Turner sucks and so does our team but Ruscin is an embarrassment to everyone involved in radio and life in general
Ruscin’s wife blogged and bragged about how he’s a cuck and and how she sleeps with other men. He’s an absolute loser and is a dollar tree skip bayless dude sucks and has already been suspended and hopefully will never return or breathe oxygen again
lmfao I have never heard this. don't blame her and honestly surprised he has a wife he is such a loser. I remember texting you on the way to a football game it was the only sports show on, he is openly "I don't have to get covid vax if everyone else has one"
interesting stat: texas’ region contains zero P5 teams, and is paired with east carolina’s region. in their last two trips to the CWS, they played 11 regional/supers games with only 3 being against P5 schools. they could get there this year without playing a single P5 school in addition to the gift of being the highest seeded big 12 school despite finishing 5th in the league
Went down the google rabbit hole because of your blog/cuck comment, and I discovered they are, in fact, now divorced. The open relationship opened both of their eyes to more being out there for them than the small, safeness of a monogamous marriage. She’s now in a monogamous relationship with a dude she met while in her open marriage!
Lol I was Ruscins freshman year (potluck random) roommate in Pomfret. Dude was the embodiment of weirdo Harding academy mega virgin. We have not kept in touch and this update makes me have quite the chuckle. Especially the anti vax stuff, take it back to Searcy you fucking loser.
Here’s my Omaha 8 prediction. Some are not who I want to make it but who I think will. Tennesse ECU ATM UF Stanford OSU USM Oregon St.
Good thing for him it will be very easy to get better. Awful radio guy just trash takes on everything and his voice sucks too
Regionals Roundtable: Quick Takes On Field Of 64 POSTSEASON D1 Baseball Staff - May 31, 2022 Now that the NCAA tournament field of 64 has been unveiled, it’s time for our staffers to weigh in on some of the postseason’s most intriguing storylines. We asked our writers for quick answers to a handful of superlative questions about the field. Here’s how they responded. Spoiler Kendall Rogers Toughest Regional: Gainesville. Florida has been playing well down the stretch this season, and certainly played well at the SEC tournament. But how will the Gators handle a stiff NCAA Regional field this weekend? Central Michigan is battle-hardened and has an excellent approach and coach in Jordan Bischel, Liberty already has a series win over the Gators this season, and showed in last year’s Knoxville Regional it can hang with the big boys. Then, you have a sizzling hot Oklahoma team who should be hosting this weekend and not on the road. That will create a little extra motivation for Skip Johnson’s club entering the weekend. Florida will need to play at a very high level to escape this regional. Softest Regional for 1 seed: Somehow North Carolina, which wasn’t a top-eight seed, got a rather favorable draw. The Tar Heels got Hofstra as their No. 4 seed — it’s the Pride’s first trip ever to the NCAA tournament. They also got an ultra wishy washy Georgia team as a No. 2 seed, while VCU is the No. 3 seed. It wouldn’t surprise me to see VCU vs. UNC for the regional title in Chapel Hill this weekend. Biggest Surprise: It was probably Notre Dame not being a national seed and a host. The Fighting Irish put together a strong conference record, especially when you add a pair of wins at the ACC tournament to their aggregate league record. Yet, the Irish, for the second-straight season, were hosed in some form or fashion. It’s just bizarre. What’s interesting is that the committee focused heavily on Notre Dame’s non-conference schedule and seemingly ignored what Link Jarrett’s club accomplished for the last three months of the season. Selective reasoning. They Got Snubbed: Most will just go ahead and say NC State as an at-large team, but for me, it was Oklahoma not hosting this weekend. The Sooners finished just a game out of first place in the Big 12, won five-straight series to end the regular season and were undefeated at the Big 12 tournament. Furthermore, OU finished the regular season/conference tourney portion of the schedule with a higher RPI than No. 6 seed Texas A&M. How that resume wasn’t a host is beyond me. Very odd. Best Opening Pitching Matchup: Oddly enough, there really aren’t many top-notch pitching matchups in the first game of the weekend. I would pick Air Force’s Paul Skenes against Texas’ Pete Hansen, but we’re not sure just yet if the ‘Horns plan on starting Pete or if they might go with fellow lefthander Lucas Gordon. With that said, give me UCLA’s Max Rajcic against FSU’s Parker Messick. Rajcic has been an absolute beast down the stretch and Messick’s overall record is deceiving. It’s a big-time fastball with elite stuff. Runs will be at a premium when these two teams meet this weekend. National Champion: Tennessee Omaha Sleeper: Oklahoma Eight For Omaha: Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Miami, Stanford, Oregon State Most Intriguing Storyline: For me, it’s just Tennessee and its quest to be the first team since 2001 Miami to win the national title as the top national seed. The Volunteers have been so much better than everyone else the past few months, but as we all know by now, anything can happen in the NCAA postseason. Will that wild and wacky trend continue, or will Tennessee’s dominance continue the next few weeks? I can’t wait to find out. Aaron Fitt Toughest Regional: Gainesville. Second-seeded Oklahoma should have hosted, Liberty has made two straight regional finals and already won a series at Florida early this year, and Central Michigan is the most dangerous 4-seed, with a bona fide ace in Andrew Taylor. Softest Regional for 1 seed: Chapel Hill. Yes, I know, back in the preseason I guaranteed Georgia will be in Omaha, and I may have to wear it on that one, because the Bulldogs limp into the postseason playing bad baseball, making them one of the softest 2-seeds. Hofstra is making its first-ever regional appearance. VCU is a frisky 3-seed on a roll, but it is still in the lower half of 3-seeds, if you’re lining them up. Biggest Surprise: Notre Dame not hosting a regional. A team that goes 18-12 in aggregate ACC play with a No. 12 RPI — that’s a no-brainer regional host, regardless of any other metrics (and Notre Dame’s other metrics were mostly fine, including a sterling 14-7 mark against the top 50). The Irish not hosting is malpractice by the committee. They Got Snubbed: I wrote a whole column yesterday focusing mostly on the NC State snub, so I won’t rehash it here. In addition to Notre Dame, I thought Oklahoma not hosting a regional was inexcusable. And while we had Wofford right on the edge of the bubble, I have a hard time justifying Dallas Baptist in and Wofford out, considering Wofford’s head-to-head series win at DBU and the fact that the Terriers ran away with their conference title, and DBU was lackluster in the Valley. Best Opening Pitching Matchup: UConn’s Austin Peterson vs. Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder. National Champion: Oklahoma State Omaha Sleeper: Louisiana Tech Eight For Omaha: Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Stanford, Oklahoma State, Southern Miss, Oregon State Most Intriguing Storyline: Can anybody stop the Vols? They have been a buzzsaw all year, but Georgia Tech is an intriguing 2-seed in that ballpark because of the power in the lineup, and Campbell is one of the most dangerous 3-seeds led by a potential first-round ace in Thomas Harrington and another first-rounder at shortstop in Zach Neto. That draw is no picnic for Tennessee. Mike Rooney Toughest Regional: Gainesville Softest Regional for 1 seed: Chapel Hill Biggest Surprise: Notre Dame not hosting They Got Snubbed: Rutgers Best Opening Pitching Matchup: Parker Messick v Max Rajcic National Champion: Tennessee Omaha Sleeper: Gonzaga Eight For Omaha: Tennessee, East Carolina, Louisville, Gonzaga, Stanford, Oklahoma State, Miami, Oregon State Most Intriguing Storyline: Vols versus the field. Mark Etheridge Toughest Regional: Statesboro Regional features visiting teams that won regionals last season Softest Regional for 1 seed: Chapel Hill. Georgia limps in and VCU would be a 4-seed if not for all the upsets. Biggest Surprise: Ole Miss. A talented team that might make noise, but the resumé was thin. They Got Snubbed: NC State, obviously. Would have liked to see Rutgers and Wofford included as well. Best Opening Pitching Matchup: UCLA’s Max Rajcic vs. Florida State’s Parker Messick National Champion: Tennessee Omaha Sleeper: LSU Eight For Omaha: Tennessee, Texas, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, Stanford, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, LSU Most Intriguing Storyline: The Schloss Bowl will be fun but we’ll be discussing LSU fans invading Hattiesburg for years. Eric Sorenson Toughest Regional: The Stanford Regional. … and if you look at Boyd Nation’s ISR rankings, there is not a close second. Softest Regional for 1 seed: Tennessee. It just edges out North Carolina’s breezy field, but UT deserves it since they ARE the No. 1 seed. Biggest Surprise: Ole Miss gets a bid. Not a fan of teams with losing conference marks getting bids. I’m harsh that way. You lose, you snooze. They Got Snubbed: Rutgers. Yeah I know, their SOS wasn’t great, but still one of the greatest seasons in RU history goes unrewarded. Best Opening Pitching Matchup: CMU’s Andrew Taylor (8-3, 3.19) vs. Florida’s Brandon Sproat (8-4, 3.59). Gotta wonder if Sully is gonna roll the dice with somebody other than Sproat. Could be dangerous to do so. National Champion: Tennessee. If we put anybody else here then the Vol fans will go apoplectic. Omaha Sleeper: Oklahoma. Yeah I know it’s partially because I just got done seeing them win the Big 12 Tourney title, but they have been piping hot since beginning of April. Eight For Omaha: Tennessee, Texas, Louisville, Oklahoma, Stanford, Oklahoma State, Miami, Oregon State Most Intriguing Storyline: As everyone has mentioned, Notre Dame. I wish I was on the selection show with Roons and KP ‘coz I woulda looked right into the camera and asked the selection committee “What the hell are you guys doing?” The intrigue will be to see if they can knock off Tennessee. Remember, the last two dominant teams lost in the supers in UCLA (2019) and Arkansas (2021) Patrick Ebert Toughest Regional: Statesboro Softest Regional for 1 seed: Austin Biggest Surprise: Ole Miss They Got Snubbed: Rutgers Best Opening Pitching Matchup: Pete Hansen vs. Paul Skenes National Champion: Texas Omaha Sleeper: Arkansas (do they count as a sleeper?) Eight For Omaha: Tennessee, Stanford, Oregon State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Miami, Arkansas, Texas Most Intriguing Storyline: TCU at Texas A&M (Sarloos/Schlossnagle) Burke Granger Toughest Regional: Gainesville. Oklahoma could have hosted and Liberty took 2-of-3 against Florida to open the season. With Andrew Taylor on the bump and an offensive approach that runs up pitch counts, Central Michigan is a disruptive No. 4. Softest Regional for 1 seed: Austin. Biggest Surprise: Continued disrespect for Notre Dame is a head scratcher. They Got Snubbed: Rutgers. If a power five school going 44-15 (17-7), while finishing second in both the regular season and conference tournament isn’t enough to punch your ticket, you need new criteria. If Maryland won the conference tournament, would the Big Ten have been a one-bid league? Even in a down year, that doesn’t sit right with me. Best Opening Pitching Matchup: Parker Messick, LHP, FSU vs. Max Rajcic, RHP, UCLA National Champion: Tennessee Omaha Sleeper: Gonzaga Eight For Omaha: Tennessee, Stanford, Oregon State, Gonzaga, TCU, Southern Miss, Oklahoma State, Texas Most Intriguing Storyline: The Schlossnagle narrative of the College Station regional will be pounded to death, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested. Shotgun Spratling Toughest Regional: Statesboro. When Texas Tech is the No. 3 seed, you know it’s going to be a tough regional. Throw in a No. 2 that should be hosting in Notre Dame and a hot UNC Greensboro team and this is going to be quite the tough sledding for Georgia Southern. Softest Regional for 1 seed: Knoxville. Thomas Harrington will have to pitch in the opener and Georgie Tech has a team ERA of 6.55. Biggest Surprise: Grand Canyon…and I love it. Multiple coaches that faced the Lopes said they were one of the top teams they faced all season. The experience of making their first regional last year should help them and they will likely have a chip on their shoulder should they face Oklahoma State after the Cowboys eliminated them from the Tucson Regional last year. They Got Snubbed: Rutgers. Would have been a scary team no No. 1 would have wanted in their regional and I’m all for rewarding an upstart that has the best season in program history over a regular regional participant that has a down year (Ole Miss). Best Opening Pitching Matchup: Tie: Florida State’s Parker Messick vs. UCLA’s Max Rajcic (assuming he is healthy and ready to go) and Texas lefty Pete Hansen vs. 6-foot-6 Air Force righthander Paul Skenes National Champion: Tennessee is the easy pick, so I’ll throw off and go with Stanford. Cardinal has all the pieces and overall No. 1 seeds have not fared well historically. Omaha Sleeper: Gonzaga. Bulldogs have the best starting rotation West of the Mississippi and probably second best in the nation behind Tennessee. The question is can they hit enough to get out of the Blacksburg Regional. Eight For Omaha: Tennessee, Stanford, Oregon State, Louisville, Miami, East Carolina (FINALLY!), Gonzaga, Arkansas Most Intriguing Storyline: How the regional diversity with the committee not keeping teams in the same area affects the overall product. Can multiple teams from one area that would normally have been forced to match up in a regional or super regional before the No. 1 through No. 16 seeding make runs and meet up in Omaha? Though there would be one hell of a fun super regional if Corvallis goes chalk and UCLA advances out of the Auburn Regional. The two Pac-12 rivals that have been at the top of the conference for the last 15 years just played a marathon day of baseball that featured a 25-22 walk-off win in 10 innings that featured a nine-run, ninth-inning comeback by UCLA and then an 8-7 walk-off win by Oregon State in the nightcap to eliminate the Bruins from the Pac-12 tournament.
