I gotchu. Arkansas Feels Super Winning Stillwater Regional POSTSEASON Patrick Ebert - June 7, 2022 STILLWATER, Okla. – For a regional that had several records set for runs scored and home runs hit, not to mention the amount of time it took to complete both games played on Sunday in addition to Saturday night’s contest, Sunday’s game had a sense of normalcy to it. Visiting Arkansas squared off against host Oklahoma State for the third time in as many nights and the in-game results and performances from each day did not disappoint. Unfortunately for the home team and the fans that came out to support them, it was Arkansas that emerged victorious, beating Oklahoma State 7-3 while really doing a good job shutting down the Pokes’ offense. That in itself was no easy task considering Oklahoma State set a regional record for runs scored, scoring 43 on Sunday alone. Spoiler “Again, what a game,” Arkansas Head Coach Dave Van Horn said after the game. “Two teams just getting after it. We as coaches from Arkansas made the comment the other day after playing Oklahoma State on Saturday that this is one of the best teams we played all year. We’re very fortunate to get out of this regional with a win tonight. They’re physical, they have really good arms, there’s really no weakness up and down the lineup, they got speed, they can bunt, good mix of left and righthanded hitters and an outstanding coaching staff. I just felt like for us to win today we had to have some things go our way, and we did.” The game time was still elevated at four hours and three minutes, but that seems like a walk in the park compared to the previous three games played in Stillwater. And the fans were vocal, from both sides, as 7,047 people packed into lovely O’Brate Stadium to see which team would be advancing to the super regional round. Arkansas hasn’t missed a super regional since 2017, so it’s on quite the roll in recent years which includes back-to-back College World Series appearances in 2018 and 2019 and earning the No. 1 overall seed a year ago. Conversely, Oklahoma State hasn’t advanced to the super regional round since 2019. Both teams limped into Monday with not many obvious pitching options to turn to. Arkansas went with Zack Morris, who coming into the weekend had made 17 relief appearances on the year, but didn’t have a start under his belt. In fact, he had yet to make a start at all during his collegiate career which began in 2020. His effort was outstanding and it set the tone for the early part of the game, doing a good job sequencing between his fastball and breaking ball to keep the Oklahoma State hitters guessing and off balance. The Cowboys went with Ryan Bogusz, who started the first of two OSU games on Sunday, their 29-15 comeback win against Missouri State. Bogusz only last 1 2/3 innings in that contest, throwing 49 pitches, so compared to the Cowboys’ other options, he made as much sense as anyone. A scoreless game through the first three innings, the Arkansas offense got to Bogusz in the fourth, scoring four runs in the frame and booting Bogusz from the game. Brady Slavens led off the inning with a home run, and after Michael Turner walked and Chris Lanzilli was hit by a pitch, Jalen Battles came up big once again, driving them both home to push Arkansas’ lead to 3-0. Peyton Stovall made it 4-0 with an RBI single. Stovall would add another RBI hit in the top of the sixth before Oklahoma State finally got on the board when David Mendham hit a one-out solo shot. “Getting that fifth run was huge, even though we were up 4-nothing at the time, they can hit a home run real quick and that run is gone,” Van Horn said of Stovall’s second RBI base hit. “We just kept thinking we’ve got to score more runs because history has shown here that in the eighth and ninth inning no lead is safe.” It was the seventh inning that Oklahoma State seemed to break through, scoring two runs in the inning. Caeden Trenkle and Chase Adkison hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. Roc Riggio once again smoked a double to right-center field that bounced over the fence. From there Van Horn went to his bullpen, calling upon big-bodied, hard-throwing righthander Zebulon Vermillion who recorded three straight outs, the first one which was a sac fly to the outfield that scored Adkison, and ended the threat. Oklahoma State mounted another scoring threat in the eighth when Mendham led off the inning with a single. Another pitching change was made as freshman lefthander Hagen Smith was brought into the game. Smith, who started Saturday night’s game against Oklahoma but lasted only 1 1/3 inning, hit the first batter he faced, Nolan McLean, who was recorded out on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Marcus Brown. Brett Brown walked giving Oklahoma State a pair of runners on with only one out. It wasn’t meant to be, however, as Smith struck out the next two batters to end the threat. “Our pitching was outstanding,” Van Horn said. “It started with Zack Morris, tremendous job. Kole Ramage came in and gave us everything he had – it was his third time to throw this weekend. Zebulon came in and got us a couple of outs and then Hagen came in and just just flat out was not going to be denied.” Before Smith closed the game out with two more strikeouts in the bottom of the ninth Arkansas tacked on two more runs in the top of the inning to make it a 7-3 game. The runs came on Michael Turner’s two-run double, and Turner as a result was named the Stillwater Regional’s Most Oustanding Player. In addition to coming up with numerous big hits and going 8-for-18 (.444) with five runs scored, 11 driven in and a pair of home runs, he also caught all five games that Arkansas played. “They did a great job,” Turner said, sharing praise for his pitchers. “We knew going into the game it was going to be all-hands on deck and everybody down there was ready to go with the right mindset. It’s fun to catch, we’ve got some electric arms. “As for the hit, I don’t know, just trying to have fun and put a good swing on a hanging changeup.” Arkansas will take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Chapel Hill Super Regional next weekend. Here’s the full Stillwater Regional All-Tournament Team: C – Michael Turner, Arkansas 1B – Peyton Stovall, Arkansas 2B – Roc Riggio, Oklahoma State 3B – Cayden Wallace, Arkansas SS – Jalen Battles, Arkansas LF – Jake Thompson, Oklahoma State CF – Caeden Trenkle, Oklahoma State RF – Tayler Aguilar, Grand Canyon DH – Griffin Doersching, Oklahoma State P – Connor Noland, Arkansas P – Trevor Martin, Oklahoma State Oklahoma State’s season comes to a close. They were rated No. 7 by D1Baseball to open the year and were ranked sixth entering the postseason, enjoying a successful season from beginning to end that saw them finish 42-22. And they offer plenty of promise looking ahead to future years considering six of their nine regular batters are either freshmen or sophomores. That includes their dynamic second baseman, Roc Riggio, who exploded onto the scene this postseason with ridiculous results batting .536 with five doubles, four homers, nine runs scored and 17 RBIs. So don’t be surprised to see Oklahoma State listed among the top 10 teams in next year’s preseason Top 25. “This has been a fabulous group of kids from the first time we got together,” Oklahoma State skipper Josh Holliday said after the loss. “It’s made up of numerous special individuals from all different places and all different walks of life that have come together and formed. Just really an outstanding team and they’ve been an honor to coach.”
Raise your hand if you had No. 9 Texas as a bigger favorite at No. 8 East Carolina than No. 2 Stanford is at home against unseeded UConn.
Meanwhile outstanding individuals such as myself, are selling rival fans tickets at cost Tobias better like this post
How much are you paying for Lightning games? I paid around that for awesome tickets to ECF when we played. Idc, it’s just wild to pay that for college baseball in my cunty opinion
damn. Our resale is 300 plus per game. Chance I may get a ticket or two for free, but most likely will be grilling and watching at the house.
I was looking at attendance numbers towards the end of the season and va tech was averaging like 750 fans a game
Yeah we don’t get a ton normally. I haven’t been going to games all til post season. Regionals & Supers sold out of all session passes pretty quick for both though. Had good crowds.
UM writer (who said Harbaugh to Minnesota was a done deal, fwiw) says a Clemson writer reached out to him and said Clemson is going to offer Bakich $1.3M to take that job. His current base salary at UM is $400k with incentives that can take it as high as $800k, from what I've read. Not sure how much he's been offered for previous jobs he's turned down in recent years.
My point was money shouldn’t be a consideration. He should leave even if they offered him the same exact salary.
Not many alumni/fans live in SWVA. I guess some in Roanoke and the surrounding areas. But nobody is going to drive 3-4 hours to Blacksburg from Richmond, DC, 757, etc. for a baseball game. Especially when VT doesn't have much of a baseball history/fanbase to begin with.
Between Seat Geek and Stub Hub only about 20 tickets total seem to be available. 275 each for one game is the cheapest. Glad to see USM and Ole Miss fans who got them not reselling them. Only way to even get tickets through USM was you had to be a minimum $500 a year donator. Foundation members with baseball season tix got first priority. Many $1000 plus a year members with football season tix got denied. Lots of folks signed up for the $500 and got denied. Hearing a lot of Ole Miss fans even ponied up to our athletic foundation to get on the list. Thanks Ole Miss fans, we appreciate the donation.
