Baseball Post- Catcher Josh Lovelady...

[DistrictDawg92]

I was at the Baseball scrimmage Friday afternoon, there were men on 1st and 2nd with a lefty at the plate, the catcher called time and yelled at the left fielder to come in off the wall, he was playing too deep with a lefty up and men in scoring position. When Cohen saw this he started clapping and said good call to the catcher. I looked up who it was on the roster and his name was Josh Lovelady, turns out he won this weeks Defensive Player of the Week. Don't know much about him though, google tells me he is a JUCO transfer from Shelton State that batted .365 last year, he is 6-0 200 and bats from the right side. Does anyone know what we can expect from this guy this season? I know Catcher is a log jam with Collins, Randolph and Cody Walker, but it never hurts to have too much talent behind the plate.

[Todd4State]

Gavin Collins will be our catcher this year. Lovelady is battling Cody Walker and Randolph for the back up spot. He was actually hurt last year in JUCO and had a rough season at the plate.

[MsStateBaseball]

Usually a walk on catcher will be RS. But I don't think Cohen is happy w Walker. It just depends on who will transfer or quit BC it's a numbers game. Normally only 3 catchers make the squad. If Cohen thinks he can make a difference than he won't RS him, he will find a way to make the 35. As long as he is a solid defender he will make it.

[Todd4State]

Usually a walk on catcher will be RS. But I don't think Cohen is happy w Walker. It just depends on who will transfer or quit BC it's a numbers game. Normally only 3 catchers make the squad. If Cohen thinks he can make a difference than he won't RS him, he will find a way to make the 35. As long as he is a solid defender he will make it.

I don't think Cohen is unhappy with Walker at all. He has won some weekly awards this fall and has been hitting over .300.

You are correct that we need three catchers. Usually in MLB the "third catcher" is a guy in AAA that they will call up in case of an injury.

Gavin will start.

Walker and Lovelady will compete for the back-up spot. I think they are both pretty close to equal. If anyone redshirts, it would be Lovelady because he is a year behind Walker as far as eligibility. That said, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they both play because...

Randolph is the walk-on, bullpen catcher, good teammate guy. If he is the "third catcher" so be it- they typically don't play a lot anyway. But Lovelady and Walker are both better as a player. Even if Lovelady redshirts.

If we redshirt Lovelady, it's because we want him to be around for three years instead of two.

[Saltydog]

he'll contribute going forward. Also, I know it was briefly mentioned here but Will Cox is no longer on the squad. Decided to hang it up. He had lost his scholly anyway and didn't want to fight back thru the injury and still possibly not make the squad.

[godlluB]

I've watched Lovelady catch during a couple of scrimmages, and I've been very impressed with him.

[MsStateBaseball]

Lovelady is a tough kid. A grinder. Its going to be tough for Gavin to catch all 3 SEC games. He needs relief w out dropping off much defensively. Whoever that is, we shall see.

[MsStateBaseball]

Again I say this our JC recruiting is outstanding. Quality players.

[KB21]

Being able to control the defense is a very underrated aspect of catching when it comes to the fans, IMO. You have to respect a catcher that can look at the situation and get his defense positioned properly without having the coach tell him what to do. This is on top of his ability to block the plate, call a game, frame pitches, and control the running game. This is the one position where you should sacrifice offense for defense if you have an elite defender at the position.

[Todd4State]

he'll contribute going forward. Also, I know it was briefly mentioned here but Will Cox is no longer on the squad. Decided to hang it up. He had lost his scholly anyway and didn't want to fight back thru the injury and still possibly not make the squad.

I hate to hear that about Randolph.

[KB21]

Guys like Randolph will allow Coach Cohen to start his own coaching pipeline. I think Nick Ammo is now an assistant for Lane Burroughs at Northwestern State.