We're almost certainly going to win our regional, and then game one of the super. We can't ever just get rid of Bianco.
I filled out a bracket and went pretty chalk to get to Omaha. Hated doing it because I know six of the top nine seeds likely wont make it. 1 Tennessee 9 Texas 5 Texas A&M Oklahoma 2 Stanford 7 Oklahoma St. 6 Miami 3 Oregon St.
30 Years Later, VCU’s Most Improbable Regional Run Still Resonates COLUMNS Eric Sorenson - June 1, 2022 If you’re on a coaching staff and have to get an urgent message out to all your players it is generally done by mass texting, email or using some kind of direct messaging to your players’ cell phones. They get it in seconds and everyone is notified nearly at once. But in 1992, that kind of simple communication to a large group of people was not available. Getting ahold of 40 people was an all-day or two-day or three-day affair. And cell phones did not exist for the common folk. They were brick-sized technology that you generally only saw on TV shows or used by the wildly rich. Former Virginia Commonwealth head coach Tony Guzzo found himself in that helpless situation back in May of ’92 when he dismissed his team for the summer, only to find out a couple days later that his team actually was given at at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. In other words, this could be termed as one of the most surprising at-large bids in the history of the NCAA baseball tournament “Oh yeah it was. Absolutely,” Guzzo says emphatically when I brought it up with him last week. “Look, we had won what was then called The Metro Conference regular season championship, but then we went 0-and-2 in the conference tournament in New Orleans. So I thought we were done.” As it turns out, not even close. Spoiler THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT Guzzo’s Rams won the regular season title over such programs as Louisville, Virginia Tech and Tulane with a modest 10-6 league mark. But in the Metro Conference Tournament played at Tulane, his boys went 2-and-‘cue, dropping back to back games to the homestanding Green Wave by a 7-4 score and then losing to UNC Charlotte 16-7. That 0-and-2 showing left his team 31-20, and Guzzo was confident that was all there was to the 1992 season. “They gave us the regular season championship trophy when we were there in New Orleans,” Guzzo said. “So when we got back home after the long bus ride back to Richmond I got our guys together and told them, ‘Guys, I’m proud of you. We won a championship and this trophy is something they can never take away from us.’ And then I told them to have a great summer. And that was it. Everybody turned in their gear and went their separate ways.” That was on Friday night. By Saturday morning the team started spraying off in different directions. Some players went home. Some started heading toward their summer baseball destinations. Some players went on vacation. Hell, some of the coaching staff started heading out of town too. Coach Guzzo started to think about going on vacation himself. SELECTION MONDAY Even though coach Guzzo and his assistants never gave it a second thought, Monday morning brought about THE most stunning phone call he might have ever received. “It’s about an hour before the selection show was going to air and I get this phone call from Hal Baird, who was the coach at Auburn at the time and a good friend of mine,” Guzzo said. “He is on the selection committee and he says to me, ‘You know you guys made the NCAA Tournament and are going to Austin?.’ I yelled out, WHAT?!’ I couldn’t believe it.” Sure enough, the Rams were chosen as the six-seed in the Central Regional, hosted by the Texas Longhorns. (This being back in the six-team regional days). That’s when Guzzo and his assistant coach Bob Smith said, “Uh-oh!” A serious mad scramble to contact his players went into hyper-drive mode. Guzzo said he was so confident his team wasn’t going to make the field of 48 that he never bothered to tell his players to watch the selection show. But now he and his assistant had to start making calls and spreading the word as fast as they could. “I had no idea where any of my players were,” Guzzo said. “As it turns out we had players everywhere. Our outfielder William Wallace went back home to Brooklyn and he ended up getting on a flight from JFK and meeting us in Austin. Our leadoff hitter Robby Grimes was on the beach in South Carolina and didn’t hear about us making the tournament until he read it in a Myrtle Beach newspaper. And we had a pitcher, Melvin Hornsby, who was so deep in the mountains of West Virginia on a fishing trip that he didn’t find out about it until after the regionals were over with. He never knew. Nobody knew how to get ahold of him.” Getting the team together, re-issuing gear and equipment and finding flights turned out to be a real panic too. By the time they got everybody together and made arrangements for flights, shuttle busses, hotels and meals, they didn’t get down to Austin until mid-day on Thursday. Which meant that his team barely practiced before their first game on Friday. “We didn’t practice at all before we left,” Guzzo said. “We were given an hour on the field at Disch-Falk after we showed up on that Thursday. But that was it.” FRIDAY Again, in those days there were eight regionals around the country and six teams placed in each one, double-elimination and the winner goes to the College World Series. And as the sixth seed, the Rams were matched up with No. 1-seeded Texas for the first game. Even still, coach Guzzo felt pretty good about his team’s chances despite facing the Longhorns, a national power under the legendary Cliff Gustafson. “We had a horse of a Friday guy in Matt Williams,” Guzzo said. “He wasn’t afraid of anybody, no matter who he went up against. He was fearless and we rode him a lot that season. And our attitude going into that regional was, ‘Let’s show these teams that we can play some ball out there on the East Coast,’ and that was the attitude we took.” Williams, who actually grew up in Texas before moving to Virginia Beach for high school, ended up giving up a pair of solo home runs in the first inning and then didn’t give up anything after that, holding the potent Longhorn batting order scoreless the remaining eight innings. Of course, the problem was, UT was throwing their No. 2 starter Scott Harrison, who went the distance and completely shut out the Rams. The two homers Williams gave up in the first inning came from the bats of All American Brooks Keischnick, who would play in the major leagues for nine years, and catcher Chris Abbe, who was a fifth round draft pick that season. Texas 2, VCU 0. SATURDAY For the Saturday elimination game, Guzzo decided to push all his chips in to the middle of the table. He wanted his program to get its first NCAA Tournament win in its history. The only other time the Rams made the Big Dance in Division I was in 1988 when they went 0-and-2 in fast fashion. So for this elimination game against what was then known as Southwest Louisiana (now just Louisiana) he decided to push all his chips in to the middle of the table. He wanted a win. Guzzo started the game with No. 3 pitcher Buff Hochman, who ran into some trouble in the third inning. So then he brought in No. 2 starter Michael Ketterman. And for the final six innings, Ketterman was throwing some big-time bee-bees. As fate would have it the offense woke up after an early deficit and Guzzo got his wish, a 12-5 win over the Ragin’ Cajuns. “I didn’t care if we didn’t win another game,” Guzzo said. “I didn’t care if we lost game three 100-to-nothin’. I just wanted to make sure and get at least one win in the NCAA Tournament for our program. And that’s why I threw my No. 2 and No. 3 guys. That was all I cared about.” SUNDAY Having exhausted each of his 1-2-and-3 starters in the first two games, the problem was, what do they do for Sunday? If the Rams wanted to stave off elimination they would have to win a pair of games to keep their dream season alive and they were going to have to take on three-seed Creighton, and if they won there they would immediately have to turn around and play two-seed Long Beach State. With all three of his top pitchers already being used, having to beat a pair of teams that were coming off of College World Series appearances the year before would be a daunting task. “I told our guys, ‘Look, we’ve already been the best team in VCU history and won a game in the NCAA Tournament,” Guzzo said. “You don’t have any pressure on you now. So just go out there and have fun. Play hard, have a good time and we’ll see what happens.’ It was simple as that. We were playing with house money at that time.” The game against Creighton would start at 2pm, in the middle of the day in that Texas heat. (I can vouch, I was there and the temperatures were in the low-90s with zero cloud cover). On top of that they were playing on that old astro-turf field, amping up the heat of the day. The starter on the mound for the Bluejays that day? None other than current Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor, who was the Jays’ Saturday starter most of the season behind future MLB hurler Alan Benes. Despite his fears of them getting shelled, coach Guzzo watched as his Rams battled the Bluejays neck-and-neck (sending O’Connor to the showers in the seventh inning) and ended up pushing the game into extra innings. Once there, in the 11th inning, a rare error on Bluejay senior shortstop Bobby Langer opened the door for the Rams to score the deciding run in a 5-4 win. “That Creighton shortstop had been perfect all weekend,” Guzzo said of Langer. “But this was his one bad play and we took advantage.” (Side note: The heat that day was full-on legit. As an indication, VCU leadoff hitter Robby Grimes had this ritual he would do before every time he would get in the batter’s box. As a diminutive player, Grimes would stand before stepping into the box and do a repeated gyrating, shoulder shrugging, stretch the bat out, twisting ritual that seemed to take 30 seconds to complete. At one point one of the frustrated Creighton fans I was sitting near said, ‘C’mon disco boy, it’s hot out here. Enough dancing. Get in the box!’) The Rams would move on to play the Dirtbags in the evening game. But earlier that day in the first game, Long Beach took a 9-1 loss on the chin to Texas in “the 2-0 game” of unbeatens. And this was a Dirtbags team that featured a trio of All Americans in third baseman Jason Giambi, shortstop Chris Gomez and reliever Gabe Gonzalez. But it was also a Dirtbag team that came in with a crushed psyche after getting routed by the Longhorns that morning. “I think Long Beach came into our game feeling a little defeated,” Guzzo said. “Because they just lost to Texas and had to turn around a few hours later and play again. I think they knew that if they were going to go back to Omaha they’d have to beat us and then beat Texas twice the next day. And I think it affected them. I think it broke their spirit.” The Rams bats were as hot as the Disch-Falk astro-turf. They got an early lead with a couple of hits and The Beach panicked a little. They brought in their All American closer Gabe Gonzalez in the fourth inning to stem the tide and get back in the game. But after a few innings he wore down and the Rams ended shelling him and the relievers that followed on their way to a 16-6 win over the Dirtbags. “We spent 11 hours on that turf that day,” Guzzo said. “We were completely drained. And our right fielder Jamie Brewington almost had to leave the game because he kept getting leg cramps and the umpires wanted us to bring in a replacement. But we couldn’t play without Brewington because he was a great right fielder and he was also one of our better pitchers.” Brewington ended up pitching a few innings in that Long Beach game as Guzzo and assistant coach Bob Smith threw out a patchwork of arms to get through that grueling day. But it all paid off as they ended up eliminating the two programs that were 12 months removed from a College World Series. That set up a rematch with the Longhorns. MONDAY The Rams went into Championship Monday on fumes. They had won three games in a 24-hour span. Now they’d face the No. 3-ranked Longhorns again. Texas was much fresher, having gone 3-0 and not played in the previous 22 hours, while the Rams were going through a pair of axe-grinders to stay alive. With Melvin Hornsby taking his low-90s right arm on a fishing trip in West Virginia, Coach Guzzo said he essentially had one pitcher left; a freshman named Jerry Shifflett. Guzzo had no choice, he had to run the youngin’ out there and let ‘er rip. What happened? “Two home runs in the first inning again, including another one from Keischnick,” Guzzo said. “I’m thinkin’ ‘holy smokes, what do we do now?’” Guzzo had to yank Shifflett after those two home runs. No choice. He ended up piecing things together with a slew of relievers, some for a batter or two, some for an inning or two. “Next thing you know, we’re going to the ninth inning and we’re still down 2-0,” Guzzo said. “All those relievers had held them to just three more hits the rest of the game. Incredible.” But this is where Texas coach Cliff Gustafson played a huge gamble. He brought Keischnick in for the ninth inning to lock things down. But keep in mind Keischnick had just thrown a complete game the day before against Long Beach. He was just as gassed as most of the VCU pitchers. The gamble did not pay off for the Hall of Fame coach. At that point Keischnick had lost just one game in his entire career, against Texas A&M. With the top of the order due up for the Rams, they rallied. Keischnick was not throwing anything near his best stuff. Then, with two men on, Mark Strittmatter stroked a double that hugged the right field line and scored two runs as the big blow in the inning, helping VCU take a 4-2 lead. But what was going on in the dugout at the same time was just as intriguing. As the Rams were rallying, Matt Williams goes up to coach Guzzo and says, “Coach, you KNOW you gotta put me in for this last inning, right? I feel good, I’m ready to go and I’m the only chance we got and you know that.” Guzzo caved. On two days rest he figured Williams could go in there and throw a few pitches and end that game. But it wouldn’t end up being a few pitches. Calvin Murray (the uncle of Heisman winner Kyler) got a single, as did Tim Harkrider. Williams was able to get a couple outs as well but then had to pitch around Keischnick, because as coach Guzzo explained “He wasn’t going to let Keischnick be the one that beat us.” So that walk to Keischnick put runners at all three bases with two out. While Williams was throwing “a ton of changeups because that was his best pitch,” he eventually got Chris Abbe to hit a bouncer to third baseman Erik Sauve, who calmly stepped on the bag to get the final out. VCU 4, Texas 2. There would be another “if necessary” game. Between games team ace Matt Williams was buzzing Guzzo’s ears once again. He wanted the ball for the final game. He told Guzzo, “We’ll never be in this position again. This is a life-long dream of mine to pitch against these guys with a chance to go to Omaha on the line. I’ve trained for this all year. You gotta put me in.” “I went back and forth on the decision a million times,” Guzzo said. “But I eventually gave in and let him start but I told him ‘You are on a one-inch leash in this one. If I sense anything or they string a few hits together, you are done.’ And he knew I meant it. I didn’t care if we went to Omaha if he got hurt right before the draft.” Williams started the game. But Guzzo had a pair of pitchers in the bullpen at the same time. Williams continued to carefully pitch around Keischnick but managed to keep the game close as the Rams kept dodging bullets all game. By the fifth inning they actually had a one-run lead. But that was when fate handed the Rams a cruel card. With the bases loaded and two out, a grounder hit toward shortstop Todd Campbell hit that exact spot where the dirt and the turf met around second base and the ball took an odd hop and scooted right under his glove. “He hadn’t made an error in a couple of weeks,” Guzzo explained. “But they ruled it an error and Texas ended up scoring two runs on that play. Then Williams walked the next batter on four pitches. So I had to go get him. He pitched his heart out and left it all out on the field. But he had absolutely nothing left, and he knew it.” Texas ended up piling on the runs over the next few innings on their way to a 12-3 win. And the magical run was finally done. Here is what the 1992 Central Regional bracket looked like… “We were money ball before there was a money ball,” coach Guzzo said. “We probably had more walks than we did strikeouts at the plate. That is the type of team that we had. We were tough. Nobody was going to out-hustle us. And because our home field (the Diamond in Richmond) was so big we were a team built on speed.” Coach Guzzo knows that the 1992 squad was possibly the most unlikely and special teams he had in his entire coaching career. The legacy of that 1992 team still lives on today as the first great VCU baseball team. No matter how far and wide those players are spread out in this world, just like they were that weekend in 1992.