#Tennessee Volunteers #Notre Dame Fighting Irish Knoxville Super Regional Preview: Notre Dame vs. Tennessee POSTSEASON Aaron Fitt - June 8, 2022 Notre Dame (38-14) at No. 1 Tennessee (56-7) 6 p.m. Friday on ESPN2 2 p.m. Saturday on ESPN TBD on Sunday, if necessary Spoiler Five Reasons To Watch 1. A glimpse of greatness. At 56-7 overall, Tennessee is having one of the most dominant seasons in the history of college baseball. The Volunteers went 25-5 in the SEC to win the East Division by 10 games and the overall regular-season title by six games, then ran unbeaten through the SEC tournament and the Knoxville Regional. Tennessee has a chance to go down as one of the all-time great teams in college baseball if it can close the deal in Omaha and take home a national title — something that eluded other great regular season teams like 2021 Arkansas, 2017 Oregon State and 2013 Vanderbilt. Tennessee is elite in just about every way, leading the nation in home runs per game, slugging percentage and ERA, ranking second in strikeout-to-walk ratio as a pitching staff, fourth in scoring, 11th in batting and 13th in fielding percentage. 2. The Lindsey Nelson spectacle. As Tennessee rocketed to national prominence over the last two years, Lindsey Nelson Stadium became one of college baseball’s most intimidating venues for road teams. The fans are raucous, and the brash Volunteers feed off their energy and play to the crowd with demonstrative celebratory antics. That can rub opponents and old-school baseball purists the wrong way — but the only way to stop them is to beat them, and doing that in Knoxville has been close to impossible. Tennessee is 37-3 at home this year and 68-12 at home over the last two years. 3. John Michael Bertrand. After his gem against Florida State in the ACC tournament, I described Notre Dame ace lefty Bertrand as a master clinician at the height of his powers. He’s a fifth-year senior with loads of poise, polish and competitiveness, and the ability to keep hitters off balance by mixing an 88-93 fastball that he can locate to either side with sink or ride, a tumbling changeup, sharp slider and curveball. At 9-2, 2.27 with a 103-19 K-BB mark in 99 innings, Bertrand is a slam-dunk All-American, and it will be fun to see how he matches up with Tennessee’s explosive offense on Saturday (the Irish will throw Austin Temple on Friday, as Bertrand threw 107 pitches this past Sunday in the regional final against Texas Tech). 4. Chase Dollander. The SEC Pitcher of the Year is an immense talent with top-of-the-draft upside in 2023, with an overpowering mid-to-high-90s fastball, a plus slider in the mid-80s, a better than average changeup and solid curveball. Dollander is 9-0, 2.38 with a sterling 103-13 K-BB mark in 72 innings, evidence of both his superb bat-missing ability and his exceptional control — a rare combination. But Dollander was uncharacteristically mortal in the regional against Campbell last week, getting knocked out in the third inning, so it will be interesting to see if Notre Dame’s disciplined offense can follow the Camels’ script and get to him for a second straight week. It won’t be easy. 5. Tennessee’s flash vs. Notre Dame’s stability. These matchup presents a dramatic contrast between Tennessee’s in-your-face, emotional style and Notre Dame’s quieter, laser-focused and ultra-disciplined mentality. The Volunteers simply dazzle you with their overwhelming talent, in the lineup as well as on the mound. The Fighting Irish have talent too, with a nice collection of upper-90s arms in the bullpen, but everyone who faces the Irish always walk away raving about how well coached and fundamentally sound they are, with a cohesive and mature offensive approach and a rock-solid defense that seldom gives away free bases. That isn’t to say Tennessee lacks sound fundamentals or focus (just look at its .980 fielding percentage, which is identical to Notre Dame’s). But nonetheless, this feels like a clash between the unstoppable force that is Tennessee and the immovable object that is Notre Dame. It’s a category five hurricane against a 300-year-old oak tree. An Opposing Coach Breaks Down Notre Dame “It’s just an older position player group. You start going around the field, [David] LaManna behind the plate has been there forever, [Jack] Brannigan at third, Zack Prajzner at short has been there forever. They’re splitting time with [Jack] Penney the freshman and Jared Miller at second, then Carter Putz, been there forever. It’s just an approach-driven team. They’re extremely well coached, they have a fantastic approach and they all buy in. If your guy doesn’t have stuff, I think they’re gonna wear you out. If you get into patterns, they’re gonna figure it out, and then adjust. They just do such a good job offensively getting to their plan. And then obviously they’re one of the elite defensive clubs in the country. They’re not gonna beat themselves, you have to go out and actually beat them. “I think Putz is scary in there, Putz and Ryan Cole. Both of them have some sneaky juice in there. And the guy who’s been playing great late is Jack Zyska, he’s got real strength in there too. Cole and Putz, they just have really good at-bats, you can execute a pitch and they can still hurt you. They’re just old, man. That starting lineup, how many college at-bats do they have? I bet you it’s so many. They’ve all been there forever playing together, I think they all trust each other, and they’re a very, very good team. “Brannigan’s the best defensive third baseman in the country, you couldn’t argue that one. He changes the game with his defense at third. But their left side, Prajzner and Brannigan, is elite. LaManna has an awesome approach at the plate, has a really good arm and does a good job handling that staff. He’s doing what an old guy should do. Notre Dame’s John Michael Bertrand (Aaron Fitt) “And then their staff, Chuck [Ristano] has done an awesome job with their staff. [John Michael] Bertrand doesn’t throw anything above the knee, it’s four pitches whenever he wants, he’s always on the attack, he works fast — he is awesome, he’s really, really good. Then they do a good job with the rest of them. [Aidan] Tyrell can spot start, the Austin Temple kid’s got good stuff, 91-94 with four pitches. But they’ve got power stuff out of the bullpen. Alex Rao’s got power stuff and Liam Simon’s got power stuff and Brannigan’s got power stuff. I think they’ve got three guys who can throw the ball 99 mph. Rao’s more fastball-change, and Simon’s more slider. The lefty, Jack Findley, it seems like his stuff’s played up a lot better out of their bullpen. I thought it was just a pitchability lefty, but I watched him against Texas Tech and he was throwing the ball up to 93 mph pumping heaters. As a reliever I think it’s more power. “Out of all the teams left, if there’s one team that could beat Tennessee, it’s them. Because again, they aren’t beating themselves, and they’ve been through it now. They went to Starkville last year, it’s the same exact team. That environment won’t be too much. They’re good. “I think their pitching is good enough to keep them in the game, they’re gonna play elite defense. We had arms with really good stuff, and when we didn’t execute, they wore us out. And that’s what they do.” An Opposing Coach Breaks Down Tennessee “Their lineup, it’s a good balance of lefty and righty, and it’s experienced hitters. They just do such a good job of sitting on pitches. It’s a lineup that you can feel like, ‘Man we got these guys’ for five or six innings, but it’s just an explosive lineup, they can get you in an instant. They guess a lot, like you should, I always think the best offenses guess a lot. They’re experienced hitters that have a really good feel for the game, and they’re guessing. If they guess wrong, you can get them out, but they’re just betting that they’re guessing right enough times in the game, and they’re such good hitters that when they guess right, they do damage. It’s just a hard lineup to pitch to because of that. Drew Gilbert (Photo By Caleb Jones/Tennessee Athletics) “I think Drew Gilbert’s the most clutch. Do you say, ‘Hey, don’t let him beat you?’ But then [Trey] Lipscomb’s hitting right behind him and he’s the SEC Player of the Year, so that’s a tough one. [Luc] Lipcius, you can pitch to him, and if you make your pitches you get him out, but they’re just such good mistake hitters. If they guess right and it’s not the perfect pitch, they just do damage. I would say that 3-4-5, it’s tough to navigate, between Jordan Beck and Gilbert and Lipscomb. [Jorel] Ortega is a really solid hitter for them, and then Blake Burke hits in the 7-hole — gosh, he is so dangerous. Like, he is very dangerous. So there is not really a let-up, I guess Russell hasn’t had the best year, but he’s still got 13 homers, and Lawson in the 9-hole. So I guess the 8 and 9 hole, but everybody else. Stepheneson is a scrappy player that’s got some electricity to him, he’s a great table setter. It’s just a tough lineup to navigate, there’s not many holes in it. “Lipscomb came out of nowhere. We were like, how is this guy sitting on the bench the first two years and then he does this this year? How does that even happen. If you can spin it, he’s not great with righthanded spin, but you’d better miss in the right spot, because if you miss in the middle, then he hits a home run. You can make your pitches to him, but they’re just really good mistake hitters, and it’s just hard for a college pitching staff to go through a whole game and not make a handful of mistakes, and they just do not miss mistakes. If they guess right and you make a mistake, it’s a home run, it’s not even a double, it’s a home run. It’s just a dangerous lineup because of that. And if you play them at their place, pop-ups are going out of there regularly. And it’s hostile. “They’re very solid defensively, except at catcher, I think there’s some vulnerability — not in receiving or blocking, just the running game, I think they’re vulnerable with that. If you have some guys that can run the bases then you can get some runners into scoring position, because they have trouble defending the run game. And I think it’s the slower turf there, so it’s hard to get a ground ball through there, and they have great range and accurate arms in the infield. And the park’s so small that there’s a lot of home runs, but if there’s a fly ball they’re getting it, because those guys can track everything down. I’ve seen Beck make circus plays all year, robbing home runs and diving on the line. They’re really athletic, not too much is falling in that smaller outfield out there. You’d better hit it over the fence, because if you hit it in the outfield they’re gonna catch it. “There’s not very many weaknesses. You could spend the whole time talking about strengths, everything is a strength. I thought the whole year their bullpen might get them, it hasn’t happened yet. I just didn’t think you could have a lefty who’s a changeup guy be your closer [Redmond Walsh]. When everything’s on the line in the postseason, and guys aren’t gonna get themselves out and you have to get them, I feel like somebody’s gonna get them if they’re asking their lefty to get the biggest outs at the end of the game. He’s good — he’s really good — but the right approach, you can beat him. I just think to close games out in the postseason, you need power stuff. When guys are really locked in, I think it can be hard to win with an 85-87 mph lefty with a changeup as an out pitch. But I don’t know, it hasn’t gotten them yet. And their starting pitching is just so good. It’s hard for an offense to go from 100 mph starters and relievers for the first seven innings of the game, then you have to switch gears immediately to a soft lefty with a changeup. That’s the tough thing. “I didn’t get the feeling they trust Ben Joyce. It’s definitely a freak show, and it’s exciting, and everybody wants to see the gun when he comes in. But how many times was he in there with the game with the game really on the line in the seventh, eighth and ninth? I just don’t know, maybe it was a bunch, I just got the feeling they’re not going to him in the tight-tight games, they’re going to him when they’re up four or they’re up six or whatever. But he’s obviously a real weapon, and then they’ve got Kirby Connell and [Camden] Sewell, reliable veteran guys who don’t overpower you but pound the strike zone and just get outs. “The other thing I’d say, are their starters running out of gas a little bit? I don’t know if they’re quite as dominant as they were beginning to middle, and everybody wears down to some degree. They’re still really, really good. But maybe the youth, with guys like Drew Beam and Chase Burns and Dollander, have they hit the wall a little bit like most young pitchers do the first time they have to go through a long season as a starter? So I guess that’s the third thing I’d say to watch. Are they hitting that wall a little bit? But Dollander is really good. He is impressive. it was good command, just hard to barrel it up. No doubt impressive stuff. And then Blade Tidwell is really good. If the other ones are fading a little bit, he’s probably picking up steam because he had the time off and is just coming back. He should be fresher at the end, so I think what you could see out of him down the stretch is he could be their main guy —I think he is the main guy. To me he’s the key because he’s a little fresher, and he’s gonna be able to be even a little more dominant than the other three down the stretch. “Beating them, it’s a tall task.”
