Schoenrock has good memories about MSU days

March 1, 2012

Memphis head coach and former Mississippi State pitching coach Daron Schoenrock sits in the dugout during a game earlier this season. (Photo submitted by University of Memphis)

Daron Schoenrock is still making memories for himself at Mississippi State's Dudy Noble Field.

As the pitching coach for the Bulldogs on the staff of Ron Polk in 2007, Schoenrock was able to make the trip to the NCAA College World Series.

On Wednesday as the head coach of the Memphis Tigers, Schoenrock's team came in and defeated MSU 7-6.

Schoenrock was able to reflect on some of the things that made his time as a Bulldog special while waiting through a rain delay.

"A lot of the guys (at Memphis) do ask me questions when we come back about how things were," Schoenrock said. "It's good to see the facility in great shape and they've done some neat things here. It's always different in this dugout, but it always does bring back very good memories for myself and also my family."

Schoenrock's son, Erik, is a sophomore pitcher for the Tigers and was in grade school when he spent time around the MSU program.

Erik was also glad to be making the homecoming.

"I grew up here so it's cool to be back," Erik said. "While we were here, the teams were really good so we were watching good baseball and had the chance to to hang out with the guys."

Erik has suffered with a stress fracture in his back and was in a brace for eight weeks around Christmas.

He has been able to come back to make two appearances out of the bullpen for Memphis this season and has a 4.50 earned run average with three strikeouts in two innings pitched.

"He had a tremendous fall," Coach Schoenrock said. "We figured he'd be in the mix for a starting role and we may still get to that point with him."

By beating the Bulldogs, the Tigers improved their record to 4-4.
Schoenrock believes experiences like playing MSU can only help his squad later in the season.

"I've been impressed with the quality of opponents," Schoenrock said. "We've played some good people. We're still trying to search out as everyone is the pitching roles. We've got three new guys sprinkled throughout the lineup and five returning guys. The young guys have shown glimpses, but it's been our veterans who have carried us so far. I think we're getting better as the year goes on."

With a Memphis win and getting to see some old friends, Schoenrock considered the latest visit to MSU a definite success.