#Tennessee Volunteers #Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets #Campbell Camels #Alabama State Hornets Knoxville Regional Preview: Juggernaut Vols Host Power-Hitting Challengers Regional Schedule/Results | Regional Scoreboard | Bracket Challenge Checking The Field This Vols team is having a season for the ages, but Georgia Tech’s relentless offense has the capability to tax even the most talented pitching staff. Additionally, Campbell is a balanced, well coached team with star power on both sides of the ball. 1. Tennessee: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 2. Georgia Tech: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 3. Campbell: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 4. Alabama State: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders Spoiler Knoxville Regional Superlatives Most Exciting Player: Ben Joyce, RHP, Tennessee. In a regional bursting with future first rounders, no player turns more heads than Vols reliever Ben Joyce, whose fastball sits in the triple digit range and set a #HeatSheet record with a 105.5 mph bolt last month. Best Hitter: Chandler Simpson, 2B, Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets’ speedy leadoff hitter, Simpson is the D1 leader in batting (.418). A transfer from UAB, he’s not much of an extra-base threat at present, but he regularly finds the barrel. With more than twice as many walks (29) as strikeouts (14) and game changing 80 speed (23 SB), Simpson is a catalyst at the top of the lineup. Simpson’s teammates Kevin Parada (.356/.451/.728, 26 HR) and Andrew Jenkins (.386/.445/.695, 17 HR) earned consideration here, as did Campbell shortstop Zach Neto (.398/.505/.769, 15 HR) and Tennessee sluggers Drew Gilbert (1.173 OPS) and Trey Lipscomb (.357, 21 HR). Best Defensive Player: Drew Gilbert, CF, Tennessee. An All-SEC Defensive Team selection, Gilbert is an instinctive defender in center field who reads the ball well off the bat and uses his wheels to run down balls in either gap. A former prep pitching prospect, Gilbert’s plus arm is a deterrent for baserunners looking to take an extra bag. Best Pitcher: Chase Dollander, RHP, Tennessee. Dollander has an uncommon mix of stuff and polish, going 9-0, 2.21 on the bump with 99 strikeouts and 11 walks in 69.1 innings en route to winning SEC Pitcher of the Year honors. The 6-foot-3 sophomore sits effortlessly in the mid-90s, can carry the velocity deep into starts and he’ll spot it to each quadrant of the plate. Not merely a fireballer, Dollander mixes a four-pitch arsenal and is positioning himself to be a top follow heading into the 2023 draft cycle. The Big South Pitcher of the Year, Campbell ace Thomas Harrington (11-2, 2.21) is day one draft prospect who is adept at tunneling his mid-90s fastball with his sweeping, low-80s slide piece, along with a quality changeup and curveball. X-Factor: Zach Maxwell, RHP, Georgia Tech. With a fastball that he can run into the high-90s and a hammer breaking ball, Maxwell has bat missing stuff. In fact, had he thrown a few more innings to qualify, Maxwell’s 14.49 strikeouts-per-9 would be leading the nation. The challenge, however, is that the strikeouts come with a healthy number of free passes, as the 6-foot-6, 275-pound junior has walked more than a batter per inning during his career. When he’s on, the big righthander can neutralize an opposing threat out of the pen. When he’s not, he’s prone to surrender a crooked number here and there. Best Starting Rotation: Tennessee. When a shoulder injury shelved returning ace Blade Tidwell to open the season, the Vols turned to three new faces in the rotation, and the results exceeded even the loftiest of expectations. Blue-chip freshman Chase Burns (8-1, 2.61) allowed just three earned runs in his first six starts to open the season but has flashed mortal tendencies down the stretch. The aforementioned Dollander (9-0, 2.21) hit the ground running after transferring from Georgia Southern while Drew Beam (8-1, 2.60) pitched his way to the conference Freshman of the Year award. Meanwhile, Tidwell has returned and is flashing the first-round stuff we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. Sophomore lefty Zander Sechrist has primarily been deployed in a midweek role but gives the Vols a fifth option with significant starting experience, after going 4-0, 1.67 in 17 appearances (11 starts). Best Bullpen: Tennessee. Unsurprisingly, the top team in the land has depth in the bullpen too, highlighted by Redmond Walsh (2.29, 7 SV), Kirby Connell (3-0, 1.08) and Will Mabrey (2-0, 2.21) from the left side and Mark McLaughlin (1.59, 1 SV) and Joyce from the right. Additionally, Camden Sewell (7-1, 2.63) is a multi-inning reliever who shut out Florida for five innings in a rare start in the SEC Championship game last weekend. Best Offensive Team: Tennessee. The Volunteers have one of the most prolific offenses in the country. They’re hitting .308 as a team, tops in the SEC and they lead the country in slugging at .604, and homeruns with 141. Top to bottom, this lineup can hurt you, as even shortstop Cortland Lawson is slugging .492 with 11 home runs out of the 9-hole. Slashing .324/.417/.552 as a team, the Yellow Jackets get a mention here as well and would get the nod for top offense in nearly any other regional. Best Defensive Team: Tennessee. While the absurd offensive and pitching numbers have garnered the majority of the press during this historic season, the Vols can also really pick it defensively too, and their .982 fielding percentage is ranked eighth nationally. No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 9. With an edge in all three facets of the game and SEC Coach of the Year Tony Vitello at the helm, Tennessee is heavily favored to win the regional and rightly so. But even for the top team in the land, this regional is no joke. Georgia Tech has a dangerous offense that could play up in this ballpark, and Campbell is a perennial mid-major threat that would love nothing more than to play the part of spoiler. Knoxville Regional Team Breakdowns Tennessee (55-7, 25-5 SEC) Chase Dollander, Tennessee (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos) With Tennessee’s vocal following and an ‘us against the world’ mentality, college baseball fans across the country will be checking in on the Vols’ postseason run to see if they can become the first top national seed since 1999 (Miami) to win a title. Since they lead the country in ERA (2.35) and were listed above as having the best rotation and bullpen in this regional, it’s easy to infer that the Volunteers are strong on the mound. As a staff, they’re allowing less than one baserunner per inning (0.96 WHIP). Not counting the pandemic shortened 2020 season, you’d have to go back to 2017 to find a team to match that extraordinary feat when Oregon State posted a 0.98 WHIP. With eight offensive contributors (100+ plate appearances) having an OPS over 1.000, this Vols lineup is relentless from top to bottom. While Gilbert’s defensive prowess was touted in the superlative section above, he’s also a monster in the box who leads the SEC in hitting (.385) and doubles (20). Left fielder Seth Stephenson (.335/.409/.529, 20 SB) is an aggressive leadoff hitter who’s more inclined to hit his way on than draw a walk. Right fielder Jordan Beck (.287/.381/.552, 14 HR) is a grown ass man with plus raw power and a plus arm. Senior third baseman Trey Lipscomb has had a phenomenal season, slashing (.357/.433/.737) with a team high 21 homeruns and a SEC leading 77 RBIs. First baseman Luc Lipcious (.310/.470/.649, 16 HR, 12 SB) is the most dangerous bottom third hitter I’ve seen this season. A converted outfielder, Evan Russell (1.010 OPS, 13 HR) is an athletic backstop with power to pull who doesn’t get enough credit for handling the dynamic Vols pitching staff. Georgia Tech (34-22, 15-15 ACC) Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada with first baseman Andrew Jenkins (GT Athletics) The dichotomous nature of Georgia Tech’s season has been staggering. Offensively, the Yellow Jackets can hit, and hit for power on par with any team in the country. Their .324 team batting average is ranked second nationally while they’re ninth in on base percentage (.417), fifth in slugging (.552) and eighth in home runs (110). A prospective top-10 pick in next month’s draft, Kevin Parada (.356/.451/.728) is a Golden Spikes semi-finalist whose 26 home runs and 85 RBIs are ranked sixth and third in the country, respectively. An all-conference performer, first baseman Andrew Jenkins (.386/.445/.695) led the ACC with 91 hits, 37 of which went for extra bases. Left fielder Tres Gonzalez (.335/.459/.467) has a patient approach with feel for the zone and an innate ability to find the barrel. A transfer from Louisville, DH/IF Timmy Borden (.316/.448/.658, 18 HR) is enjoying a breakout season. Conversely, the pitching staff has a bloated 6.55 ERA and teams are hitting .289 against them. A former transfer from DIII Rhodes College (Tenn.), John Medich (4-4, 6.14) worked out of the Jackets’ arm barn last year and much of this season, but he’s since transitioned to the rotation and has been serving as the de facto Friday guy down the stretch. He’s shown the ability to run his fastball into the mid-90s, and he’s reportedly made strides with his breaking ball since last season. Sophomore righty Marquis Grissom Jr. (4-5, 5.40) was eased into action incrementally to open the year but has gone six or more innings in his last two starts, including a 10 punchout performance against Pitt and quality showing against an offensive minded Louisville team in the ACC tournament last weekend. At his best, the sophomore righthander shows hitters a mid-90s heater and a swing-and-miss changeup. The son of six-time MLB all-star Kevin Brown, Dawson Brown (3-1, 6.94, 5 SV) creates tough angles with a lower arm slot and sequences a low-90s fastball with a tight 83-84 mph slider. At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Chance Huff (4-4, 7.34) is a physical righthander with a low-90s fastball and hard slider, but he’s been touched up to the tune of 16 home runs in 61.1 innings this spring. With a loud fastball, hammer curve and shaky command, the aforementioned Maxwell (5-0, 5.96, 4 SV) can make or break a weekend. Campbell (40-17, 20-3 Big South) Campbell shortstop Zach Neto (Aaron Fitt) Making their fourth consecutive regional appearance, the Camels have established themselves as one of the premier mid-major programs in the country under rising superstar head coach Justin Haire. Offensively, the Camels can hurt you in a number of ways, and they stand out for their unique ability to drive the ball out of the ballpark and while also applying a ton of pressure on the basepaths. In fact, the Camels are the only D1 team to rank in the top 10 in both home runs (111 – seventh) and stolen bases (125 – eighth). The back-to-back Big South Player of the Year and projected first-round pick in next month’s draft, shortstop Zach Neto (1.275 OPS, 15 HR, 16 SB) has the skills to take over a game, and did just that in the conference tournament last weekend when he hit .438 with six RBIs in route to tournament MVP honors. One of the first things you’ll notice about Neto is that he employs an exaggerated leg kick in his load, but he does well to get his foot down in time to drive the baseball. As such, his .769 slugging is good for ninth nationally. A juco transfer from Arizona Western CC, Aussie-born third baseman Jarrod Belbin (.948 OPS, 17 HR, 19 SB) sets the tone at the top of the order. Tyler Halstead may hit at the bottom of the lineup, but he’s an all-conference performer who leads the team with 25 stolen bases and utilized a contact-oriented approach to hit .364 this season. After appearing in just five games last season, first baseman Drake Pierson (.341/.454/.716, 18 HR, 18 SB) has emerged as a middle of the order run producer, leading the team with 59 RBIs. Veteran catcher Ty Babin (.328 average, 12 HR) has a wealth of experience behind the dish and has made tremendous strides with the bat this season. On the mound, Big South Pitcher of the Year Thomas Harrington (11-2, 2.21) is a bona fide ace with a mid-90s fastball that tunnels with his low-80s slider. Harrington likely gives the Camels their best chance to knock off Tennessee, but they’ll presumably be inclined to use him to try to quiet Georgia Tech’s robust offense in the opener. A high follow in the 2023 draft class, righthander Cade Kuehler (4-5, 3.62) has a remarkably quick arm and lively mid-90s fastball. He shows hitters two different breaking balls, the better of which is a tight 86-88 mph slider with depth. In the bullpen, Ryan Chasse (3-2, 