#East Carolina Pirates #Texas Longhorns Greenville Super Regional Preview: Texas vs. East Carolina POSTSEASON Aaron Fitt - June 8, 2022 No. 9 Texas (45-19) at No. 8 East Carolina (45-19) Noon ET Friday on ESPN2 Noon ET Saturday on ESPN2 TBD on Sunday, if necessary Spoiler Five Reasons To Watch 1. Can East Carolina finally break down the door to Omaha? ECU is the undisputed “best program that has never been to Omaha,” with 32 regional appearances all-time, and seven trips to super regionals since the 64-team era began in 1999. But the Pirates have not hosted a super since 2001, when they lost to Tennessee in Kinston, before the completion of Clark-Leclair Stadium. This will be ECU’s first super regional in Greenville, where it has a mighty home-field advantage, with fans packing the seating bowl and the “Jungle” beyond the outfield wall, from foul pole to foul pole. Texas is used to playing in front of large, noisy crowds, but the home team still has the advantage of drawing extra energy from that crowd. It seems fitting that for ECU to make it to Omaha for the first time ever, it must go through a Texas program that has made that trip more than any other program (37 times). Texas slugger Ivan Melendez (Eric Sorenson) 2. Ivan Melendez. The Texas first baseman is the odds-on favorite to win the Golden Spikes Award, leading the country with a 1.417 OPS, 30 home runs and 90 RBIs. Only one other player has hit 30 homers since the BBCOR bat standard was implemented in 2011: San Diego’s Kris Bryant in 2013. Melendez is just one homer shy of Bryant’s BBCOR record — and Clark-Leclair is a hitter’s paradise. 3. Bryson Worrell and Zach Agnos. East Carolina’s two best players put on a show in regionals. The switch-hitting Worrell homered from both sides of the plate in the same inning against Coppin State, then went 4-for-4 in the regional clincher against Coastal Carolina with a homer, a triple and two gorgeous diving catches in center field. He’s a super-physical and athletic five-year senior with five real tools. Agnos is a marquee two-way player who makes this team go out of the leadoff spot, provides rock-solid defense at shortstop, and can pump 93 mph heat with a good changeup to close out games. East Carolina’s Bryson Worrell celebrates his three-run homer in the seventh Monday (Aaron Fitt) 4. Pete Hansen vs. ECU’s pitching committee. Texas leans heavily upon its starting pitching, particularly ace lefthander Hansen (11-1, 3.08 with 112 strikeouts against 18 walks in 99.1 innings), one of the nation’s best starters. But the Longhorns are more vulnerable in the bullpen, so getting Hansen out of the game as early as possible will be a key for the Pirates. ECU does not get more than five innings from any starter, and often will go to the bullpen in the third, then mix and match the rest of the way. The approach has worked great for the Pirates down the stretch, helping them win 21 of their last 22 games. 5. The web gems. These are two of college baseball’s very best defensive teams, as Texas leads the nation with a .987 fielding percentage, and ECU ranks third at .983. UT’s Silas Ardoin is college baseball’s best defensive catcher, with a rocket arm that neutralizes an opponent’s running game, and Trey Faltine-Mitchell Daly duo is fun to watch in the middle infield. But ECU has plenty of playmakers too, led by human highlight reel Worrell in center field. And East Carolina has the advantage of playing on its own natural grass field, while Texas is accustomed to a much slower turf surface in Austin. An Opposing Coach Breaks Down Texas “Early in the year, I thought that that’s gonna be the most complete team in the league, just from top to bottom. They had very good players at every position, they had a quality bullpen, good starting pitching. The only team that I thought ended up being more complete was OU by the end of the year. So Texas was really good, they had some of the best hitters in the country that we saw. The power was off the charts, whenever a mistake was thrown they were really able to take advantage of it. It’s a little bit more of a pull-oriented, power offensive approach. There’s probably more of a do or die with the long ball, they can be blanked, if pitched to, it appears. “The bullpen really struggled late, they just had nowhere to go to out of the bullpen. So they were really relying on starters to have good outings. It looks like they’ve figured it out a little bit and some guys have stepped up, but there were three or four guys that were in really bad spots toward the end of the year, and they didn’t feel comfortable putting anybody in the game to get an out. But it looks like they obviously have solidified that a little bit. “If you miss inner half to that team, they are going to hit a homer or extra-base hit routinely. Somebody that could really command a fastball or had a righthanded slider can have some success against them. They are very righthanded. It appears that a real righthanded slider and command of a fastball, potentially away, might be their vulnerability offensively. And if you can get to their bullpen early in the series, it might not go the way they want. But what a special team, what a great team. I think maybe they’ve come out of this on the other side better than they were. In the middle to end of the season, it seemed like they weren’t in a great place, but I think they’ve gotten it back together. “In my opinion, Melendez is the best college hitter that I’ve seen. Guys like Skyler Messinger are hitting .370 and are like afterthoughts in Texas’ lineup. It’s just real. It’s just like every single guy up and down are just real. Watching Murphy Stehly, who’s an elite college player with power, when Melendez is ahead of him, those are two different categories of hitters currently. Melendez is doing some things I’ve just never seen. There’s just some things you’re watching, not only is he huge and strong but it’s simple and confident and short. It’s all sorts of hit skill, mentally equipped — all of it. It is the total package, special. This guy’s gonna be hitting in somebody’s big league lineup extremely quickly, just overnight. Has to be. I could go on and on, he’s just one of those rare guys, maybe because of COVID and the draft and everything that’s happened, but it’s like, ‘Oh, they’ve got one of those guys who’s playing at the wrong level.’ He shouldn’t be playing here. “Nothing about their lineup is fake. There just isn’t. That’s why that team’s scary. Everything that they’re doing, in my opinion, offensively is real. It was kind of like, man we did everything in our power to win a game. That lineup is laughable. Trey Faltine might be in the 9 hole with like 14 pops or something. It’s like everybody they rolled out there was just a homer threat. They just had the weakness of being righthanded. If we had a power breaking ball and a good fastball, we could beat them that day. But I think it’s every bit of real. It might be the most under-appreciated lineup going in college baseball in my opinion. They’re super complete as far as a position player package. Daly is the one reprieve offensively where you take a deep breath, guy’s probably not gonna hit a homer against you. Everybody else is pretty much consistently scary. “Defensively, they’re good, they’re always like top five in the country in double plays turned. Partially they have some of the slowest turf in the country at home. But they play super clean defense. Skyler Messinger was Kansas’ best player and a plus defender who transferred there, a fifth-year guy with tons of experience. Faltine is very good, [Mitchell] Daly at second base is very consistent. Melendez is a veteran, [Silas] Ardoin is great behind the plate. It’s kinda interesting, their left side, anybody would take either one of them, but neither one of them can set their feet and just threw, it’s just interesting. Faltine has an odd arm action, Messinger has to throw on the run, it’s almost a glitch. A ball will be hit hard at Messinger, he will round it and throw on the run. It doesn’t matter, they make all the plays. Faltine likes to throw on the run with a lower slot too. But Faltine can jump throw from the 6-hole and throw somebody out, it’s just a little bit of a non-traditional slot. Pete Hansen (Texas photo) “On the mound, Pete Hansen was the guy. I think every college coach in the country wants three Hansens on their team, where you just know what you’re gonna get, it’s gonna be competitive. he’s able to go three pitches for strikes, he cross counts. He likes the moment, he isn’t looking for attention for himself on the mound. He just comes across as a selfless competitor, a big-game winner kind of kid. It’s definitely not nasty, it’s not power, but he’s a winner. It’s not necessarily sexy but it’s just very consistent, very, very good. “Lucas Gordon is a freshman, and he was really good down the stretch, He’s been excellent. They were the No. 1 team in the country going into the year, then they lose Tanner Witt, and they don’t play great there in the middle of the Big 12. Without that guy [Gordon], their season’s over, they’re not even in this position. Although he’s not the name, he’s probably the unsung hero of their entire season. He’s just low WHIP guy, just steady Eddie, winning a bunch of games, kinda going quiet. And hell, maybe that’s why they’re so good. It’s been steady, and then one through nine position players are really good, just quality players. An Opposing Coach Breaks Down East Carolina “The top of their order is what makes them go. Hoover is one of the toughest outs in the country, he’s so fast. He’s got a little juice, he can hurt you, but when he gets on the bases he can just wreak havoc. Agnos and Worrell, those guys are legitimate players. The kid who hits behind Worrell, [Jacob] Jenkins-Cowart, he’s caught fire lately. But really once you get past the first four or five, they’re pretty average after that. Those guys at the bottom kind of feed off the top. “The thing about them offensively, they can bang it a little bit, but they’ll bunt with Worrell at any point. Any of those guys will drop a bunt down any time. And Cliff will slash, he’ll hit-and-run. He’s not gonna run into stupid outs, but they’ll catch you sleeping a little bit. At any point, you think Worrell’s gonna hit a homer, he’ll lay a bunt down on you. He’s a freak athlete, man. After we played them, I was like, ‘How is this guy even here right now?’ He looked like a second- to fifth-round pick, and the way he’s playing now, shoot, he looks like a first-rounder. That’s what big leaguers look like. “Jenkins-Cowart has gotten hot late. He can defend, he’ll lose one every now and then. He’s the guy that you kind of forget about, you think you’ve gotten through Agnos, Hoover, Worrell, and he’ll sneak up on you and bite you. [Josh] Moylan, he’s kind of an ambush guy, but if you leave one out over the middle of the plate, he’ll hurt you. “[Alec] Makarewicz, he’s sneaky, he can hurt you down there in the bottom, a switch-hitter who is physical. Cliff has his DH down at the bottom, he can play matchups down there depending on what he needs. The second baseman [Jacob] Starling is a pretty scrappy little dude too. If the top’s not really going, the bottom doesn’t really do much. Once those guys at the top get going and get some confidence, those guys at the bottom will sting you a little bit. East Carolina’s Zach Agnos celebrates Saturday’s win against Virginia (Aaron Fitt) “Agnos makes that whole deal go. He’s the fiery guy, he’s a great defender, he’ll hurt you with the bat, they can put him on the mound and he’ll close the whole game out. He just comes right at you, he’s a competitive shortstop on the mound coming right at you. He’s gonna dare you to hit it and come right at you the entire time. He’s not gonna try to trick you. He just wore us down with fastballs, coming in and out, up and down. He just grips and rips it. “Their pitching is truly by committee. Their starter might give you three innings, then everybody after that, it seems like they’re 6-2 to 6-4, freakin’ 92-94 with a slider. That’s how they do it, and it works too, because those guys throw a lot of strikes. You can’t really settle in on them offensively because they’re changing the look all the time. All the bullpen guys are similar but a little different — one guy will cut it a little bit, one guy will sink a little bit. None of them really stand out but they all pound the strike zone. “Seems like Saylor throws every game, he’s always in there. The lefty Mayhue will start it, he’s got a good changeup and attacks with the fastball and competes, and then here they come. Ryder Giles is one of those guys too, he’s good, a submarine guy. Or they can flip him a glove and put him at short and put Agnos in there. Carter Spivey cuts it a little bit, our hitters were telling me. It’s got some velo on it but it’s cutting, and his slider’s good. Then Trey Yesavage is that guy who throws hard, like 93-95 with a real slider. They just don’t let you come up for air because they all throw so many strikes. The thing with them, as soon as you get something going offensively, boom, here comes the next guy to change the look. “Defensively, they’re solid, there’s not a weakness defensively out there. They’re gonna play good defense. And they’ll be tough at home, they always are.”
