The Southern Miss pitching staff will have some familiar faces toe the rubber this season, but coach Scott Berry still has questions regarding his pitching situation. The weekend rotation will look almost the same, minus one arm that’s now a professional pitcher, and the bullpen didn’t take a huge hit either.
Weekend rotation
The Golden Eagles return two-thirds of their weekend rotation, but the loss of Nick Sandlin is big enough to feel like the pitching staff was hit harder than it was.
“If you look at our pitching staff, we lost roughly 160 to 170 innings, but we’re returning 380, and that’s the most we’ve ever returned in a long time,” Berry said. “With that, you have guys who have real starting experience.”
Stevie Powers and Walker Powell return to anchor the weekend, but the No. 3 starter is still open. Jarod Wright, Alex Nelms, Mason Strickland and Cody Carroll all have starting experience who can take over that role. Even junior Matt Wallner is an option, but more on him later.
Powell leads the group of returners with 16 starts under his belt from last season, while Powers recorded 14. After that, Carroll started four games and Wright added three. Strickland only had two starts, but one of those came in a complete-game gem in the Conference USA Tournament.
“It’s obvious, Stevie Powers and Walker Powell, those were Saturday and Sunday guys for us last year, so it’s theirs to lose, per se,” Southern Miss pitching coach Christian Ostrander said. “I fully expect those guys to tote the load there in that regard. What days of the weekend? All that stuff is left to be determined.”
Ostrander was quick to point out that a year ago Southern Miss hadn’t made a decision to use Sandlin as a starter, but the coaches knew they wanted to lengthen out his appearances. He feels good about allowing the pitchers on the staff now to pitch extended outings, which gives him options as the third weekend starter.
Like Sandlin did prior to last season, Wright and Carroll took the fall off after playing summer ball.
“I’m a less is more guy,” Ostrander said. “I think pitching, you’ve got to give them time. There’s got to be a period to really recover, and I try to mix those in.”
Of the group of potential starters, Carroll led the way with a 2.23 ERA in 36.1 innings while Strickland logged 49.1 frames and put together a 2.74 ERA season. Wright posted a 3-1 record, but he had a 5.40 ERA in 30 innings, and Nelms only made seven appearances with an 8.71 ERA in 10.1 innings.
Despite his production last season, Berry sees Nelms as a legitimate option as a starter. The junior has learned from the positives and negatives he’s faced through his first two seasons in Hattiesburg, and Berry has seen an improvement from last season.
“When you look at some possibilities of who might be some other starters, Alex Nelms has really been impressive,” Berry said. “He and Oz have complemented each other in their work, and he’s really moving in his development.”
Closer role
Oak Grove native J.C. Keys isn’t a stranger to the mound. The senior has spent time as a starter for the Golden Eagles and as a bullpen arm, but his role for 2019 could be something different, though.
Through his first two seasons as a full-time pitcher, the Southern Miss coaches have tried out Keys as a starter during the first half of the season, but he eventually has moved back to the bullpen. At least for now, Keys will start the 2019 season in the bullpen, but he won’t be just another arm.
“If you had to designate one guy as our closer, yes, that would be him,” Berry said.
Keys made 21 appearances last season with five starts, and he logged 46 innings with 41 strikeouts and 23 walks. Keys has shown signs of dominance on the mound, but when the innings add up, opponents have been able take of advance of his mistakes.
As a closer, it remains to be seen how Keys would bounce back with multiple save opportunities in one weekend.
“Now, how he’s going to respond closing on Friday then coming back Saturday or Sunday? That’s still to be determined with how that arm bounces back,” Berry said. “He has no history of arm problems, but he’s always had ample rest in-between starts or in-between outings. If we can keep those outs down and pitches down, we feel like we could use him multiple times.”
Ostrander can’t argue that Keys has some of the best stuff on the pitching staff either. With a fastball that can touch 94 mph, it’s the pitching coach’s job to put Keys in the best position possible to succeed.
“Some guys are better on the starting end of it, some guys are better on the backend of it or shorter stints,” Ostrander said. “J.C. has really embraced that. I think he’s a guy who can get three outs on Friday, get three outs on Sunday, get three outs on Tuesday, and I think he’s going to be able to handle that load.”