2.90, 6 SV) is an often used three-pitch lefty who throws in the upper-80s/low-90s, but his fastball plays up thanks to some funk and deception from the left side. Ty Cummings (4-1, 4.21, 6 SV) – his righthanded counterpart – gets good run on his low-90s fastball. Alabama State (33-23, 20-8 Southwestern Athletic) Alabama State’s Corey King (Alabama State Athletics) Making just their second regional appearance in program history and first since 2016, the Hornets punched their ticket into the tournament with an undefeated run through the SWAC tournament last weekend. The offense is led by Corey King (.367/.451/.637, 12 HR) a juco transfer from Seminole State who serves as the team’s DH and leadoff man. A line drive hitter with quick hands and a flat bat path, King took home an abundance of hardware when the SWAC postseason awards were announced, including Player of the Year, Hitter of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. At 6-foot-4, 230-pounds, Hunter May (1.052, 8 HR) is a physical backstop who gets high marks from the coaching staff for his catch and throw skills behind the plate and his strike zone awareness in the box. A four-year starter, Christopher DeGuzman (.304/.410/.415) is a switch-hitting field general at shortstop, and a back-to-back All-SWAC performer. A sure-handed defender, he made just nine errors at the six-spot this spring after committing just seven miscues last season. Fifth-year righty Breon Pooler (10-2, 3.19) is the team’s frontline arm who carried the Jackets on his back during their run through the SWAC Tournament. After throwing 170 pitches in 13 innings over his two appearances, the righthander was named tournament MVP for his effort. Big and physical at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, righthander Austin King (6-2, 5.15) is coming off perhaps the best start of his career, going the distance against Bethune-Cookman (9 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) in the semi-final on Saturday. A second-team all-conference performer, Payton Harris (3-2, 2.18) is the go-to arm out of the pen. He’s most effective when he’s mixing up his looks, adding and subtracting velocity and controlling the running game.
#North Carolina Tarheels #Georgia Bulldogs #Virginia Commonwealth Rams #Hofstra Pride Chapel Hill Regional Preview: Can Anyone Stop Surging Tar Heels? POSTSEASON Aaron Fitt - June 1, 2022 Regional Schedule/Results | Regional Scoreboard | Bracket Challenge Checking The Field North Carolina played its way from outside the bubble to the No. 10 national seed by winning 15 of its final 17 games, including a dominant 4-0 run through the ACC tournament. VCU and Hofstra enter the postseason similarly hot, riding winning streaks of 15 and nine games, respectively. But No. 2 seed Georgia needs a fresh start after a tepid stretch run. 1. North Carolina: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 2. Georgia: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 3. VCU: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 4. Hofstra: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders Spoiler Chapel Hill Regional Superlatives Most Exciting Player: Vance Honeycutt, CF, North Carolina. Good luck finding a more exciting player in college baseball than Honeycutt, who has 21 home runs and 28 stolen bases in 32 tries, making him the first true freshman to post a 20/20 season at the Division I level in at least 30 years (records get patchy if you go back farther than that). A wiry, explosive athlete with serious bugghywhip in his righthanded swing, Honeycutt is also a premium runner and a human highlight reel in center field. Best Hitter: Tyler Locklear, 3B, VCU. Few players in the country can match Locklear’s hitting track record. He earned first-team All-America honors last spring by hitting .345/.515/.686 with 16 homers, then kept on performing in the Cape Cod League, leading the league with nine homers and a .589 slugging percentage to cement his status as a high-rounds draft prospect. And he lived up to his first-team preseason All-America billing heading into this spring, putting up his best season yet: .403/.540/.801 with 19 homers, 75 RBIs and nearly twice as many walks (41) as strikeouts (22). He ranks fifth in the country in OPS. Best Defensive Player: Honeycutt. North Carolina coach Scott Forbes has raved about Honeycutt’s truly jaw-dropping range in center field since the fall. He somehow finds a way to track down balls a mortal man would have no shot to get near. Best Pitcher: Jonathan Cannon, RHP, Georgia. A first-round talent with a legimate four-pitch arsenal and superb control, Cannon was well on his way to an All-America campaign before stumbling down the stretch, along with the rest of his team. He still enters the postseason 9-3, 3.62 with a 65-10 K-BB mark in 74.2 innings, and he’s capable of beating anybody when he’s on his game. He’s certainly the most talented pitcher in this regional, with a mid-90s fastball, two distinct swing-and-miss breaking balls and a very good changeup with plenty of action. X-Factor: Brad Camarda, RHP, Hofstra. How much does Camarda have in the tank after throwing seven innings of one-run ball in a win against Elon last Wednesday, then coming back on three days’ rest to toss seven more strong innings in the CAA title game against Northeastern? A veteran bulldog who attacks with an 88-90 fastball and good feel for his secondary stuff, Camarda is a quality ace who went 8-1, 3.46, and if he can bounce back on four days’ rest, he could give the Pride their best chance to pull off an upset Friday against UNC. Best Starting Rotation: North Carolina. Starting pitching was a weakness for UNC for two-thirds of the season, but it has become a strength during the season-ending hot streak, as righthander Max Carlson and lefty Brandon Schaeffer have begun to give the Heels some much-needed length, taking some strain off the bullpen. UNC still uses a full-blown committee approach in the third game of a weekend, but the Carlson-Schaeffer duo still makes this the best rotation in the regional, the way they have pitched of late. Carlson turned in two quality starts in the ACC tournament, and Schaeffer delivered the best pitching performance by any arm in the tournament, a complete-game shutout against top-seeded Virginia Tech’s explosive offense. Best Bullpen: North Carolina. Between fireballer Davis Palermo, low-slot lefty Shawn Rapp and funky over-the-top changeup specialist Gage Gillian, the Heels have three serious bullpen workhorses that they ride hard. But Nik Pry and flame-thrower Connor Bovair lead a supporting cast that is deeper than you might think. Best Offensive Team: North Carolina. Over the course of the entire season, UNC’s 6.7 runs per game actually rank behind Georgia (7.0) and VCU (7.2). But UNC’s offense has looked unstoppable down the stretch, averaging nine runs per game during its current seven-game winning streak, with all of those games coming against quality arms (first a sweep of pitching-rich Florida State, then blowout wins against the Clemson and Virginia Tech aces in Charlotte, then victories against more good arms from Notre Dame and NC State). VCU’s offense is also putting up numbers, but not against the same caliber of competition, and Georgia’s offense has slumped late. Best Defensive Team: Georgia. The Bulldogs lead this regional field and rank 20th nationally with a .979 fielding percentage. Rock-solid defense has been a hallmark of this program under head coach Scott Stricklin’s leadership, and that remains the case — this is a fundamentally sound unit that features reliable veteran playmakers all around the diamond. It’s not an overly flashy defense, but it minimizes the amount of free bases it surrenders. No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 7. North Carolina has looked like a buzzsaw over the past month, while Georgia has gone in the opposite direction. VCU has won a regional before under coach Shawn Stiffler, in 2015, and this might be its best team since that year, though the Rams are good every year. Hofstra is making the first regional trip in program history. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Georgia figure it out or VCU make another run, but UNC is a strong favorite here. Chapel Hill Regional Team Breakdowns North Carolina (38-19, 15-15 ACC) Vance Honeycutt, North Carolina (Aaron Fitt) It’s been a tale of three seasons for North Carolina, which raced out to a 17-3 start with series wins against East Carolina and Coastal Carolina, reaching No. 13 in the D1Baseball Top 25 on March 21. Then the Tar Heels took a detour, losing their next five ACC series. After getting swept at Virginia on April 24, UNC was just 8-13 in the ACC and off the bubble entirely in our regional projections. But the Tar Heels turned it around, going 15-2 the rest of the way with series wins at NC State, vs. Wake Forest and vs. Florida State before its 4-0 rampage through the ACC tournament. Now UNC looks as dangerous as any team in the country, at the perfect time. As noted above, the improvement of Carlson and Schaeffer has played a major role in UNC’s turnaround. Carlson, a 90-93 mph righthander with very good feel for his changeup and slider, is a hard-nosed competitor who sets the tone for this team, and the Heels can afford to give him an extra day of rest after he threw on four days’ rest in Sunday’s ACC title game. Schaeffer, a low-slot lefty with deception, dominated Virginia Tech almost exclusively using his 87-90 fastball, which plays way up due to its life, sometimes sinking, sometimes riding, sometimes cutting. At the back end, Palermo also attacks hitters mostly with his fastball, an overpowering pitch at 94-97 mph with exceptionally high spin rates. Rapp eats up lefties with his low slot and sweeping slider, and Gillian’s disappearing changeup is a weapon against righties and lefties alike. Honeycutt isn’t the only speed/power threat in this UNC lineup. Third baseman Mac Horvath has emerged as a legitimate star as a sophomore, hitting 16 bombs and swiping 18 bags in 21 tries. Leadoff man Angel Zarate (.357) and switch-hitting shortstop Danny Serretti (.370) give UNC a pair of proven, seasoned veterans who make the offense go and provide airtight defense. DH Alberto Osuna (19 HR) is a physical presence with enormous power behind Honeycutt in the order, and the Heels get loads of quality at-bats lower in the lineup from spark plug Mikey Madej, catcher Tomas Frick and first baseman Hunter Stokely — three gritty role players who excel at their jobs. Frick, Serretti, second baseman Colby Wilkerson and Honeycutt also make UNC superb defensively up the middle, while Horvath and Stokely are defensive standouts at the infield corners, and Zarate is a center fielder who plays a dynamite right field and throws well. Georgia (35-21, 15-15 SEC) Georgia righthander Jonathan Cannon (Aaron Fitt) The Bulldogs opened the season ranked in the top 20 and spent most of the season inside the rankings, even though season-ending injuries to power-armed pitchers Dylan Ross and Will Childers dramatically changed a pitching staff that was expected to be a major strength. Instead, the Bulldogs gave up runs by the bushel in SEC play, posting a miserable 7.28 ERA in 30 conference games. But Georgia somehow stayed above water thanks to its veteran-laden position player group, which ranked third batting in SEC-only games and continued to play airtight defense, as Georgia does every year. The Bulldogs were still right in the regional hosting mix until the final month, when they finished 6-9 with series losses at LSU, vs. Vandy, at Tennessee and vs. Missouri, then exited the SEC tournament after losing to Alabama in the play-in round. Can the Bulldogs reset and make a run in the postseason? For that to happen, they’ll clearly need to find some answers on the mound. Some combination of Liam Sullivan, Jaden Woods, Jack Gowen, Luke Wagner, Chandler Marsh, Nolan Crisp and Davis Rokose will have to supplement Cannon and give this team quality innings. All of those guys have stuff, but only hard-throwing closer Gowen (2.29 ERA with 10 saves) has been a consistent performer. Georgia’s biggest strength is the age of its position player group, which means this lineup is both experienced and physical, with a bunch of fifth-year seniors leading the way. The team’s top two hitters are brothers Cole Tate (.353/.417/.519) and Connor Tate (.341/.433/.602, 12 HR), and the Bulldogs have other seasoned veterans in speedy center fielder Ben Anderson, first baseman Chaney Rogers, third baseman Josh McAllister and second baseman Cory Acton. Corey Collins and Parks Harbor join Connor Tate to provide thump in the heart of the order. Fernando