#Texas AandM Aggies #Texas AandM Aggies alt #Louisville Cardinals College Station Supers Preview: Louisville vs. Texas A&M ANALYSIS Kendall Rogers - June 9, 2022 No. 12 Louisville (42-19) at No. 5 Texas A&M (40-18) 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2 TBD on Sunday, if necessary Spoiler Five Reasons To Watch 1. Texas A&M’s Dylan Rock Rock is approaching 1,000 at bats in his collegiate career, and it certainly shows each time he steps in the batter’s box. The UTSA transfer has made his presence felt in a massive way in his one and only season with the Aggies. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder, had another strong showing at the College Station Regional, and enters the Louisville series hitting .340 with 13 doubles, 18 homers and 59 RBIs, along with 47 walks and a 1.163 OPS. If Rock gets rolling for the Aggies, that high-powered offense is almost impossible to keep at bay. Just ask TCU and plenty of other opponents from earlier this season. 2. Chess Match: Louisville’s Dan McDonnell vs. Texas A&M’s Jim Schlossnagle The chess match between two of college baseball’s premier head coaches should be an absolute dandy to watch this weekend. McDonnell has had one of the more remarkable runs ever during his time at Louisville. Once a college baseball nobody, the Cardinals have evolved into one of the nation’s premier programs — all because of McDonnell and his staff. He has led the Cards to five College World Series appearances in his tenure as head man. As for Schlossnagle, he’s only in his first year with the Aggies, but he certainly has made a massive splash. If not for Tony Vitello and John Sfecz, Schlossnagle has made a strong pitch for National Coach of the Year honors, leading the Aggies, who were picked 13th in the SEC in the preseason, to the Super Regional round. Schlossnagle, of course, was terrific at TCU, where he guided the Frogs to all five of the school’s College World Series appearances. How will the chess match between two of the top active coaches in college baseball unfold? We’ll soon find out. 3. Louisville’s offensive firepower Did you watch Louisville in Regional action over the weekend? If not, you missed some impressive hitting. For instance, in the final game of the weekend, sure the Cards got some help from the umps against Michigan, but boy, credit that offense for seizing the moment with Cam Masterman and others leading the charge. U of L is a tough, tough freight train to slow down once they get going, and they have some strong offensive approaches. For instance, catcher Dalton Rushing has had a terrific year with 22 homers and 60 RBIs to go with 50 walks, the aforementioned Masterman has hit 18 homers and knocked in 61 runs, Ben Metzinger has 19 homers and 68 RBIs and Jack Payton has knocked in more than 50 runs this season. Then, you have Christian Knapczyk and Isaac Humphrey, who have definite gap power and work the count – as evidenced by their 40-plus walk totals. This is very much a complete offense for the Cardinals. 4. The rest of A&M’s offense, especially late in games If you really dig deep into Texas A&M’s offense, it’s really good, but it’s also one of those offenses that seizes the momentum a lot late in games. Look at the Aggies at the College Station Regional last weekend. They seized momentum in the middle-to-late innings against Louisiana, and they put up a seven-spot in the ninth inning to overwhelm TCU in a hard-fought contest. That’s the MO for the Aggies. Jack Moss has had an outstanding season, hitting .388 with 16 doubles, six homers and 47 RBIs, Austin Bost is one of the most improved players in college baseball with a .368 average, 31 walks, nine homers and 42 RBIs and Ryan Targac and Troy Claunch are both guys who have a knack for getting big hits in big situations. There’s also Trevor Werner, who has a huge presence atop the A&M lineup. He struggled for much of the weekend at the College Station Regional, but rose to the occasion when the Aggies needed him the most. A&M’s offense is very much momentum base, and Louisville will need to do what it can to slow it down. 5. Nathan Dettmer vs. Jared Poland Both Dettmer and Poland have had their fair share of ups and downs this season, but both also have risen to the occasion when needed. Poland has been more consistent than Dettmer, but Dettmer has the better stuff. For Dettmer, he will sit anywhere from 91-94 and up to 95 mph with his fastball. And when he’s at his absolute best, he will attack hitters with a filthy breaking ball. With that said, his bunt defense must improve against a team like Louisville this weekend. As for Poland, he hopes to bounced back from a rough start against Michigan, where he allowed seven runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings of work. Poland sits anywhere from 91-93 and up to 94 mph with his fastball, along with an 81-85 mph changeup and a 78-82 mph breaking ball that tops out around 2700 RPM. These two ultra-talented arms against a pair of explosive offenses will be worth the hefty price of admission. An Opposing Coach Breaks Down Louisville “They remind me a lot of some of those older Louisville teams back in 2017. They are very offensive and they have a great combination of speed and power when you go through that lineup. Christian Knapczyk, for instance, is a big-time scrapper and he can hit a ball 20 feet or 400 feet. When we played them earlier this year, he got a hit to start an inning twice and only none of those balls left the infield.” “Ben Metzinger has been for a while and he knows who he is — he’s got big-time power and is a key leader. Cam Masterman has real strength. And Dalton Rushing, that’s some definite, real power as well. He’s a really, really good hitter and he has a bazooka behind the plate. Masterman is a big dude and he actually runs pretty good for his size. Everyone in their lineup can get down the line.” “Logan Beard — he’s a Louisville kid — he probably grew up loving that place. He plays the game really, really hard. Humphries in right, they’re all tough kids. Levi Usher has game-changing speed. I know he had a really bad year last year, but he’s come on well this year. That’s just a really difficult lineup to navigate. There’s so much speed and power. They have the bunt game, they have the run game, and they put a lot of pressure on the pitching staff.” “They’ve got some guys with some good stuff. Some of their guys were lacking some confidence early on this season, but Jared Poland is a really good arm. He’s the typical mold of what kind of guys they usually have. He’s 92-95 mph with his fastball and he has a really good breaking ball to go with a changeup. He’s competitive, and Rog [Roger Williams] has done a good job of finding the right mix out of the bullpen. They don’t seem to have a guy outside of Poland that they can ride for six or seven innings, but they moved Tate Kuehner to the bullpen and that’s been a big move for them. He was more of an 88-90 mph guy with his fastball, and it’s more 90-93 out of the bullpen. It’s not a staff that’s going to go out there and you’re going to go ‘wow’, but they have enough left and righthanded pitching and can really matchup and navigate games.” “Against Louisville, you have to go out there and control the zone offensively. You have to force its pitchers in the strike zone. If you do that, you have a really good chance to beat them. On the flip side, when you’re on the mound, you have to make sure you go out there and don’t let the leadoff guy on. Louisville’s entire offensive production is predicated on that leadoff guy finding a way to get on base.” An Opposing Coach Breaks Down Texas A&M “It’s kind of crazy how different they were in the SEC tournament versus the regular season. We had success against them during the regular season, and it was pretty obvious at the time they hadn’t really figured themselves out offensively. That’s a really, really scary offense now. They’ve got some real depth up and down that lineup with Jack Moss, Dylan Rock, and others. Those are a bunch of really good hitters, and even outside of the really good ones — it’s all above-average offensive players.” “Playing A&M is not like playing someone like Auburn. If Sonny D has a bad weekend for Auburn, you’re feeling like you have a chance to take two of three from them. If Dylan Rock doesn’t have a good weekend for A&M, there are still 3 or 4 other guys who can absolutely wear out your pitching staff. They go up to the plate and do a terrific job of controlling the zone. They don’t chase bad pitches. It’s a bunch of older hitters who know what their plan is when they head to the plate. They take balls — they swing and strikes — they just make your really work as a pitching staff. When you play A&M, you have to be well aware that you’re going to the bullpen in the middle of a game — they just string together some really quality at bats.” “A&M is definitely way improved offensively. The thing about the Aggies is that they added a lot of at bats from last year’s team. For instance, Dylan Rock has like 9,000 at bats in his collegiate career (joking), and the rest of the lineup just plays like a bunch of older guys. Them and Auburn are both examples of how important it is to have experience in your lineup.” “I think they’re bullpen is a lot better than what they’ve got at the front end of the game. Dettmer and Dallas can be dudes — especially when they throw strikes. Dettmer has life on that fastball, and his deal comes down to whether he can command the breaking ball. As for Dallas, the days he has his breaking ball, he’s really good. In our sport, it’s hard to find good lefthanded pitching, and A&M has that with guys like Will Johnston and Joseph Menefee. Those two lefties can come in and really get them out of jams. Those guys have been real difference makers for A&M. Then, you have guys like Jacob Palisch, Chris Cortez who will come at you with some velocity. Nate has done a really good job with that unit. They’ve definitely gotten better on the mound.” “I think you have to score first against a team like A&M. You have to throw the first pitch. You better score off the starters because you’re not going to shut them out offensively and you have to slow them down. You need to get to a lead against those pitchers. I would not pick against them this weekend. They’re going to make some mistakes defensively — they don’t play great defense — but when they make mistakes, they usually make up for them in other ways.”
