Brian O’Connor Explains Why Ryan McPherson’s Mississippi State Return Was Cut Short

Mississippi State finally got Ryan McPherson back on the mound Saturday, and for about 20 minutes it felt like the Bulldogs had their guy again.

A clean first inning, the fastball looked lively, the tempo was good, and the whole ballpark seemed to exhale a little. After seven weeks of waiting, the sophomore right‑hander was back in uniform doing what he does.

And then it was over almost as quickly as it started.

McPherson gave up a solo homer in the second, then turned his ankle on an awkward landing while covering home plate on a base hit. He tried to walk it off, tried to convince everyone he was fine, but he never threw another pitch.

His day ended at 1.1 innings and 34 pitches, well short of the 40‑pitch cap the staff had set for him.

It was obvious he didn’t want to come out. It was just as obvious Brian O’Connor wasn’t going to risk it.

O’Connor said afterward that McPherson “tweaked his ankle backing up home plate” and that pushing him any further didn’t make sense. He pointed out the seven‑week layoff, the pitch limit, and the danger of a pitcher altering his delivery to compensate for a sore ankle.

“I would hate for him to have a setback,” he said.

Given the timing and the stakes, it’s hard to argue with that logic. But the moment still sticks out because of what happened next.

Once McPherson left, the pitching simply wasn’t good enough. Dane Burns had to take over mid‑inning, the bullpen never found a rhythm, and Auburn took full advantage.

It’s unfair to pin that on the decision to pull McPherson, but it’s also impossible to ignore how the game shifted the second he walked off the mound.

Inside the dugout, though, the players didn’t see it as a deflating moment. Second baseman Gehrig Frei said the energy didn’t dip.

“Obviously, we would have loved to see him finish that inning,” he said. “Still, at the end of the day, we as a team still have a job to do regardless.” That’s the right mindset, even if the results didn’t follow.

O’Connor also explained why Saturday was the day to bring McPherson back.

He couldn’t pitch Tuesday because he hadn’t yet faced live hitters, and the medical protocols required a specific buildup. He finally checked those boxes midweek, recovered well, and lined up naturally for a weekend start.

O’Connor said starting him made more sense than using him out of the bullpen because the staff wants to build him back up as a starter. If Mississippi State is going to make any kind of postseason push, that’s where he helps them most.

So yes, the return was short. Yes, the timing of the stumble was brutal. And yes, the pitching behind him made the whole thing feel even more frustrating.

But the bigger picture still matters: McPherson is back, he looked like himself before the ankle rolled, and the plan to stretch him out is still intact.

If Mississippi State gets the version of McPherson it saw in that first inning, this weekend becomes a footnote instead of a setback.

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