Gonzalez is a defensive standout behind the plate, anchoring this steady defensive unit. VCU (40-18, 19-5 in A-10) VCU slugger Tyler Locklear (VCU Athletics) VCU has become a perennial power in the A-10 under 10th-year head coach Shawn Stiffler, annually finishing at or near the top of the regular-season standings. After making the first super regional in program history in 2015, VCU was knocked off in the conference tournament each of the next four years, but the Rams broke through again in 2021, winning a game in the Starkville Regional before dropping their next two. They entered this season as the favorites in the A-10 and finished in second place behind Davidson, but they made a 4-0 run through the A-10 tournament at Davidson, beating the host Wildcats on the way to another regional appearance. VCU is in the conversation with North Carolina, East Carolina and Stanford when it comes to hottest teams in the country, riding a 15-game winning streak into the postseason. VCU’s offense has come on strong down the stretch, scoring 36 runs in its four-game waltz through the A-10 tourney. The aforementioned Tyler Locklear is the best hitter in this regional and one of the most dangerous in the country, but this is not a one-man show. Will Carlone and Connor Hujsak also provide some pop, combining for 15 home runs, and Hujsak also offers a speed dimension with 17 steals in 19 tries. But this team’s greatest strength is its pitching, which ranks sixth in the nation with a 3.75 ERA. Campbell Ellis (4-4, 3.45), Maddison Furman (6-0, 2.25 in 36 innings) and Tyler Davis (4-2, 3.75) give VCU three quality lefthanded starting options, while Jack Masloff (4-1, 2.86), Nolan Wilson (4-0, 2.41) and Chase Hungate (6-4, 3.45) anchor an excellent bullpen that can rival UNC’s as the best in this regional. A major key for VCU will be playing clean defense behind this good staff, as VCU ranks 206th in the nation with a .964 fielding percentage. Hofstra (30-21, 15-9 CAA) Hofstra ace Brad Camarda (Hofstra Athletics) Frank Catalanotto, who spent 14 years as a major league outfielder, is a rising star in the college coaching ranks. In his first season at New York Tech in 2019, he led the Bears to their first-ever Division II College World Series appearance. And in his first season as Hofstra’s head coach this spring, he has led the Pride to their first-ever regional appearance. After going 17-22 overall and 8-16 in the CAA last year (eighth place in the nine-team league), Hofstra jumped to second place in the standings this year under Catalanotto, then won four straight one-run games in the CAA tournament to capture the automatic bid, beating preseason favorite Northeastern twice in a row in the finals. Like UNC and VCU, Hofstra enters the postseason playing its best baseball, riding a nine-game winning streak. As noted above, a big key for Hofstra will be how well ace Brad Camarda bounces back after turning in a pair of excellent seven-inning performances in the conference tourney. But Hofstra also has a quality No. 2 starter who is pitching confidence in Mark Faello, who threw seven innings of two-run ball in a win against UNCW last week. Michael O’Hanlon (3.76 ERA, six saves) anchors the bullpen. The centerpiece of the Hofstra offense is outfielder Brian Morrell, who is hitting .352/.420/.561 with 13 doubles, eight homers and 39 RBIs — all team bests. Fellow outfielder Will Kennedy (.331/.378/.508) and catcher Kevin Bruggeman (.298/.362/.461, 6 HR) are other key bats for Hofstra, which features a balanced lineup geared around putting the ball in play and using the gaps. Statistically, this team’s greatest strength is its defense, which leads the CAA and ranks 59th nationally with a .974 fielding percentage.
#East Carolina Pirates #Virginia Cavaliers #Coastal Carolina Chanticleers #Coppin State Eagles Greenville Regional Preview: White-hot Pirates Face Stiff Test POSTSEASON Aaron Fitt - June 1, 2022 Regional Schedule/Results | Regional Scoreboard | Bracket Challenge Checking The Field East Carolina rode the nation’s longest winning streak (18 games) to the No. 8 national seed, but the Pirates will have to navigate some choppy waters this weekend against an offensive Virginia team, a balanced Coastal Carolina club, and a plucky Coppin State squad looking to rock the boat. 1. East Carolina: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 2. Virginia: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 3. Coastal Carolina: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 4. Coppin State: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders Spoiler Greenville Regional Superlatives Most Exciting Player: Bryson Worrell, CF, East Carolina. With a rare combination of physicality and athleticism, Worrell is a switch-hitter with power (14 homers) and good speed that plays in center field, where his cannon arm also leads to plenty of excitement. Fellow ECU outfielder Jacob Jenkins-Cowart has also provided serious entertainment with his power and defense during the Pirates’ hot streak. Best Hitter: Jake Gelof, 3B, Virginia. After coming on late during his encouraging freshman year, Gelof burst onto the scene in a big way early this spring and even captured our Midseason Top Player award after seven weeks. With the ability to hit for power and average to all fields, Gelof is simply one of the best hitters in the country, as his season line attests (.373/.474/.751, 19 homers, 15 doubles, 74 RBIs). Best Defensive Player: Matt McDermott, 2B, Coastal Carolina. Usually this honor goes to a shortstop, catcher or center fielder, and Virginia shortstop Griff O’Ferrall or ECU’s Worrell would be worthy selections, but we’re going to give the nod to McDermott, whom Gary Gilmore calls perhaps the best second baseman he’s ever coached over the course of his long career. Best Pitcher: Michael Knorr, RHP, Coastal Carolina. Knorr really came into his own this year after transferring in from Cal State Fullerton, going 5-0, 2.87 with a dazzling 84-10 K-BB mark in 64 innings over 12 starts. He smothers the strike zone with a very good four-pitch mix: a 92-95 fastball, a quality slider at 80-83, a useful changeup and curveball. X-Factor: Jordan Hamberg, LHP/DH, Coppin State. No player in this regional is more valuable to his team than Hamberg, one of five finalists for the John Olerud Award honoring the nation’s best two-way player. Hamberg is Coppin State’s best hitter (.355/.464/.630 with a team-best eight-homers along with 34 RBIs) and also the ace of its pitching staff (6-2, 4.04 with 86 strikeouts in 62.1 innings). With an 87-91 fastball that has natural tailing action, a good changeup and emerging breaking ball, Hamberg has a chance to throw this regional into chaos if he can find a way to beat the Pirates. Best Starting Rotation: Coastal Carolina. Knorr and lefthander Reid VanScoter (9-2, 3.06) give the Chanticleers the best one-two punch in this regional, both with power stuff and the ability to pound the zone. Nick Parker is a solid, reliable veteran in the No. 3 starter spot. Best Bullpen: Virginia. ECU’s bullpen is also a strength for a staff that is essentially a full-blown committee every game, but Virginia has more pure stuff in the pen, led by exciting freshman Jay Woolfolk, fellow power righty Dylan Bowers, veteran bulldog Paul Kosanovich and power lefty Brandon Neeck. Best Offensive Team: Virginia. The Cavaliers rank ninth in the nation in scoring (8.8 runs per game), with a balanced offense that features a blend of power, speed and contact skills. Exciting freshmen Casey Saucke, Griff O’Ferrall and Ethan Anderson have provided a major boost offensively, and veteran Alex Tappen is enjoying a career year as a power-hitting run producer. Best Defensive Team: East Carolina. The Pirates play airtight defense, ranking fourth in the nation with a .983 fielding percentage. Zach Agnos has made a smooth transition from third base to shortstop, and Alec Makarewicz and Josh Moylan provide standout defense on the infield corners. The Pirates have strong defenders all over the diamond. No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 4. East Carolina is red-hot, riding an 18-game winning streak into regionals. But this team doesn’t feel like the same kind of juggernaut as past ECU teams that did not land top-eight seeds, particularly because they don’t have a true ace like Gavin Williams or Jake Agnos in years past. Still, they are well coached, confident and hungry, and they’re tough to beat at home. But Virginia and Coastal Carolina both look very capable of winning this regional as well. Greenville Regional Team Breakdowns East Carolina (42-18, 20-4 AAC) East Carolina lefty C.J. Mayhue (Aaron Fitt) The Pirates are hosting a regional for the fourth straight year, but the first time during that stretch as a top-eight national seed. This has been coach Cliff Godwin’s best coaching job yet, as the Pirates were thrown for a loop in February by the season-long suspension of preseason first-team All-America ace Carson Whisenhunt, a first-round talent, after a failed drug test. That left ECU scrambling to figure out roles on the mound, and the offense got off to a sluggish start, as a number of key veteran mainstays simply slumped out of the gates. The Pirates started out 1-5, and they were just 14-13 as late as April 1. But Godwin and his staff held it all together, shuffled around some roles, and got this team to believe in itself down the stretch. ECU went 28-5 after that 14-13 start, finishing the season on an 18-game winning streak to cruise the American regular-season and conference tournament titles. As noted above, Cowart-Jenkins and Worrell are the power-hitting, athletic linch pins of this lineup, but Agnos (.324 with 7 HR and 15 2B) and Makarewicz (9 HR, 14 2B) recovered from rough starts to turn in solid seasons as well, giving ECU two more physical, athletic players with plenty of big-game experience. Leading hitter Lane Hoover (.354) is the consummate gritty 2-hole hitter who provides leadership and bat-handling skills, helping Agnos make this offense go. Without Whisenhunt, the Pirates eventually moved standout closer C.J. Mayhue (4-1, 2.90) into the rotation, and he threw nine innings of no-hit ball on May 6 at Memphis, then followed with two more strong six-inning outings. But he struggled in his final regular-season start, and the Pirates were careful not to tax him in the conference tournament, pulling him after four shutout innings against South Florida, then bringing him back to work three more scoreless frames in the title game against Houston. After Mayhue, ECU deploys a true staff-by-committee approach, mixing and matching with a variety of different looks from the right and left sides. The bullpen anchor is AAC pitcher of the year Carter Spivey (7-0, 2.42 with seven saves), who can really spin a big-breaking slurve from the right side. Virginia (38-17, 17-13 ACC) Virginia’s Jake Gelof (Aaron Fitt) The Cavaliers had some big shoes to fill after last year’s Omaha run, particularly on the mound and on the left side of the infield, but they quickly demonstrated that they had found answers to the biggest question marks, racing out to a 14-0 start (albeit against lesser competition). Power sinkerballer Nate Savino took a step forward and emerged as the staff ace early, and though he wasn’t as sharp down the stretch, he remains a major key for Virginia’s postseason prospects. USC transfer Brian Gursky, whose calling card is a plus changeup, teams with Savino to give Virginia two quality lefthanded starters to lean upon, with the aforementioned bullpen providing a variety of looks and plenty of swing-and-miss pitches behind them. This staff was not as good down the stretch as it was early, and whether it can return to form is the major question mark for UVa. heading into the postseason. But the offense is scary, led by surefire All-American Gelof, veterans Tappen and Devin Ortiz, speed/power threat Chris Newell in center field, plus the trio of dynamic freshmen noted above. Of course, coach Brian O’Connor was not pleased with the quality of his team’s at-bats down the stretch, as the Cavaliers lost five of their final seven games, scoring just nine runs total in those five losses. Virginia found itself in need of a reset after the ACC tournament. We’ll find out soon whether that reset button can jumpstart a Virginia club that looked Omaha-caliber for much of the season. Coastal Carolina (36-18-1, 21-8-1 Sun Belt) Coastal Carolina ace Michael Knorr (CCU Athletics) The Chanticleers battled through injuries and underperformance in the first half, starting the season a modest 16-13-1, including a 5-6-1 start to Sun Belt play. But after getting swept at home by Georgia