Opening Statement
South Carolina interim head baseball coach Monte Lee addressed the media after a 4-3 loss to No. 17 Mississippi State on Sunday. He began by acknowledging the opponent’s performance, saying, “Congratulations to Mississippi State. Played a great game today — pitched it really well, made every play defensively. We hit some balls fairly hard today that they caught, but they played a really good baseball game. Pitched really well and found a way outlast us. That’s the bottom line.”
Lee expressed disappointment in the loss but praised his team’s effort in the second half of the game. He said, “I was really proud of the guys and how they competed in the second half of the game. I thought at about the halfway point of the game… We’ve been pressing at the plate, obviously. I mean, we have not been swinging the bat very well, and just felt like our guys were down in the dumps, pressing. Brought them up, said, ‘Hey, we got to get over this. Like, look, guys, you’re going to struggle from time to time as a baseball player. It’s part of it. But what we need right now is we need everybody, just put all your struggles to the side. Let’s pull together, and let’s just compete. Just compete as hard as you can. That’s all any of us can ask of you.’”
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Lee continued, “I thought they really did a good job of that in the second half of the game. I thought our at-bats were better. I thought we threw the ball really well. Pitched really well today. [Alex] Valentin was awesome; [Alex] Philpott was awesome. I thought all those guys threw the ball well. Zach [Russell] had some tough luck. We found a way to tie the ball game up in the eighth and, again, had some opportunities, put together some good at-bats — which I was strongly encouraged by. And we just came up short.”
He emphasized the importance of perseverance, stating, “We just got to keep fighting. That’s the name of the game with this group, and I told them that. However long we wind up playing this year, we just got to show up every day and compete as hard as we can together. Make it about the team, stay selfless, have a lot of fun, and compete for nine innings every single day. And if we do that, hopefully, we’ll get on the right side of this thing.”
Pressing Issues and Offense
With 44 strikeouts in three games, Lee acknowledged that pressing might be a deeper issue. “Yeah, I think part of it is pressing. A huge part of it is, we just got some guys that have been pressing at the plate and trying too hard and not being quite as selective as we would like for them to be. But again, with us being competitive there in the second half of the game, last nine outs of the game or so, hopefully, by putting together some good at-bats there at the end…”
He highlighted several players who showed improvement, including Pat Evans, Tyler Bak, Talmadge LeCroy, Jake Randolph, and Dawson Harman. “If we can get them going again, we got a chance to be more productive offensively and win more games. It’s that simple because we continue to pitch pretty well. I was proud of how we pitched today.”
Base Running Issues
In the eighth inning, Lee discussed some base running issues. He explained two separate plays. “Number one, okay, you got second and third. The third baseman’s [Ace Reese] playing back. The pace of the ball is what led to the play at the plate. So think about it this way: If he hits, like, a big-hop ground ball to the third baseman, and it takes the third baseman to the left, we got to score. He’s not going to throw the ball to the plate there. More times than not, the third baseman’s playing back, he’s telling you, ‘I’m going to throw the ball to first base.’ That’s what every baseball coach in America says. You’re playing back, you’re throwing to first. You’re conceding the run to throw the ball to first base to get an out.”
Lee also addressed Talmadge LeCroy’s play, noting that the runner should have advanced further. “We just got to be better there. I mean, it’s really that simple. The ball was hit. I don’t know if he thought it was going to get caught, but he’s got to get off as far as he can. And then, when that ball hits the wall, he’s going to third. But I will say this: I’m not so sure that he could have gotten to third because the ball, when it hit the wall, came right to the left fielder [Bryce Chance]. And if the left fielder is smart, as soon as he catches the ball, if he checks him, he may have had a play at third.”
Pitching Strategy
Lee praised the opposing pitcher, [Charlie] Foster, saying, “He just did a really good job of mixing his pitches — a heavy dose of mix, a lot of spin, a lot of off-speed. But he just threw a lot of strikes. I think that was really it: just a lot of different pitches. He would add and subtract, speed you up and slow you down. He just did a good job of pitching. It’s just really that simple.”
He concluded by emphasizing the need for better focus, stating, “We need to do a better job of just staying on the baseball. I mean, that’s really it. We’re out front a little bit on the off-speed stuff, and then we’re late on the fastball. We just got to do a better job of just selling out the one pitch, being on time and staying more through the middle of the field, especially on a day like today. Wind was blowing in; we were going to have to hit a lot of low line drives to be able to get runners on base and score.”
