How much can Mississippi State's Ryan McPherson pitch in NCAA Tournament? Latest update
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HOOVER, AL — Mississippi State baseball pitcher Ryan McPherson was available to pitch in the SEC Tournament. The Bulldogs just ran out of games.
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No. 8 seed Mississippi State lost 5-3 to No. 1 seed Georgia on May 21 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
The Bulldogs (40-17) are expected to host an NCAA Tournament regional starting May 29. McPherson's status will be an important factor in determining how far the Bulldogs can go in the postseason.
McPherson suffered a forearm strain against Vanderbilt on March 20, but returned on May 9 against Auburn. Then he injured his ankle after tripping behind home plate while backing up a potential throw in the second inning against the Tigers.
He has pitched once since then. That was a start against Texas A&M on May 16 that lasted 2⅓ innings. McPherson threw 44 pitches and was moderately successful, allowing one earned run and walking four.
Bulldogs coach Brian O'Connor said after the Georgia loss that McPherson would have been the starter on May 23 had the Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals.
"Physically, he's in a great place," O'Connor said. "I think mentally, he's in a great place. He threw a bullpen yesterday in preparation to start on Saturday had we won."
O'Connor said the Bulldogs will do some type of intrasquad scrimmage to continue to drive McPherson's pitch count up. Before McPherson's initial injury, he had a 2.45 ERA as the Friday night starter.
"Again, when you're dealing with the injury that he's coming back from, it's not in our best interests or in the young man's best interest to pitch today on that kind of short rest, because his last time out there was Saturday," O'Connor said.
O'Connor said the bullpen session McPherson threw on May 20 in preparation of a potential start in the SEC Tournament was the best one he's thrown since returning.
O'Connor said he's not sure how much McPherson can pitch during the regional.
"We'll see and evaluate that after this weekend," O'Connor said. "But that situation is what it is. You can't do anything about it. You can't fast forward it. And you can't all of a sudden get him to 80 or 90 pitches like that. It just doesn't work that way."
Sam Hutchens covers sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ryan McPherson injury: Latest update on Mississippi State pitcher