#Virginia Tech Hokies #Oklahoma Sooners Blacksburg Super Regional Preview: Oklahoma at Virginia Tech POSTSEASON Aaron Fitt - June 9, 2022 Oklahoma (40-21) at No. 4 Virginia Tech (44-12) 3 p.m. Friday on ESPN2 Noon Saturday on ESPNU TBD on Sunday, if necessary Spoiler Five Reasons To Watch 1. Gavin Cross and Tanner Schobel. In a Virginia Tech lineup loaded with serious firepower, Cross and Schobel stand out because of their all-around excellence — these are dynamic athletes who play outstanding defense at premium up-the-middle positions and also hit for power and average. At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Cross is a physical beast who moves like a freight train on the basepaths and in center field, and his lefthanded bat (.335/.419/.665, 16 HR, 12 SB) and all-around tool set makes him a slam-dunk first-round pick. Schobel is much smaller at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, but he’s a quick-twitch athlete with lightning in his righthanded stroke, which has produced 18 home runs and 18 doubles along with a .374 average. He’s also a fluid shortstop with the range, actions and plus arm strength to stick at the position in pro ball, making him a very likely day one pick as an eligible sophomore this July. 2. Peyton Graham. If you like great shortstops, you’re going to love this series, which features two of college baseball’s very best in Schobel and Graham. A high-level performer since he showed up on campus, the wiry 6-foot-4, 171-pound Graham played third base his first two seasons and then made a seamless transition to short this spring, showing the ability to make plenty of highlight-reel plays as well as all the routine ones. He’s also put together his best offensive season, and one of the best all-around seasons in all of college baseball, hitting .339/.420/.661 with 19 homers, 68 RBIs and 32 stolen bases in 34 tries. He has serious whip in his righthanded swing and is a long strider who knows how to put his speed to excellent use. 3. Jake Bennett vs. Drue Hackenberg. Bennett, a physical and experienced veteran lefthander, is the best pitcher in this series, with an 8-3, 3.69 line along with 112 strikeouts against 20 walks in 97.2 innings. His matchup against Virginia Tech’s explosive offense should be fascinating to watch. Hackenberg is a strong-bodied freshman with an absurd athletic pedigree — he has one brother who starred as a quarterback for Penn State, another who played soccer for the Nittany Lions and was a first-round pick in the MLS draft, and a third who caught at Clemson. He attacks at 92-94 mph with a heavy fastball and mixes in a big, tight breaking ball in the low 80s as well as an effective 86-88 changeup — but he’s coming off rough starts in the ACC tournament and regionals, so the Hokies need a big bounceback performance from him. 4. Offensive fireworks and contrasting styles. Virginia Tech is simply one of the best offensive clubs in the country, ranking ninth nationally in scoring and batting, fourth in home runs per game, fifth in doubles per game, second in slugging and 15th in OBP. There are power threats up and down the lineup, with a good balance of righthanded and lefthanded threats and plenty of team speed. Oklahoma’s offense isn’t as potent statistically, ranking 43rd in in scoring, 45th in batting and 82nd in slugging, but the Sooners are extremely disciplined at the plate (ranking sixth in walks) and can really push the action with their running game (they rank fourth nationally with 140 stolen bases), so Virginia Tech’s talented catcher Cade Hunter will be a key player in this matchup. 5. Can the Hokies break through? Virginia Tech is making its first-ever appearance in super regionals and seeks its first trip to Omaha. The Hokie fan base has truly embraced this team over the last two years, creating a rowdy atmosphere and a great home-field advantage for Virginia Tech, which is 32-5 at English Field. Oklahoma deserved to host a regional after finishing the season on a tear and winning the Big 12 tournament, but instead the Sooners were shipped off to Gainesville, where they kept on winning. With road series wins in hostile environments at Texas Tech and TCU this spring, Oklahoma has shown it can handle a setting like this weekend, and the Sooners will try to spoil the party in Blacksburg. OU, playing its first super regional since 2013, is trying to reach Omaha for the first time since 2010, so this would be a significant breakthrough for the Sooners as well. An Opposing Coach Breaks Down Oklahoma “It doesn’t happen very often, but I feel like they have continuously gotten better throughout the year, and the progress and development just haven’t stopped. They’ve just done a hell of a job, man. Usually teams go through some lulls, some ups and downs, but it looks like Oklahoma has gotten better throughout the entire season and they’re playing their best baseball these last 15 or 20. “I think just that it’s a complete team, complete offense. There’s not a ton of superstars, there’s one on both sides of the ball — Peyton Graham and Jake Bennett are kind of the very, very steady leaders and talented on both sides of the ball. But a lot of great players offensively, defensively and pitching, so the fact that they’re good in all facets of the game stands out. It doesn’t appear there’s a weakness like most teams have. Oklahoma’s Peyton Graham (Eric Sorenson) “Peyton Graham is more talented than most people in college baseball, and he’s done a really good job in that, if somebody’s forced to pitch to him, or somebody makes a mistake, he always capitalizes. Because everybody always circles, ‘Don’t let Peyton Graham beat you, don’t let Peyton Graham beat you.’ But it feels like they have enough depth and enough good players where, a lot of times Peyton Graham beats you. He’s just had a really, really good year, especially when he’s the most talented position player on the team, to be able to put up those numbers and have so much success. And he’s been very good at shortstop, that would be the best way to describe it. “They’re just competent everywhere on defense, they just play good defense. There’s not a ton of flash in the infield, you don’t see a lot of amazing plays, nothing stands out to me as far as high-profile defensive plays. They just don’t make any mistakes, they play really clean. They’re faster than they’ve ever been, so there’s speed in the outfield, guys are running well. They definitely have the the most stolen bases they’ve had in the Big 12 in at least a decade. So they’re more athletic than they’ve been and sure-handed, and play probably one of the cleanest games in college right now. “Tredaway’s under-appreciated, he is a leader, lots of moxie, really confident at the plate. Every time he stands in the box, he thinks he has a chance to beat you. He’s lightning-fast with a great two-strike approach. He’s just one of those older veteran guys, but now you can see the confidence is there at such a high level. He’s just another hard guy to get through in the lineup, and he plays a wonderful center field. He’s one of my favorite guys in the league, just because he’s quietly awesome at everything he does. “Huge year for John Spikerman, he’s settled in as their leadoff hitter, and he’s their spark plug of their team. One of the better freshman campaigns in our league. He’s a switch-hitter, lefthanded he’s really, really special, feels like he’s impossible to strike out. He usually will put the ball in play with two strikes, and is one of their fastest guys, if not the fastest guy on the team as a freshman. He’s the guy that, if the shortstop has to move right or left, he’s usually safe if he can put the ball on the ground with multiple hops. So he’s kind of that nightmare where you’re going, one ground ball can shift the game here, and he makes you kind of sweat out a guy that doesn’t hit for power, and that’s a bad feeling as an opposing coach, to have to sweat out the leadoff guy that has a good approach. “It feels like everybody in the lineup has a good identity. Kendall Pettis is a good athlete that will bunt, that will offense, that can get a hit. Crooks is a great player that can get hot and carry a game, can carry a series. He hasn’t been that guy all year. Squires is ultra-physical with juice, he can beat you with a long ball, he can hit a double, has power. Blake Robertson probably has changed their lineup for the better. He might have the most quality at-bats out of anybody on the whole team. If you look at his walk to strikeout ratio, it has to be one of the tops in the country. At one point he was walking like 40 percent of the time. He’s a weird kid that’s gonna be freakish because his strike-zone awareness is off the charts, he’s lefthanded, length, never turns the bat head over. He’s really strong, he’s always inside the ball but hasn’t learned to hit for power yet. So once that comes, then you’re talking about a real prospect, because everything else checks off. He just hasn’t learned to really put the ball in the air consistently, but it’s a massive, strong lefthanded hitter, strike zone awareness, that doesn’t roll over the ball. So he’s another piece. They just have a lot of those guys where maybe it’s like, not the national spotlight guy yet, but it’s maybe because they run but don’t quite hit enough yet, or it’s really really great at-bats but the power’s not there yet. But any given day, any of those guys can be special. “Jake Bennett is arguably the best guy in our league, up for discussion. Really consistent, really, really good fastball, heavy and firm. It’s nothing that you ever leave the game feeling like he dominated, but he always wins, and he usually leaves in a really good situation. You always look up and it’s the sixth or the seventh, and he’s kind of