State on April 10, Coastal did an about-face, going on a 19-4 tear to end the regular season. Even after getting bounced in their SBC tournament opener after the event was modified to single-elimination by stormy weather, Coastal grabbed an at-large bid, and it looks like one of the more dangerous No. 3 seeds in the field of 64, led by the strong starting pitching noted above and a balanced offense. The Chanticleers rank 32nd in the nation in scoring, and they feature a balance of speed, power and on-base ability in the lineup. Third baseman Dale Thomas (13 HR) and DH Tyler Johnson (17 HR) are the primary power threats. The emergence of Johnson has been one of the biggest keys to Coastal’s success this year; he hit just .162/.305/.294 in 68 at-bats last year after transferring in from the juco ranks, but now he’s leading the team in the triple-slash categories (.366/.471/.771) after working hard to refine his swing and approach with assistant coach Matt Schilling. Coastal’s best all-around player, shortstop Eric Brown (.332/.456/.563), is a top-three-rounds draft talent with a quick line-drive stroke, producing a team-best 19 homers along with seven home runs. He also has 12 stolen bases and has become a more consistent defender at shortstop, where he teams with the aforementioned McDermott to give Coastal an excellent double-play tandem. McDermott, who has stolen 18 bags as a transfer from William & Mary, and Rhode Island transfer Austin White (33-for-37 in steals) give this team two more serious speed threats, and the ultra-experienced White really makes the Chanticleers go. A key for Coastal will be getting quality pitching after the Knorr-VanScoter duo. Elliot Carney, Reece Maniscalco and Jacob Maton have all flashed excellence at times this year, and they’ll have to be sharp for Coastal to advance to its first super regional since its 2016 national title run. Coppin State (24-29, 17-14 MEAC) Coppin State two-way star Jordan Hamberg (Coppin State Athletics) Coppin State is one of this season’s great turnaround stories, improving from 10-29 overall and 7-20 in the MEAC a year ago to finish second in the conference this year, then going 3-1 in the MEAC tourney to earn their first-ever trip to regionals. Of course, this program has been on a general upward trajectory under 12th-year head coach Sherman Reed, going a MEAC-best 33-13 in league games over the course of the 2018-2019 seasons. But this is the first time the Eagles have been able to break through to the big dance. Coppin State is one of the biggest underdogs in the field of 64; Will Campbell at Streaking The Lawn points out that the Eagles played just five games against teams with an RPI ranking inside the top 200, and they went 0-5 in those games. Suffice it to say, they’ll face markedly stiffer competition in Greenville. As noted above, two-way talent Jordan Hamberg gives Coppin State a fighting chance against the top-seeded Pirates, and the Eagles have a second workhorse starter in Tyler Nichol (2-2, 5.10 with 71 strikeouts and 44 walks in 67 innings), who features an 88-91 fastball and tight rotation on his curveball. And the Coppin State offense heads into regionals on a hot streak, having scored 46 runs in their three wins at the conference tournament. In addition to Hamberg, the Eagles get some pop from multi-talented outfielder Marcos Castillo (.330/.420/.511, 5 HR, 18 SB), who has hit for average and served as a threat on the basepaths every season during his standout four-year career. Speed is Coppin State’s primary weapon on offense, as the Eagles rank 11th in the nation in stolen bases per game, led by catalyst Wellington Balsley’s 26 bags out of the leadoff spot. Hamberg, Brian Nicolas, Matt Day and Josh Hankins join Balsley and Castillo in the double-digit stolen base club.
#Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles #LSU Tigers #Kennesaw State Owls #Army Black Knights Hattiesburg Regional Preview: Protecting the Pete POSTSEASON Mark Etheridge - June 1, 2022 Regional Schedule/Results | Regional Scoreboard | Bracket Challenge Checking The Field Where will the most competitive battle be this weekend? Is it on the field or outside sold-out Pete Taylor Park, where thousands of LSU fans will make the 170-mile trip to the Southern Miss campus? The raucous home fans will do their best to keep tickets away from the purple and gold crew. The dueling chants of “Throw it in the dirt! Dirt! and “Geaux Tigers!” will make this the most vocal, and perhaps the most interesting regional atmosphere of 2022. Meanwhile, Kennesaw State and Army shouldn’t be overlooked, as either or both could spoil the anticipated showdown between the favorites. 1. Southern Miss: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 2. LSU: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 3. Kennesaw State: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 4. Army: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders Spoiler Hattiesburg Regional Superlatives Most Exciting Player: Dylan Crews, OF, LSU. When a player draws Mike Trout comparisons, the player obviously is skilled. LSU center fielder Dylan Crews (.346/.456/.690) is that player. Just a sophomore, Crews isn’t draft-eligible this season but is projected to be one of the first players taken in 2023. A 6-foot, 203-pound righthander hitter, Crews hit .362 with 18 home runs last season as a freshman. This year, he’s exceeded his home run and RBI (68 to 42) totals. Enjoy watching him now in college. Soon enough, the pro fans will be enjoying his play. Best Hitter: Jacob Berry, 3B, LSU. Speaking of top hitters, LSU third baseman Jacob Berry (.381/.473/.661) is a top position player prospect for this year’s draft. Berry transferred in from Arizona with LSU coach Jay Johnson and leads the Tigers in batting. He has missed nine games this season, which not only hurt his numbers but hurt LSU’s hosting chances down the stretch. His respite gave his broken finger some time to heal, and the switch-hitter is expected back in the lineup this weekend. Best Defensive Player: Tre’ Morgan, 1B, LSU. LSU has endured all sorts of defensive miscues this season, but where would the Tigers be without Tre’ Morgan (.318/.409/.462)? The first baseman has incredible range and mobility around the bag, not to mention scooping throws in the dirt. He’s the rare first baseman that can change a game defensively. Best Pitcher: Tanner Hall, RHP, Southern Miss. A true sophomore from Zachary, Louisiana, Hall has to be itching about the opportunity to face his home-state school. He’s exceeded everyone’s expectations after only making one start last season. The righthander began the season in midweek but struck out 13 in seven scoreless innings versus Mississippi State and followed it with eight innings with no earned runs versus Tulane. He moved into the rotation and has been the most consistent starter for an extremely good staff. He has five games with double-digit strikeouts including a 14 and two 13s, all while walking just 11 batters all season. X-Factor: Pete Taylor Park. It will be hot. It will be humid. It will be loud. It will be packed. The home fan base is eager to test its club and try to exorcise some demons from 2017, when the Golden Eagles lost a pair of rain-soaked championship games to Mississippi State. An easy sellout, they could sell well over capacity if the fire marshal found a winning slot machine in Biloxi. This will be a home-field advantage, and one LSU fans will undoubtedly negate the best they can. The other thing to point out is when the weather heats up, the ball can carry in this park. Both USM and LSU rely on power, so neither should mind that at all. Best Starting Rotation: Southern Miss. If Tennessee were a mere mortal, this staff would be getting more accolades. The weekend trio of Hall, Hunter Riggins, and Hurston Waldrep are a combined 24-7 with 12 double-digit strikeout games and 20 games with eight or more punchouts. They rarely have bad outings and go deep in games. Credit to pitching coach Christian Ostrander for rebuilding the rotation. Delta State transfer Riggins joined this fall as a grad transfer. Hall made one start last season and Waldrep didn’t make any. Best Bullpen: Southern Miss. This category was close because LSU’s bullpen saved them repeatedly but this goes to the Golden Eagles. Landon Harper (2-2, 2.27, 11 svs), Dalton Rogers (1-1, 1.67, 6 svs), and Garrett Ramsey (5-0, 2.35, 4 svs) headlining a unit with 23 saves. Isaiah Rhodes (3-0, 4.40), Ben Ethridge (1-3, 4.15), Chandler Best (0-1, 5.17), and Matthew Adams (2-2, 5.91) are all capable. Best Offensive Team: LSU. The Tigers’ offense is one of the nation’s best, with 107 home runs, 113 doubles, and a .289 team batting average with a lot of high-end talent. There are no gaps in the batting order and there are weapons off the bench should they like a matchup. Best Defensive Team: Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles take this one fairly easily, which corresponds well to their pitching and defense-dominated squad. Catcher Blake Johnson has thrown out 12 batters out of 27 attempts, which could come into play versus Army considering how much the Cadets run. No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 5. Southern Miss has the edge on the mound and is at home. LSU has the edge at the plate and based on the draft, has more high-end talent. The matchup looks relatively even. For KSU and Army to have any shot, they have to win their first game because they appear to lack the pitching depth to stand up to these offenses. Hattiesburg Regional Team Breakdowns Southern Miss (43-16, 23-7 C-USA) Southern Miss ace Tanner Hall (Aaron Fitt) Southern Miss won Conference USA in large part due to a pitching staff that finished second in the nation in ERA at 3.04. It starts with the rotation, where righthanders Hall, Riggins, and Waldrep set the tone with 34 starts. Hall (8-2, 2.69) has moved to Fridays and has 130 strikeouts in his 93.2 innings with only 11 walks. Riggins (8-4, 2.75) has 79 strikeouts and 20 walks in his 88.1 innings. Waldrep (6-1, 2.99) brings the most velocity and has collected 117 strikeouts to 27 walks in his 78.1 innings. Should a fourth game become necessary, 6-foot-9, 250-pound RHP Tyler Stuart (2-0, 3.31) is the probable starter. Southern Miss is powerful offensively batting .283 with 119 doubles and 77 home runs. Shortstop Dustin Dickerson (.346/.420/.443) leads the team in batting and doubles (23). Outfielder Reece Ewing (.291/.457/.537) hits three-hole with 10 homers. His absence from the lineup earlier this season was felt as the Golden Eagles dropped a couple of series. DH Slade Wilks (.293/.410/,548) also has 10 homers. First baseman Christopher Sargent (.251/.300/.535) leads the team with 20 home runs and 54 RBIs while second baseman Will McGillis (.276/.404/.576) has 15 homers and 49 RBIs. Outfielder Carson Paetow (.285/.390/.550) has 13 homers while third baseman Danny Lynch (.272/.365/.401), and outfielder Gabe Montenegro (.284/.344/.349) are clutch performers. Rodrigo Montenegro (.314/.453/.390) and Blake Johnson (.295/.406/.462) share the catching duties. USM doesn’t run much, with 29 steals in 44 attempts with Dickerson and McGillis leading the team with six. The Golden Eagles field .976. LSU (38-20, 17-13 SEC) LSU finished fourth overall in the SEC and had a chance to earn a host spot. Instead, they make the short trip to Hattiesburg as a dangerous 2-seed. Head coach Jay Johnson has experience winning road regionals at Arizona and now will try to recreate that in his first season at LSU. Berry (.381/.473/.661) returns as does second baseman Cade Doughty (.286/.385/.536/12 HRs/51 RBIs) which should get their potent lineup back to full strength. Joining Crews as top power sources are outfielder Brayden Joubert (.257/.594/.369/17 HRs/55 RBIs), catcher Tyler McManus (,295/.400/.612/9 HRs), and outfielder Josh Pearson (.295/.429/.543/8 HRs). DH Gavin Dugas (.308/.479/.500), who led the team in RBIs last season, shortstop Jordan Thompson (.286/.395/.433), and first baseman Tre’ Morgan (.318/.409/.462) round out the scary lineup. LSU also doesn’t run much with 21 steals in 27 tries but they do get a lot of free bases with 285 walks and 116 hit-by-pitches. To put it mildly, they have had some issues defensively, fielding .961. LSU’s season on the mound has been wrought with inconsistency, but they’ve pitched well enough (4.09 team ERA) to keep themselves in games. The most dependable starter is veteran RHP Ma’Khail Hilliard (7-1, 4.04). He has started 14 games and logged a team-high 71.1 innings featuring a steady dose of big, downer curveballs. Behind him has been a bit of a revolving door, with RHP Blake Money (2-4, 5.25/12 