collegiate hit and home run.
There were three dings of the bat for Tanner, a freshman catcher from Lucedale, Mississippi. Tanner said the home run felt good because of the work he had been doing with hitting coach Jake Gautreau.
“It felt great. Coach Gautreau and I have been working hard,” Tanner said. “To see it all come together feels really good.”
Tanner is one of the many young players who gets a chance to play for the Bulldogs.
According to Tanner, his ability to step up and into a starting role is an example of MSU being able to reload with players and not rebuild the program.
“It’s really good. It shows that (Mississippi) State reloads, we don’t rebuild here,” Tanner said. “It’s great to get to play with some guys that I’ve been with for a long time; Kamren James, Davis Rokose, and Landon (Sims). It’s really fun.”
In baseball, sometimes only one player can be the star of the weekend; however, Tanner was not the only player who had a great weekend. Justin Foscue had four hits and five RBIs in a series against Oregon State University.
Foscue’s home run during Sunday’s game against the Beavers was one of two offensive sparks for the Bulldogs. The second was a double that came off of his bat. Tanner Allen, a junior from Theodore, Alabama, said it was a big swing from Foscue, as the ball dropped behind the incoming right fielder for a double, allowing Allen to move from first base.
“As soon as the ball went in the air, I said ‘Man, that has a chance to get down,’ so I was like might as well hop on the horse,” Allen said. “It tied their game, but we just couldn’t get the hit to break it up and get the crowd into it, but it’s baseball. The sun comes up tomorrow.”
Foscue, a junior infielder from Huntsville, Alabama, said that Tanner is amazing behind the plate as a freshman.
“He receives the ball really well,” Foscue said. “It’s very impressive watching him catch. That is always what you want out of a catcher. He frames pitches, he blocks really well and handles the pitching staff really well. As a young player, that is really impressive.”
Head coach Chris Lemonis said Tanner adds a presence behind the plate as a strong catcher, but he needs some improvement swinging the bat.
Consistency is what Lemonis hopes Tanner and other younger players on the MSU baseball team learn as the season progresses.
“It’s hard to catch as a freshman,” Lemonis said. “He is doing a really good job.”