rolled through your lineup, but when you look at him on tape you always think you have a chance to beat him — but he usually proves you wrong. Most likely a big leaguer, just very steady, very consistent. It’s 93 where he wants it with slider-curveball-changeup, and has above-average command of all those pitches and is a huge lefthanded pitcher. Boringly good, just really good. “Guys that really stick out are Bennett to Trevin Michael, that’s a non-traditional closer they’ll bring in for two, three, four innings. They usually have one of those guys on that team that they’ll try to turn into that long closer. So whenever they have the lead or it’s a big spot, they’ll go to Michael and let him pitch. It’s up to 94-95, but it’s more offspeed pitches than fastballs, so really non-traditional closer. But he’s always in the game in every situation, but it is pitch backwards, cross count, then show 93, then go back to the slider. It’s just a buffet of different **** coming at you. “Cade Horton was a big prospect coming out of high school with a big arm, everyone talked about drafting him as a true two-way player. It was just arm strength, cruising at 95, power breaking ball but not enough command of either to be able to last in games. The fastball can get hit, so it’s a young guy that’s trying to still figure it out with tons of talent. Chazz Martinez was a starter for them and kind of transitioned to a reliever, and he pitches every weekend, so he can really be extended. He’s good, his stuff is good, it’s hard to hit. He’s a main guy from the left side. I remember [Javier] Ramos being low three-quarter, nasty stuff, maybe up to 94 with some pretty good sink and slider. But they’re definitely going in games that matter, like six pitchers, maybe. It was definitely, get the ball to Trevin Michael as soon as possible, Chazz Martinez, Ramos, and Ben Abram was in that mix. Abram is that guy that’s been there at least four years, huge righthanded pitcher that pitches backwards. He is their steady Eddie, up four, down four, we think he can keep the game there kind of guy. But they’re using five or six arms most likely, it’s not a ton of arms, but very competitive. “I view Virginia Tech as, can really flat-out hit and have juice. Oklahoma, their offense is definitely speed-oriented, take the extra base, have great at-bats. Then if you screw the game up, they’ll hang a huge inning on you in a hurry. But I feel like Virginia Tech is going to slug it out, every game they hit a three-run homer. They just have some lefthanded hitters for Virginia Tech that are flat-out scary. But Oklahoma’s offense is more complete, they can beat anybody, any way, any day. It’s hard to match up righty vs. lefty. The only thing, if you throw a lefty versus Oklahoma, I would say they’re significantly worse. They have to play a few different players. And a few of Oklahoma’s big boys are righthanded hitters that are better versus righties. And all of their lefthanded hitters are better versus righties. So turning Spikerman around to make him hit righthanded really changes the dynamic of their team, and I think Graham might be one of those opposite guys who hits righties better. That’s the one kind of weakness, but the offense is definitely complete.” An Opposing Coach Breaks Down Virginia Tech “Boy, they are an impressive team. They are very, very well coached. Offensively it’s like they come at you in waves. You’ll feel like you’re going through three or four innings and you’ve kind of got them held down, then all of a sudden they can really explode on you in a hurry. They’re a very complete offense. Obviously they’ve got five guys who can hit the ball out of the balllpark, but they can bunt, they can steal bases, they’re disciplined, they can move guys over. So they’re not reliant on beating you one way. But the thing that’s most impressive to me about them offensively is their approach in the batter’s box. They will move around in the batter’s box more than any team we’ve played, and they do a great job of anticipating pitches. You’ll see a guy move up because he’s anticipating breaking ball, you’ll see a guy slide back because he’s anticipating getting pitched in. They are very well coached to anticipate and sell out to a particular pitch. You just never feel like you can get comfortable. Some teams, you’re pitching and you’re like, ‘OK, we’ve got a good plan and we’re rolling with it, and these guys are gonna have a hard time stringing together offense against us.’ But you get settled in like that against Virginia Tech. You might feel like you’re right in the ballgame with them, and then all of a sudden you bring a guy in out of the pen and they just ambush you. So that to me stands out the most about their club, how good and how complete they are offensively. Virginia Tech’s Gavin Cross (Shotgun Spratling) “I think with several of their guys, the key is you’ve got to be willing to pitch in, because they will sell out at times to cover offspeed. If you can execute, you can’t make any mistakes, but if you can execute in, that’s where you’ll have success against that club. Cross obviously falls into that category. He’s a big leaguer for sure. The one thing that I didn’t realize from last year to this year is just how athletic he is. He fills up the batter’s box, he gets down the line really, really good. He’s really rangy in center field. I remember back in the fall when they announced he was gonna be their everyday center fielder, i was like, ‘I don’t know if he moves well enough’ — but oh man, he does move well enough. He’s an athletic, projectable guy. Their guys are so long and athletic, their bodies were really impressive to me. Even at the bottom of their lineup, Carson Jones hadn’t done a lot this year but now he’s on an absolute tear. Even the bottom of their lineup scares the heck out of you. Carson DeMartini in the 9 hole, man, he’ll ambush fastballs, and he’s got power to the opposite field. “Schobel is electric, he’s such a good energy guy. And their crowd feeds off him a little bit, he elevates the energy in the whole ballpark. He is an electric athlete and defender. Big-time juice for his size. And he’s another ambusher, he’s another guy that if you can get in on him, because he’ll really sell out to certain pitches. But man, if you’re not careful he’ll ambush you. “They’re very good defensively. Schobel is electric at shortstop. Cade Hunter is very good behind the plate, Cross is a dude in center field. I still think [Nick] Biddison is kind of their emotional motor. I think he’s the emotional leader of that team, he’s got a toughness factor and a grit about him that makes everybody else around him tougher. Jack Hurley is an unbelievable bunter, so you can’t shift early on him, you have to take that away. Defensively they’re just rock solid. “On the mound, it’s interesting because outside of [Drue] Hackenberg — I thought he was really good, it’s 92-94, it’s a power sinker, and it’s a true sinker, man. It is really hard to get the ball off the ground. It’s unique because even as a sinker guy, he can go up in the zone and still get swing and miss. Most sinker guys have to operate almost exclusively at the bottom of the zone, but he doesn’t have to, he can move the fastball around the zone, but it’s still really hard to elevate the fastball off of him, he can get swing-and-miss with it. The rest of the guys, they don’t wow you but they just don’t beat themselves. Griffin Green is not electric but he doesn’t beat himself. I don’t know that he even does it intentionally, but he’ll shape the slider differently at times. Sometimes it’s a little bit of a tighter pitch, and sometimes it’s a bigger shape that will really cause you to run out of barrel as a righthanded hitter. He’s got some arm-side run and sink too, so I don’t know if he means to pound guys in a lot but he gets in from time to time because of the profile of the fastball. And he’s a bulldog. “If there’s a third game, they might start Jordan Geber, the grad transfer — the stuff’s good, it’s not great. You see a bunch of guys that look like him in the ACC, but he’s competitive. They’re a team that’s playing with a lot of confidence right now, so I think when their guys take the mound, they take the mound empowered and have a lot of confidence. But that’s the one piece of their team where I left going, ‘You know what? They’re just OK there.’ But on the flip side of that, they’re very well coached on the mound. Their guys know what they’re doing and they don’t beat themselves. They just don’t wow you with stuff. “They’ve got some fifth-year guys down there in the bullpen. Again, they’re not like Miami that just run waves of big-time stuff at you. These are just veteran guys who don’t beat themselves. You’ve got [Graham] Firoved and [Henry] Weycker, sometimes Geber comes out of the pen, sometimes he’ll start. They didn’t go particularly deep against us, so that’s one of my question marks, if you’re able to get into the pen early in a super regional format, is there an opportunity to do some damage against the bullpen? It’s been hard to do because Green and Hackenberg have been good at getting them to the back end of the bullpen. Firoved just gets above the barrel. The velo does not wow you, but it’s a high spin rate, high induced vertical break fastball — it’s 21, 22 inches of induced vertical break, and he knows how to get above the barrel, so he’s really good at getting some swing and miss on the fastball above the barrel. “And look at how much better their numbers are in that ballpark than out of that ballpark. They’re almost a different team — that’s not fair, because they’ve had a great year. But offensively they are so much better in that ballpark. It would be interesting to see them matched up outside of that ballpark in Omaha.”
