Diamond Dawgs name Friday starter ahead of Ole Miss series

An injury to Friday night pitcher Ryan McPherson has caused an expected adjustment to Mississippi State’s weekend pitching plans.

When the No. 6 Diamond Dawgs head to Oxford to take on rival and No. 18 Ole Miss, State will replace McPherson with sophomore LHP Charlie Foster. A member of the rotation to begin the season, Foster makes his return as a weekend starter and he’ll toe the rubber in game one with veteran LHP Hunter Elliot on the other side.

Foster had high expectations coming into the season when he was named State’s game two starter for Opening Weekend. After a freshman season where the talented lefty had to work through an injury, he was fully healthy and ready to go.

In his first start against Hofstra, Foster actually got bumped to game three after a doubleheader was scheduled due to weather. It was a tough beginning to the game for Foster as he gave up a three-run home run in the bottom of the first, but Foster rebounded and went 3.0 total innings with three hits, three runs and one walk while striking out five. It didn’t improve much in the second start when Foster lasted just 2.0 innings and gave up four hits, two walks and two unearned runs, but he did get five strikeouts.

Foster started another game as he lasted just 2.1 innings in the midweek against Tulane and gave up three hits, two walks and two runs and got three strikeouts. On the year, he has thrown 12.1 innings in eight appearances with a 5.11 ERA. Control has been an issue as he’s walked 12 batters and given up 13 hits and nine runs while striking out 16.

McPherson’s status still uncertain

The Diamond Dawgs are put in a tough situation with the starting rotation as next week’s series against Georgia is Thursday-Sunday and moving up Tomas Valincius and Duke Stone two weeks in a row could be problematic.

McPherson’s status longterm is unknown at the moment, but the diagnosis on Tuesday night was far more promising than originally thought. McPherson left the game last Friday against Vanderbilt after a warm up toss before the fifth inning. The fear for many was an elbow injury, but the sophomore appears to be probable to return this season.

“We did an MRI on Ryan. First and foremost, his ligament in his arm, his UCL, is absolutely pristine. There’s no issues there at all,” head coach Brian O’Connor said. “He’s been diagnosed with a mild forearm strain. There’s not a timetable to it right now. We’re still consulting with doctors and stuff.

“We’re all encouraged by what the results are. Certainly, when you see that happen you get concerned about somebody’s UCL and it’s not that. We’ll continue to evaluate him and talk to the doctors to see long term what we’re looking at as a timeline.”

Things will stay as is with State’s rotation on Saturday and Sunday with Valincius and Stone finishing things out. Valincius is coming off of, arguably, his best game as a Bulldog when he pitched 7.0 innings, gave up two hits, two unearned runs, one walk and struck out a career-high 14 batters.

Valincius has thrown 14.0 innings in two SEC games with four combined hits and three walks and he’s yet to surrender a run charged to him. He has 21 strikeouts.

As for Stone, Vanderbilt hit the sophomore right hander fairly well in the game on Sunday, but State’s bats were unconscious in a 17-7 run-rule win. He will have a chance to have a much better start on the road this week.

The series with the Rebels and Bulldogs starts on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. with Saturday’s game at 1:30 and Sunday’s set for 3 p.m. on SEC Network. State comes into the series having won eight of the last nine series with a record of 26-10 since 2016. This will be O’Connor’s first test in the series and he’s excited to jump on board the rivalry.

“I completely understand and love this rivalry,” O’Connor said. “Ole Miss-Mississippi State, it’s going to be an awesome weekend. Great crowds, two really outstanding ball clubs. I’ve had an opportunity a number of times to compete against Ole Miss and have the utmost respect for their program. It should be a great weekend in Oxford.”