GS), RHP Samuel Dutton (1-1, 4.71/10 GS), and RHP Ty Floyd (5-4, 3.52/9 GS) getting the most opportunities. The bullpen has picked up the slack often, with 6’10’ RHP Paul Gervase (3-1, 2.12, 5 svs, 26 G), RHP Trent Ventmeier (1-0, 2.12), LHP Jacob Hasty (2-1, 2.96), LHP Riley Cooper (4-2, 3.00, 28 G), RHP Eric Reyzelman (1-2, 3.60, 27 G), and RHP Devin Fontenot (2-2, 5.04, 21 G) all having their moments. If LSU gets some innings from their starters, their bullpen has proven they can win games late. Kennesaw State (35-26, 19-11 A-Sun) Kennesaw State flirted with an at-large bid, appearing in our projected regional field for several weeks before falling out in mid-May. The Owls then took the mystery out of the selection by defeating Liberty in the Atlantic Sun Tournament to win the automatic bid. KSU has victories over regional teams Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, and Liberty, so shouldn’t feel overwhelmed this weekend. A strong offensive squad, the Owls hit .301 as a team this year with 67 home runs and were 49-of-64 in stolen bases. Offensively, Mississippi State transfer outfielder Josh Hatcher (.386/.444/.648/13 HRs/55 RBIs/11 sbs) knows what to expect in Hattiesburg having opened his freshman year there in 2018. First baseman Donovan Cash (.356/.416/.565/10 HRs/57 RBIs) and third baseman Cash Young (.296/.376/.564/17 HRs/58 RBIs) bring value to the middle of the lineup. Other batters to watch include shortstop Tyler Simon (.319/.383/.484/7 HRs/46 RBIs/11 sbs), DH Spencer Hanson (.314/.383/.459), second baseman Zac Corbin (.308/.397/.450), outfielder Nick Colina (.273/.405/.377), outfielder Brayden Eidson (.265/.359/.360), and catcher Nick Hassan (.254/.313/.311). KSU fields .967 as a team. Kennesaw State will likely go with 6-foot-7, 200-pound RHP Jack Myers (5-3, 4.01, 15 GS) in the opening game. Opponents are batting .244 off him with a 65/29 strikeout/walk ratio in 85.1 innings. Lefty John Bezdicek (5-1, 3.75, 15 GS) has been consistent in the second starter role with a .210 opponent’s batting average and an 81/31 strikeout/walk ratio in 74.1 IP. After those two starters, there is a dropoff. Most utilized starters include Brayden Eidson (.3-2, 6.75, 7 GS), McKenzie Stills (1-1, 7.54, 8 GS), and Connor Housely (0-3, 9.23, 7 GS). The lack of proven starters beyond Myers and Bezdicek makes staying in the winner’s bracket vital. The top bullpen arms include Jared Rine (4-0, 5.31, 7 svs), Smith Pinson (6-5, 4.57, 3 svs), Luke Torbert (4-2, 6.46), and Nathan Holler (5-5, 8.16). Army (31-23, 18-7 Patriot) Army won the Patriot League regular season and then defeated Bucknell in the best-of-three championship series to win the automatic bid. This is the fourth consecutive NCAA appearance for the Cadets, so they should be prepared for the atmosphere. This is a team built on an aggressive offense. With a .301 team batting average and 101 steals in 120 attempts, that’s the emphasis as opposed to the 31 team home runs. Third baseman Sam Ruta (.385/.491/.609/6 HRs) leads the team in batting, walks, triples, and home runs. First baseman Ross Frederick (.346/.401/.495/6 HRs/49 RBIs) joins Ruta for the homer lead and leads in RBIs. Shortstop Kevin Dubrule (.329/.372/.424) leads the team in doubles with 17. Catcher Cam Cerruto (.341/.432/.545) has come on strong. Four players have double-digit stolen bases. Centerfielder Hunter Meade (.285/.397/.337/31 sbs), outfielder Carter Macias (.293/.411/.337/21 sbs), outfielder Nick Manesis (.308/.401/.443/10 sbs), and second baseman Derek Berg (.316/.380/.421/10 sbs) are going to test the catchers this weekend. Army fields .970. Army has pitched at a 4.76 clip this season. The top starter is southpaw Connelly Early (7-3, 3.39). Opponents are batting just .213 against him with 62 hits in 79.2 innings. He has struck out 80 and walked 34. Behind him, potential starters are RHP Brian Dawson (4-2, 3.88), RHP Anthony LoRicco (0-1, 3.57), RHP Mike Ruggieri (3-4, 5.98) RHP Robbie Buecker (1-5, 6.42). The top relief options are Tanner Gresham (1-1, 2.73, 5 svs), Sean Dennehy (5-2, 3.60, 3 svs), Trevor Finan (1-0, 9.39), Teddy Lepcio (2-2, 5.85), Steven Graver (3-0, 4.50), and Matthew Monnebaum (1-1, 5.68).
#Miami Hurricanes #Arizona Wildcats #Mississippi Rebels #Canisius Golden Griffins Coral Gables Regional Preview: Canes Host Big-Name Powers POSTSEASON Walter Villa - June 1, 2022 Regional Schedule/Results | Regional Scoreboard | Bracket Challenge Checking The Field 1. Miami: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 2. Arizona: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 3. Ole Miss: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 4. Canisius: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders Spoiler Coral Gables Regional Superlatives Most Exciting Players: Miami third baseman Yohandy Morales and Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez project as first-round picks in 2023. Neither player has missed a game this year. Both of them are tall, talented and projectable. Morales, a 6-4, 210-pounder, has a knack for making loud contact. He is hitting .323 with 14 homers and a 1.009 OPS. Gonzalez, a 6-2, 200-pounder who turned 20 on Monday, was the D1Baseball National Freshman of the Year in 2021, slugging 12 homers and leading the Rebels with a .355 batting average. He also led the nation’s true freshmen in hits and runs scored. This year, his batting average is down to .276, but he has 16 homers and a 1.012 OPS. Best Hitter: Arizona catcher Daniel Susac is a consensus top-10 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. He has started all 60 of Arizona’s games, hitting .367 with 19 doubles, two triples, 12 homers, 61 RBIs and a 1.030 OPS. Best Defensive Player: Miami center fielder Jacob Burke has a strong arm and has made a ton of great plays this year – robbing would-be homers, sprawling for diving catches and ranging from gap to gap. He has made only one error all year, and he has three outfield assists. A transfer this season from Southeastern Louisiana, Burke has also starred offensively, hitting .351 with 12 doubles, two triples, 12 homers, nine steals in 11 tries, a team-high 56 RBIs and a 1.028 OPS. Best Pitcher: Miami closer Andrew Walters (0-0, 1.20 ERA) has been dominant this year with an upper-90s fastball that lives up in the zone. He has held hitters to a .100 batting average and has 57 strikeouts in 30 innings. X-Factor: Ole Miss’ Tim Elko – a native Floridian – is coming home, perhaps in more ways than one. He has launched 35 homers the past two years, including 19 so far this season. Best Starting Rotation: It’s close, but Miami has the top rotation due in large part to Carson Palmquist, who made 15 starts this season. He went 9-4 with a 3.09 ERA in his first year as a starter. He held opponents to a .227 batting average, but he also allowed a team-high 14 homers. Midweek starter Jake Garland (6-2, 3.99) is an effective strike-thrower and groundball pitcher who could get an early appearance. He allowed just four homers, although there was traffic on the bases (.282 batting average). Freshman Karson Ligon (6-6, 4.50) trailed off in the second half, and hard-throwing Alejandro Rosario struggled all season (2-3, 7.57). Best Bullpen: Miami gets the nod here as Walters is tied for sixth in the nation with 13 saves. Among closers from Power Five schools, he is tied for first. Miami’s set-up men include talented Gage Ziehl (1-2, 4.35) and rising star Ronaldo Gallo (3-0, 3.63). Batters hit just .215 against Gallo and .218 versus Ziehl. Best Offensive Team: Arizona and Ole Miss have reputations as offensive clubs, but Miami actually has the highest-scoring team in this regional (7.8 runs per game). The Hurricanes have a good mix of speed (52 steals in 67 tries) and power (104 doubles, 11 triples, 84 homers). Miami’s team OPS is .877. Best Defensive Team: Arizona ranks eighth in the nation with 52 double plays. The Wildcats (regional-best .972 fielding percentage) also put together an eight-game errorless streak in May that was the program’s longest in at least 24 years. No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 5. Coral Gables Regional Team Breakdowns Miami (39-18, 20-10 ACC) Miami’s Max Romero Jr. (Miami Athletics) The top-seeded Hurricanes are 28-8 at home as they seek their first CWS appearance since 2016. Highlights for Miami this year include three-game sweeps over eventual regional teams Virginia and North Carolina. Miami also took two of three from NCAA tournament team Notre Dame. Overall, Miami went 11-8 against playoff teams. Perhaps Miami’s most underrated player is slick-fielding first baseman CJ Kayfus, who led the team in batting average (.369) and on-base percentage (.465) and steals (16-for-20). Another player to watch is catcher Maxwell Romero, a Vanderbilt transfer who posted 15 doubles, 12 homers, 54 RBIs and an .896 OPS. After last week’s poor showing in the ACC tournament, coach Gino DiMare lamented the inability of his pitchers to locate their fastballs, particularly inside, during Miami’s 0-2 showing, during which it allowed 25 runs. So that will be a huge key this weekend in a regional filled with teams that can really hit and will punish mistakes over the heart of the plate. Arizona (37-23, 16-14 Pac-12) Garrett Irvin (Shotgun Spratling) The second-seeded Wildcats (37-23) will start with Ole Miss in a rematch of a 2021 super regional. Arizona won that series, 2-1. This will be Arizona’s 41st regional appearance, sixth most in NCAA history. Arizona’s first-year coach Chip Hale is well aware of those credentials since he is a former Wildcats star player, leading his school to the 1986 College World Series championship. Arizona relies on starters Garrett Irvin (5-4, 3.22) and TJ Nichols (5-4, 5.51) along with relievers Quinn Flanagan and Trevor Long. Irvin and Nichols are tied for the team lead with 15 starts each. Irvin is holding opponents to .230 batting average. Nichols, considered a possible first-rounder in 2023 due in part to his high-90s fastball, is allowing opponents a .286 batting average. Long (5-3, 3.89) leads Arizona with seven saves. Flanagan – 30 relief appearances and one start – is 5-1 with a 1.72 ERA. Offensively, the Wildcats – besides Susac – are powered by Tanner O’Tremba (1.033 OPS) and Chase Davis (.999 OPS). O’Tremba is hitting .351 with 18 doubles, four triples, 10 homers and 52 RBIs. Davis is hitting .292 with 13 doubles, 51 RBIs and a team-high 16 homers. Power is an obvious asset for this club. Ole Miss (32-22, 14-16 SEC) Ole Miss celebrates a Kevin Graham home run With a losing record in the SEC, the third-seeded Rebels (32-22, 14-16 SEC) were the last at-large team selected for the NCAA Tournament this season. Some analysts consider them fortunate to be in the postseason at all. But this is still a talented squad that was ranked No. 1 in the nation early this season after starting 9-0 and then 13-1. The Rebels also took two of three on the road at Auburn, which is hosting a regional. The Rebels then swept three games at LSU, which is also in the tournament. Overall, the Rebels went 13-10 away from home. The Rebels will rely on starting pitchers Hunter Elliott (3-3, 3.29) and Dylan DeLucia (5-2, 4.57). But the key is the bullpen. In April, Josh Mallitz, Jack Washburn, Mason Nichols, Brandon Johnson, John Gaddis and Jack Dougherty combined for a 6.03 ERA. In May, those same six relievers combined for a 2.15 ERA in 46 innings. Another Rebels player to watch is Kevin Graham, who led the team in hitting (.345). He also posted eight doubles, 10 homers and a .976 OPS. He made a dramatic impact on this club when he returned from injury. Canisius (29-23, 15-9 in MAAC) Max Grant (Canisius Athletics) The fourth-seeded Golden Griffins (29-23, 15-9 MAAC) enter the regional on a six-game win streak, including two shutouts. They will start with Miami, and they opened the season by splitting four games against another ACC school, Pittsburgh. Canisius players to watch include second baseman Max Grant, who is the 2022 MAAC Player of the Year; and Peyton Consigli, the league’s Rookie of the Year and Reliever of the Year. Grant started all 52 of Canisius’ games and hit .404 with 13 doubles, six triples, 10 homers, 52 RBIs and a 1.148 OPS. He got on base at a .492 clip, stole seven bases in eight attempts and made just four errors. Consigli (4-2, 3.15) earned a team-high seven saves as a true freshman, leading a pitching staff that also includes starter Matt Duffy (8-2, 3.67 ERA). DH and cleanup batter Mike Steffan (.339 batting average, nine homers, .979 OPS) and leadoff batter and center fielder Mike DeStefano (.351 batting average, .938 OPS, eight homers, 22 steals in 25 tries) could also make noise.
