Friday nights have belonged to the Bulldogs the past two years, and the man responsible for shutting down Friday night foes has been Paul Maholm.
Born in Holly Springs, the junior lefty pitched his way from Germantown (Tenn.) High School (south of Memphis) to the mound of Dudy Noble Field.
Maholm utilizes an array of pitches including a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, curve ball, slider and changeup.
“My changeup’s been the biggest (improvement) since I’ve gotten here,” Maholm said. “It’s the biggest pitch a pitcher needs, and Coach Rock (Daren Shoenrock) and Coach (Jim) Case (current Jacksonville State head coach) my freshman year helped me out a lot.”
While the changeup has been his most developed pitch, Maholm relies on the slider to be his bread and butter.
“The slider is what I go to in tough situations,” Maholm said. “On the slider, I have the seam running in-between my two fingers with the horseshoe (arched region of the baseball’s stitching) pointing towards the plate. My thumb’s on the other seam, and I think fastball until right before I release it. Then I just snap my wrist around the ball to make it cut.”
Assistant coach Shoenrock signals each of Maholm’s pitches to the catcher, but according to Maholm, it can be a good idea to object with a shake of the head.
“If you’re not a 100 percent comfortable, you can shake it,” Maholm said. “You’ve just got to have a good excuse, so if you shake and give up a bomb, you better come up with a good one before you get back over here (to the dugout).”
Maholm’s repertoire has allowed him to compile a 24-9 collegiate record. His first Southeastern Conference win came against Auburn in 2001 when he dismantled the Tigers.
“They were number five or six in the country, and I gave up two hits in seven and two-thirds (innings) and no runs,” Maholm, who was drafted out of high school months earlier by the Minnesota Twins franchise in the 17th round, said.
Maholm says that the worst feeling a pitcher can have is to give up a game-winning home run or to walk in the winning run. He considers his most disappointing outing the last game MSU’s 2001 campaign. In the second Super Regional game against host Cal State Fullerton, Maholm gave up four homeruns and a career-worst eight runs.
The following season, Maholm extended his losing streak to two with a season-opening loss to Ohio State before reeling off seven wins in as many appearances.
Another seven-game streak of note has been provided by the Florida Gators, who have swept the Bulldogs in the previous two regular season series and ended State’s season last year at the SEC Tournament. Maholm gets the chance to put an end to that streak tonight in Gainesville.