As Mississippi State continued their excellent SEC Tournament run on Thursday evening, all eyes were on the Bulldog closer, Jonathan Holder as he took the mound in the bottom of the ninth.
The 6’2, right-handed pitcher was three outs away from securing the Bulldogs an off day on Friday and a place in Saturday afternoon’s game.
Holder threw just eleven pitches, nine of which were strikes, to get those three outs. Three outs against the middle of the Texas A&M order who accounted for half of the team’s RBI on the day.
As Holder not only wowed the crowd with his performance, he also picked up his sixteenth save of the year for the Bulldogs. Holder’s ERA now sits below 1.00 and in his 45.0 innings pitched so far this season Holder has struck out an astounding 79 while walking just eleven and holding opposition to a batting average of just .152.
A consensus Freshman All-American in 2012 after finishing the season with an ERA of just 0.32 and striking out 30 in his 28.1 innings pitched , Holder’s reputation on the mound only continues to grow as one of the top closers in college baseball.
His repertoire is highlighted by a low 90s fastball that constantly pounds the zone as well as a curveball that sits right at about 80 mph with fantastic break. While not draft-eligible in 2013, if Holder continues with the fantastic control, consistency, solid velocity and overall efficiency on the mound, with his solid frame he has the potential to be an early selection come 2014.
