Rob Childress adjusting starting rotation following frustrating weekend

Key notes from Rob Childress interview

• Coming off the weekend, we have got to be able to respond to being faced with adversity. This tournament was an important one in that we played some high-quality opponents you won't always see otherwise. You have to learn something about yourself.
   
• Friday was a great game, amazing pitching duel that ended with them getting the big hit before we did. Sunday, we were able to get some things going offensively, but looking back on the weekend overall, it's evident that for this team to be successful, it will be based on how our pitchers perform.
   
• We have to pitch better, and that's not taking away from performances that guys like Asa Lacy had because he pitched exceptionally well. For us, it starts on the mound with us attacking hitters and making them beat you. We had some moments on the mound, but we couldn't get it done for a full game. We're not going to win games like that. We have to be better.
   
• Trevor Werner is going to have the opportunity to pitch either today or tomorrow. He's too talented to keep off the mound for too long, and we're going to get him out there.
   
• The message on Sunday was to play together as a team. Friday, we didn't score any runs, and we followed that up on Saturday with guys in the lineup saying, "I will get us going." That's not a bad thing. It's human nature to want to make a change and be the guy to get everyone rolling, but we had too many guys trying to do it by themselves, and we weren't playing as a team. We played much better as a team Sunday, and we scored five runs. That once again reminds us that we have to pitch better. We're confident we'll get them going since it's still early, and we're excited to get back out there and put that weekend behind us and move forward.
   
• Asa Lacy is a pitcher that is going to ring up a lot of strikeouts and foul balls, which gets his pitch count higher than we'd like at times. Our hope is for him to get us through six or seven innings a game. That's not a secret. We know it, and he knows it. We're going to keep him at 100 pitches, and what we can get from him for 100 pitches is very important to how we use him and how we use the bullpen.
   
• Bryce Miller has to have a short memory. In this sport, with the role he plays, you're either the hero or the zero. He needs to be better locating his pitches and being better for us in the late innings. He left his slider up a few times, and it bit us when we could've gotten a punchout that would've kept us into the game. Live and learn, but don't be so quick to dwell on them.
   
• Jonathan Childress is going to start tonight and be limited in his pitch count, but the plan is to bring him back on Sunday. If he feels good after tonight, he'll be getting the ball Sunday. We need to build up 10% of his pitch count each game, and so far he's been very good with all four pitches working for him. He continues to get stronger each week, and we feel he's earned it.
   
• Joesph “Moo” Menefee is day to day with a back injury, and Rody Barker will have an appointment tomorrow to see where he is at and how fast we can get him back. We're following doctor's orders for both of them, so we hope to get back as soon as possible.
   
• We need to be ready to play really well this midweek. We look forward to the matchup against A&M Corpus Christi and tomorrow Abilene Christian. We'll get to face New Mexico State, a team that is off to a red hot start at 12-1 with one of the best hitters in college baseball in Nick Gonzales, this weekend. They have a ton of guys in that lineup that can hit and will challenge our pitching staff. They provide a great matchup for us to get back into a rhythm and get us back to playing how we know we can before SEC play starts next week.