#Oklahoma State Cowboys #Arkansas Razorbacks #Grand Canyon Antelopes #Missouri State Bears Stillwater Regional Preview: Pokes Host Stiff Competition POSTSEASON Patrick Ebert - June 1, 2022 Regional Schedule/Results | Regional Scoreboard | Wilson Bracket Challenge Checking The Field Who would have guessed at the beginning of the season, or even a month ago, that Oklahoma State and Arkansas would be playing in the same regional? With those two giants along with a giant killer in Grand Canyon and homer-happy Missouri State, the Stillwater Regional is guaranteed to provide some thrillers. 1. Oklahoma State: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 2. Arkansas: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 3. Grand Canyon: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders 4. Missouri State: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders Spoiler Stillwater Regional Superlatives Most Exciting Player: Jacob Wilson, SS, Grand Canyon. One of 31 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, Wilson enjoyed a huge season as a freshman a year ago and has followed it up with an even bigger sophomore campaign (.353/.414/.571). In addition to his 29 extra-base hits, 11 of which are homers, he has a 24-to-7 walk-to-strikeout ratio with an excellent eye and overall approach at the plate. He fits the profile of a big, strong and athletic modern day shortstop and is the son of former big leaguer Jack Wilson. Best Hitter: Jake Thompson, OF, Oklahoma State. From the beginning of the season to the beginning of regional play, Thompson has consistently gotten the job done. He’s among the Big 12 leaders in almost every meaningful offensive category, slashing .349/.453/.624 with 17 doubles, 14 homers and 62 RBIs. Best Defensive Player: Jalen Battles, SS, Arkansas. Battles is a special overall athletic talent, and he makes the shortstop position look so incredibly easy with graceful actions, range and a strong arm. He and second baseman Robert Moore form the best middle infield tandem in all of college baseball and not surprisingly Arkansas’ .981 fielding percentage is ninth best in the nation. Best Pitcher: Justin Campbell, RHP, Oklahoma State. Campbell creates difficult at-bats starting with the extension he creates on his 6-foot-7, 219-pound frame. His high-spin low- to mid-90s fastball is difficult to square up and he throws four distinct pitches, the best of which are his mid- to upper-70s curveball and a changeup that hovers right around 80 mph. He leads the Big 12 in innings (94.1) and strikeouts (133) with a 9-2, 3.43 record. X-Factor: Nolan McLean, 3B/RHP, Oklahoma State. How many players can hit a game-winning home run and pick up a save in the same contest? In the Stillwater Regional Nolan McLean is the most likely to accomplish that feat, a talented overall athlete that can hit absolute bombs at the plate while throwing mid- to upper-90s fastballs. It’s somewhat of an all-or-nothing approach in that he has hit 14 homers this year, but he has also struck out 99 times. He also have five saves, second most on the team, with 36 strikeouts in 23 innings and a 3.91 ERA. Best Starting Rotation: Oklahoma State. The Cowboys have a pretty deep well of high-powered arms, and the quartet of Campbell, Bryce Osmond, Trevor Martin and Victor Mederos is a tough one to contend with considering they all can throw in the mid-90s. Osmond, however, has missed time due to injury down the stretch and his status is uncertain. Lefthander Ryan Bogusz has stepped up in a big way in his absence and might now be OSU’s No. 2 starter, allowing Martin to slide back to the bullpen, where he is best. Best Bullpen: Arkansas. The Razorbacks’ bullpen definitely gives them an edge, and the emergence of closer Brady Tygart has been a huge key to their success; he left a game in the SEC tournament with what he believed to be dehydration, and the coaching staff pronounced him 100 percent this week. Evan Taylor, Zack Morris, Zebublon Vermillion and Kole Ramage, among others, also get a lot of looks for a staff that has an ERA of 3.92. Oklahoma State’s bullpen, like its starting staff, has a number of mid-90s hurlers including McLean, Roman Phansalkar and Kale Davis with successful results to match. Best Offensive Team: Grand Canyon. You could name any of the four teams in the Stillwater Regional as the best when it comes to their offenses, and we could see some high-scoring affairs at O’Brate Stadium as a result. GCU gets the nod here for their .309/.384/.477 triple slash, a team with six regulars batting better than .300 and four of those – Tayler Aguilar, Jacob Wilson, Juan Colato and Elijah Buries – have well over 100 total bases. Best Defensive Team: Arkansas. As noted, Arkansas has the best middle infield duo in the nation and the ninth-best fielding percentage. They have high-level athletes at every position on the field and rarely beat themselves. No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 6. We’re still waiting to see if Arkansas is a sleeping giant taking its sweet time to wake up, but as of just a few weeks ago the Razorbacks were projected to host. Grand Canyon dominated the WAC, even though they didn’t win the league’s automatic bid, and are much more than an opportunistic mid-major. Oklahoma State will have its hands full at home this weekend. Stillwater Regional Team Breakdowns Oklahoma State (39-20, 15-9 Big 12) Oklahoma State’s Justin Campbell (OSU photo) Oklahoma State entered the year ranked seventh overall as part of D1Baseball’s Preseason Top 25, and now enters the postseason ranked sixth, meaning these Cowboys are pretty much exactly who we thought they were. It starts with the pitching staff and a live-armed contingent of strong, big-bodied athletes. Justin Campbell is the team’s ace and he can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the nation. Bryce Osmond has begun to recognize his lofty promise seemingly every time he has taken the mound and closer-turned-starter-turned-reliever-again Trevor Martin continues to miss bats at a high level due to his superior stuff. They also go several deep out of the ‘pen, with turbo sinkerballer Roman Phansalkar and fellow righties Kale Davis and Nolan McLean getting the most high-leverage looks. Victor Mederos gives them a legitimate third starter, or possibly a fourth if Martin gets called upon to start once again. Towering lefthander Mitchell Stone has been receiving more extended looks and reliever Ryan Bogusz recently provided eight strong innings in a spot start against Texas in the Big 12 Tournament. The offense is similarly deep, and has the feel of a big league lineup one through nine. Zach Ehrhard does a great job setting the tone at the top of the order with a .421 on-base percentage and 17 stolen bases. Freshman Roc Riggio, the team’s two-hole hitter, has been a much more productive player since about midway through the season giving the middle of the lineup – Jake Thompson, Griffin Doersching, David Mendham and Nolan McLean – plenty of RBI opportunities. Thompson is one of the Big 12’s best overall hitters and shortstop Marcus Brown captains an underrated defensive unit. The Pokes have all of the talent to advance to Omaha with plenty of intangibles as well thanks to the leadership of Head Coach Josh Holliday and his all-star staff. Arkansas (38-18, 18-12 SEC) Cayden Wallace, Arkansas (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos) Entering the year with sky-high expectations, Arkansas’ offense hasn’t been as dynamic as it was expected to be, and you don’t need to look any further than Robert Moore’s production (.232/.367/.419) for an example. Moore still has hit 24 extra-base hits including six home runs, but that’s pretty far off what he did a year ago when Arkansas advanced to super regional play. A pair of transfers that have assumed everyday roles, Chris Lanzilli (Wake Forest) and Michael Turner (Kent State), have been a welcome additions while Cayden Wallace, Jalen Battles and Braydon Webb all play meaningful roles both offensively and defensively at key positions. DH Brady Slavens, like Moore, has been productive but not to the level he was expected while star recruit Peyton Stovall has taken longer to find his groove. That said, this collective unit is still dangerous and hit 86 home runs as a team. The pitching staff was a bigger question mark entering the year, and while the starting trio of Connor Noland, Hagen Smith and Jaxon Wiggins hasn’t been as sharp the past several weeks, they consistently gave the Hogs valuable innings. Noland, when he’s sequencing well between his low-90s fastball and hammer curve, can match up with anyone, striking out 95 batters in 86 1/3 innings. Freshman lefthander Hagen Smith stepped in as a starter from day one and really impressed with his poise, confidence and command. Wiggins is the hardest throwing hurler of the trio (mid- to upper-90s) but also struggles with control the most. Handing games over to their bullpen is key as that is the strength of the staff. Closer Brady Tygart has light’s out stuff as he and setup man Evan Taylor create a formidable 1-2 punch at the back of games. Zack Morris and Zebulon Vermillion give the team two more bullpen arms with sub-3.00 ERAs while verteran long/swing man Kole Ramage got better and better as the season progressed. Grand Canyon (41-19, 25-5 WAC) Grand Canyon’s Jacob Wilson (GCU Athletics) Generally, the WAC is a one-bid league, so making the Field of 64 as an at-large selection speaks volumes to Grand Canyon’s accomplishments this season, especially since it’s only their second time making the NCAA Tournament, first doing so a year ago. As you may expect with a team from the WAC, GCU is defined by their offense, a well-rounded squad that is slashing .309/.384/.477 with six regulars batting better than .300 and one other hitting .299. Cleanup hitting Right fielder Tayler Aguilar provides plenty of power, hitting 20 home runs this year. He’s given plenty of RBI opportunities thanks to the presence of Nos. 1-3 hitters Elijah Buries, Juan Colato and Jacob Wilson. This GCU team hits, hits for power and manages the strike zone well, regularly grinding out at-bats and wearing out opposing pitchers. Their own staff has performed well, posting a 4.48 Team ERA, which was second-best in the WAC. Nick Hull is their ace and he has a 7-1, 3.89 record over 15 starts, giving the team a reliable frontman to open weekends on a positive note. Carter Young, Daniel Avitia and Connor Markl also saw significant innings as starters, giving the GCU staff depth and length leading up to closer Vince Reilly, who is 7-1 with 14 saves in 30 relief appearances. Eli Ankeney and Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis also get plenty of looks out of the ‘pen with the ability to miss bats, as the two have combined to strike out 105 batters in 72 2/3 innings. It’s important not to look past this Andy Stankiewicz-led club as the Lopes already have big wins over Arizona, Oregon State, Texas Tech and Stanford this year, leading to their at-large bid. Missouri State (30-27, 8-13 MVC) Drake Baldwin, C, Missouri State (Kevin White/Missouri State University) With mid-week wins against Arkansas, Missouri and Saint Louis and conference series wins over Illinois State and Indiana State during the last month of the regular season, Missouri State had some momentum going into the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. There they took down four different MVC opponents, including regular season champion Southern Illinois twice, to claim the league’s automatic bid. Power is the name of the game with the Bears as their 99 home runs are tied for 16th-most nationwide. Three different batters – Dakota Kotwoski (23), Drake Baldwin (16) and Mason Hull (14) – have double-digit home runs, and two more, Spencer Nivens and Mason Greer, have nine. Mostly a station-to-station offense, they’re slashing .291/.389/.507 as a team and can put up a crooked number in a hurry, so don’t be surprised if MSU holds their own if a laser show breaks out in Stillwater. The pitching staff has a lot more questions, but there is no question who their staff ace is. Graduate transfer Adam Link spent two years at Middle Tennessee prior to joining the Bears, and before that he spent two years at the JUCO level. This year is easily his best, going 6-5, 4.50 with 86 innings over 17 appearances, 16 of which have been starts. The team received a huge start from Forrest Barnes during the MVC Tournament, Ty Buckner has enjoyed a few successful starts recently and the trio of Riyan Rodriguez, Eric Loomis and Caden Wilson all get frequent looks out of the bullpen. The most important relievers include rubber-armed righty Trey Ziegenbein who can shorten games leading up to closer Jake McMahill.
Good ole Stillwater on the plus side (literally) we found out where devine ‘s ex wife is staying this weekend!
well not nowwwww Gawwwwwd!!!! .....no clue...shits heating up but like I said to some close homies That would be good luck and this is FSU baseball
Coral Gables regional is going to be a complete clusterfuck. Tropical system coming in tomorrow and is going to last multiple days. Not sure if they have to be done by a specific time for super regional travel purposes, but I don’t see how they get this regional wrapped up before Wednesday unless they are playing significant innings in the early morning hours