#North Carolina Tarheels #Arkansas Razorbacks Chapel Hill Super Regional Preview: Arkansas at North Carolina POSTSEASON Aaron Fitt - June 9, 2022 Arkansas (41-19) at No. 10 North Carolina (42-20) 11 a.m. on ESPN 1 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN2 TBD on Monday, if necessary Spoiler Five Reasons To Watch 1. Vance Honeycutt. The North Carolina freshman center fielder is simply one of the most dynamic, electrifying players in college baseball. A live-wire athlete with incredible twitch in his lithe 6-foot-3, 190 pound frame, Honeycutt has serious buggywhip in his righthanded stroke, which has produced 24 home runs this spring. He’s also a premium runner with 29 stolen bases in 34 tries, making him the first true freshman to post a 20-20 season at the Division I level in decades. And he might be the best defensive center fielder in the country even as a freshman, tracking down balls no mere mortal would approach. He helped save UNC’s season with a leaping catch to rob a home run in the ninth inning of an elimination game against Georgia last week. 2. Cayden Wallace. When it comes to pure excitement, Arkansas’ answer to Honeycutt is Wallace, a sophomore third baseman who will almost surely be drafted in the first round this summer. At 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, Wallace has a more compact and physical frame than Honeycutt, but he’s another live athlete who made a smooth transition from right field to the hot corner this year. His defensive displays at third base in the Stillwater Regional looked like the kind of stuff you might see from a major league Gold Glove winner — his agility, arm strength, and ability to throw accurately from a variety of slots on the run are all super impressive. So is his pretty righthanded swing, which has produced 15 homers and 17 doubles this spring. 3. Red-hot bats. Neither one of these clubs ranks among the national leaders in scoring over the course of the season — UNC is 101st, and Arkansas is 84th — but that doesn’t tell the real story. North Carolina has looked like a different team down the stretch, winning 19 of its last 22 games, and its outstanding, varied and balanced offense is a big reason. When the Tar Heels get rolling — especially at home, where they are 33-7 this year — they are very difficult to stop. And so is Arkansas, as it showed in Stillwater last weekend, scoring 44 runs in four games. That’s the kind of Arkansas scoring we expected to see heading into the year, but the Hogs were up and down offensively throughout the course of the season. But they are up right now, peaking at the perfect time. 4. Big stuff at the back end. Neither one of these teams has a vintage weekend rotation relative to the standards of these respective programs, which have been two of the nation’s elite over the past two decades. But each team has a major weapon with overpowering stuff at the back end. Freshman righthander Brady Tygart attacks with a mid-90s fastball with premium spin (above 2500 rpm) and one of the most devastating curveballs in the country, a 77-81 mph hammer with spin up into the 3100s. UNC’s closer is righthander Davis Palermo, who really came into his own as a fourth-year sophomore this spring (77 K in 55 IP), attacking at 94-97 mph with a high-spin heater into the 2500s, a solid power curve at 83-85 and a useful short slider at 86-88. 5. Excellence up the middle. As mentioned above, Honeycutt is a human highlight reel in center field, anchoring a very good up-the-middle quartet that also includes veteran shortstop Danny Serretti, gritty defensive specialist Colby Wilkerson at second, and rock-solid catcher Tomas Frick. But Arkansas might have the best up-the-middle defense in the country, led by the premier double-play tandem of Jalen Battles and Robert Moore, along with rangy Braydon Webb in center and fifth-year senior stalwart Michael Turner behind the plate. These two clubs both take care of the baseball and make plenty of web gems, which should make for high-quality, entertaining baseball this weekend in Chapel Hill. An Opposing Coach Breaks Down Arkansas “I didn’t think it was the strongest Arkansas team. That was a hell of a series against Oklahoma State, I watched that, it was like watching the most exciting move you’ve ever seen. It’s impressive, it doesn’t feel like one of their best teams, and they’re two wins away. Dave does a really good job, he has his guys prepared, and they usually don’t beat themselves. That’s a theme with all these teams that are left, you have to beat them. “The pitching wasn’t dominant. Connor Noland is a really good pitcher, he is a really good pitcher, and if you don’t hit spin, you don’t hit breaking balls, he’s gonna really expose you, because he can really spin it and throw it for strikes, and throw it for swing and miss. It’s not an overpowering fastball, but if you don’t have a good approach with breaking balls against him, he’s gonna eat you alive. I think you saw, Hagen Smith, it is electricity painting the corner, then it’s nowhere near — it’s kind of effectively wild with power stuff. I think he’s the wild card, he won it for them the other night, and I think he can win it for them this weekend too, but he could also have an outing where he doesn’t have great command, if the offense is patient, so that’s something to watch. I don’t think it’s as dominant a bullpen, although Tygart has one of the top five breaking balls in college baseball, so that’s strong stuff at the back end. It’s just inexperience, so you don’t know how he’s gonna hold up in the postseason because he hasn’t done that yet. But it’s really strong stuff on the back end. I think in between those starters and him, there’s some vulnerability in the bullpen. Connor Noland, Arkansas (Eddie Kelly) “The lineup is a little all or nothing, I know they were rolling this weekend in the regionals. But for a while it seemed like they were having trouble scoring if it wasn’t a home run. There was a lot of swing and miss, and it seemed like they were counting on the home run a little bit more than Arkansas teams normally do when we’ve played them. I always think of Dave’s teams as they bunt and move runners and hit-and-run. But it was a little more station to station and then count on the three-run homer. “I think Wallace is their biggest threat, he scares me the most in that lineup. Slavens has always scared me too, I feel like he’s a gamer, and I don’t think he’s had the best year either, but he and Wallace are scary. Robert Moore didn’t have his strongest year, but I just feel like he is a clutch player. Jalen Battles is a clutch player too. “Their lefties didn’t handle the righthanded breaking ball when we were playing them. He didn’t handle the away pitch or breaking balls. [Chris] Lanzilli’s a liability against a righthanded breaking ball but he can really hurt you if you make a mistake, and Wallace you can get with that too. If you have a guy with a really good righthanded breaking ball, that’s a little bit of their kryptonite. Because that’s what Battles has trouble with, Wallace. They really need Zack Gregory and Stovall and Turner and Robert Moore to be able to neutralize the righthanded breaking ball. “I think they’re really good defensively in the infield, and in center field with Braydon Webb, but I think they’re a little shaky in the outfield corners. So maybe just average in the outfield, but really good defense in the infield, and Turner’s a really good defensive catcher. I think he’s one of their best players, overall. Right through the middle, the defense is really really good, with Battles at short and Moore at second. Wallace at third is a really good player. But up the middle and third base, really good.” An Opposing Coach Breaks Down North Carolina “They’re just playing extremely confident baseball. I think they’re very well coached. They have a really good combination of speed and power in their lineup. Angel Zarate’s a fifth-year senior with a lot of college at-bats who kind of sets the table for them. They put Horvath right behind him and he can mis-hit a ball out of the ballpark. Then you start going down that lineup, you’ve got Serretti, he’s got a zillion college at-bats. You’ve got Osuna, another guy who can mis-hit the ball out of the ballpark, he’s got real power. Then Honeycutt has a chance to be a top-five pick in a few years. He changes the game with his defense, he changes the game with his speed and then he obviously has got real power. So you start going through that lineup, they’ve got old guys, they’ve got speed, they’ve got power, and they sneak in the [Mikey] Madej kid, who was a transfer who’s been in college baseball for a long time. So it’s just a very old, experienced, tough lineup that can beat you in a lot of ways. They can beat you with their speed and they can beat you with their power. North Carolina’s Danny Serretti (Aaron Fitt) “I think Horvath is an above-average defender at third base, he’s really good over there. Serretti just makes every play, he makes all the routine plays, does what an older guy should do — if it hits his glove you’re out. Colby Wilkerson is in the 9-hole but he can really play defense at second base. Then you’ve got [Hunter] Stokely over there at first, a big physical donkey but he actually does a pretty good job playing first. And in center, Honeycutt is a game-changer, what he can do defensively. “They’re really good right now. And I think their pitching was struggling a little bit early on, but they’ve got a good mix of guys they go to now. Max Carlson’s good, the lefty [Brandon] Schaeffer has been throwing the ball way better. And they’ll mix and match you out of the pen. Rapp will face the lefties, they’ll bring in Gage GIllian and he’ll just flip changeups and big breaking balls in there. Rapp and Gillian pitch every game, it’s crazy. But they do a good job not leaving them in there too long, they face their guys and then they’re out. I think Gillian can give them a little bit more length depending on the situation of the game, just because he throws a ton of strikes with just a steady mix, so if you’ve got an offense that is not very disciplined, he can really give guys fits. Then Davis Palermo at the back end, he’s got real velo, so they can mix and match it, keep guys off the fastball with some of the guys in the middle of the game, and then they’ve got [Connor] Bovair and Palermo at the back have real stuff. “Carlson is a good college pitcher. It’s nothing really overpowering but it’s three pitches for strikes, and he’ll pitch backwards, he’s tough. He’s been through it a little bit now so he does a good job of not letting the game get of control. He’s pitched way better as of late. I don’t think he’s gonna shut you out for seven innings, but he’s gonna keep their team in the game. And with their offense he doesn’t need to shut you out, he just needs to give up three in six. Schaeffer is a crafty lefty, can move the fastball around, pitch it backwards with the changeup. Changeup is his best offspeed pitch, but just a good college lefthander, 88-91 who can pitch backwards, uses the changeup pretty often. “It’s a very, very good team. And obviously they were very good down the stretch and they’re very hot right now, but I think they play really well in their ballpark too, that’s always been a thing for them, they’re really good at the Bosh. To be hosting a super regional there is a huge advantage.”
#Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles #Mississippi Rebels Hattiesburg Supers Preview: Ole Miss vs. Southern Miss ANALYSIS Kendall Rogers - June 9, 2022 Ole Miss (35-22) at No. 11 Southern Miss (47-17) Saturday: 4 p.m.ET (ESPNU) Sunday: 4 p.m. ET (ESPN2/ESPNU) Monday: TBD Spoiler Five Reasons To Watch 1. Southern Miss’ weekend rotation The Golden Eagles have had one of the nation’s premier weekend rotations the entire season, and it’s a deep unit. Righthanded pitcher Tanner Hall pounds the zone and first made his presence known earlier this season with some strong showings in midweek games. He has a 2.61 ERA in 103.2 innings of work, along with a whopping 140 strikeouts and 13 walks. The big thing with Hall is that he has a turbo changeup that can go a variety of directions. It’s very difficult for hitters to pick that up. Hunter Riggins has a 2.59 ERA in 97.1 innings of work and has only walked 21 batters in 97.1 innings of work, while the bell cow of this rotation from a pure talent standpoint is righty Hurston Waldrep. Waldrep is up to 96-97 mph with his fastball and can absolutely dominate hitters. He has struck out 128 and walked 29 in 85 innings and teams are hitting him at a .208 clip. Outside of top-seeded Tennessee, you could make a strong argument that USM has the best remaining weekend rotation. 2. Tim Elko The Rebels are red-hot offensively right now, and a big reason for that is the continued power production from Elko. The seasoned veteran had a multi-home run game at the Coral Gables Regional and continues to produce at a high level. He’s even doing it this season with two knees instead of one. Elko has smacked 22 home runs and knocked in 68 runs this season. He also has induced 40 walks and is hitting .306 with a 1.089 OPS. When Elko and others get rolling, the Rebels offense is tough to slow down. Elko is Mr. College Baseball. 3. Dylan DeLucia Ole Miss’ success this weekend could hinge on the success of righthanded pitcher Dylan DeLucia. DeLucia began the season at the back end of the bullpen, but as the season progressed, head coach Mike Bianco decided to move him to the weekend rotation as they were looking for some answers with other arms struggling. DeLucia, a hard-nosed veteran, hasn’t disappointed in the rotation. He was terrific at the Coral Gables Regional last weekend, and when he’s right, it’s a legit 90-93 and up to 94 mph fastball with a solid slider. He has appeared in 18 games this season (nine starts) and has a 4.69 ERA in 73 innings, along with 79 strikeouts and 24 walks. DeLucia is a treat to watch when he’s right. 4. The Southern Miss bullpen As good as the starting rotation has been for the Golden Eagles this spring, the bullpen has been equally good at times. Over the weekend at the Hattiesburg Regional, the bullpen came up huge in multiple games. Justin Storm threw five shutout innings out of the bullpen, and Dalton Rogers and Landon Harper were both huge in the final game against LSU. Tyler Stuart, who has appeared in four games and actually made four starts this season, has a 2.72 ERA in 39.2 innings of work. Isaiah Rhodes is another quality arm to watch — he has 21 appearances this season — and Chandler Best pitched well out of the bullpen last weekend, too. Best has appeared in 14 games this season. He’s down the list in terms of the most reliable bullpen arms, but he has the ability to enter a game and shut down a lineup. 5. The atmosphere at Pete Taylor Park It’s almost like the roles are kind of reversed entering the weekend. Typically, Ole Miss would be hosting this type of series in Oxford. But now it shifts down to Hattiesburg, and boy, will Pete Taylor Park be an absolute zoo this weekend. The Pete is one of the better atmospheres in college baseball, and the arrival of the in-state foe Rebels will only increase the intensity around the ballpark. It will be must-see TV. The interesting thing about this Super is that Ole Miss enters the weekend playing with house money. No one expected the Rebels to be in the postseason in the first place, while the Golden Eagles were in the mix for a top eight seed. The pressure is on USM this weekend to advance to the College World Series. An Opposing Coach Breaks Down Ole Miss “The thing about Ole Miss right now is that it has figured out its roles on the pitching staff. They’ve got a really, older, physical and experienced lineup, and they can really, really hit. They were really scuffling on the mound when we played them earlier this season, but Dylan DeLucia has really stepped up on the mound. He has developed into a really reliable starting pitcher.” “The deal with Ole Miss from a pitching standpoint is that Dylan DeLucia and Hunter Elliott have emerged as solid starting pitchers. Elliott does just enough to give them a quality start. And this team as a whole has started to play much better over the past three or four weeks. Those guys have been pitching into the sixth and seventh innings at times, and that matters. It has shortened some of those bullpen roles for sure. DeLucia and Elliott deserve a ton of credit for shortening up some of those games.” “Offensively, they’re just a team that mashes. There’s very little action when they get on base — they’re not going to run and they’re not going to test your catcher. But they’re just going to sit back and hit. They’ve got a lot of guys with 10-plus homers — Kevin Graham, Tim Elko and Kemp Alderman are dangerous — and Peyton Chatagnier has been really good as of late. You have to keep those guys in the ballpark. You can give up some solo shots, but you can’t give up homers with guys on base.” “Kevin Graham. He’s really good. It kind of goes back to what I said about Texas A&M. They’ve got four real threats, and it’s not a lineup that really lets you up for air. You’ve got Tim Elko, Alderman, Jacob Gonzalez and Kevin Graham, among others. Those are some real, real threats that take pressure off of each other because of how good of hitters they are.” “I think the two big keys against Ole Miss are this — you have to only give up solo homers. You can’t walk guys and then have them put up a crooked number with home runs. The other thing with Ole Miss is I think they’re a lot more beatable when you can get them into the bullpen in the middle of game. I know the bullpen has gotten better as of late, but your chances of winning go up if you can get into that bullpen early and often.” An Opposing Coach Breaks Down Southern Miss “I would say they’re one of those teams — when they get off the bus — when they got off the bus at our place, they look like a really good team — they look physical. The other thing you notice about their club is that when they’re walking around the ballpark, they just carry themselves like they know they’re a pretty good team. They very much believe in themselves.” “For three games, that’s a team that just plays like they don’t even look at the scoreboard. That’s a great trait for a team. If you’re up two runs in the fifth inning, they don’t even flinch. It’s like they don’t even care. They just continue playing the same way they were before. They are the same team when they are ahead as they are when they’re behind. When they need to reach back and get that extra gear, though, they can find out.” “Southern Miss is just a multi-dimensional team that can get it done a variety of different ways. They can win 1-0, or they can get it going offensively and find a way to win a game 10-9. You kind of saw that over the weekend at the Hattiesburg Regional.” “I thought their pitching staff was as advertised. They come right at you as a staff. They’re probably going to be a fan favorite of neutral observers because they pitch with a pace. Their guys get the ball and go right at you. Tanner Hall — he throws those turbo changeups every direction and they don’t even know which direction it’s going to go most of the time — but it just works. Obviously, he knows how to command his stuff, but it’s a very unique pitch. By the time teams figure it out, it’s typically too late.” “He just kind of remains me of an all-state shortstop type who also pitched for his high school team (Tanner Hall). The starting pitching is just really good and they’re going to come at you with multiple looks out of the bullpen. They have such confidence in those guys. They’re not going to ride a guy until they get into trouble. Everyone in that bullpen has a different role. All of those guys have different looks and such, but they all attack with tempo.” “Defensively, you can just kind of get a feel for their confidence in themselves. The way they are on the field, they communicate well. Multiple times when we played them, we had them on the ropes a little bit. And never did they seem to panic. They never felt like they were at risk of losing.” “When we had the most success against them, we made their starting pitchers throw a lot of pitches. You have to lay off the high fastball and you have to lay off the Tanner Hall changeup. You need your guys to go up there and work some seven-plus pitch at bats. If you go up there and just get 3 or 4 pitch at bats, though, the game is going to be over before you even know it. Overall, the margin for error against those guys is pretty slim. They will exploit you if you have weaknesses.”
D1Baseball Staff Pick’em: 2022 Super Regionals POSTSEASON D1 Baseball Staff - June 9, 2022 The 2022 Super Regionals are finally here! See who the D1Baseball Staff is picking to win this weekend and advance to Omaha. [AND LISTEN TO THIS: Super Regionals Preview Podcast]
#Oregon State Beavers #Oregon State Beavers alt #Auburn Tigers Corvallis Supers Preview: Auburn vs. Oregon State ANALYSIS Kendall Rogers - June 9, 2022 No. 14 Auburn (40-19) vs. No. 3 Oregon State (47-16) Saturday: 10:30 p.m.ET (ESPNU) Sunday: 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2/ESPNU) Monday: TBD Spoiler Five Reasons To Watch 1. Sonny DiChiara He’s one of the most entertaining players in college baseball for a myriad of reasons. Typically, when someone moves from the SoCon to the SEC, they don’t experience more success from an offensive standpoint. But let’s be honest, not everyone is Sonny D. DiChiara, a 6-foot-1, 265-pounder, has quite an unorthodox stature, but don’t let that fool you. Not only can Sonny D hit the long ball, but he’s actually a tremendous overall hitter. How so? Sonny is hitting .397 entering the weekend with 15 doubles, 20 home runs and 55 RBIs. He also has induced 66 walks and has struck out just 47 times this season. He possesses a .565 OBP to go with a ridiculously good 1.369 OPS. If Sonny D gets rolling at the plate this weekend, the Tigers become a very difficult team to slow down from an offensive standpoint. 2. Cooper Hjerpe The Oregon State lefthanded pitcher has had a season to remember. He’s a Golden Spikes Award finalist, and frankly, if it wasn’t for Texas slugger Ivan Melendez, he might just be the recipient. Hjerpe has been phenomenal the entire season, entering Super Regional play with a 2.40 ERA in 97.2 innings of work, along with 155 strikeouts and just 21 walks. Teams are hitting Hjerpe at a .182 clip. Stuff-wise, he will attack hitters with a fastball in the low-to-mid 90s, along with a quality changeup and slider combo. His competitiveness is off the charts, as we saw last weekend at the Corvallis Regional, where he started against New Mexico State and came back on Monday to throw with electricity out of the bullpen against Vanderbilt. Hjerpe is the heartbeat of Oregon State’s club. 3. Wade Meckler and Jacob Melton Here are two guys who have equally important roles with the Beavers, but who are very different type of players. Let’s start with Meckler. The former walk-on has been a true dirtbag/spark plug you name it type of guy for Oregon State this season. He’s a chip off the old block, and he enters the weekend with a .355 average, 22 doubles, three triples and 31 RBIs to go with a whopping 51 walks. Meckler also can steal some bases against the Tigers this weekend. As for Melton, an injury hampered him last season, but boy has he been impressive at the plate this season. The soon-to-be All-American is having a year to remember at the plate, hitting .360 with 21 doubles, four triples, 16 homers and 81 RBIs. He also has an OPS of 1.090. Both of these sluggers are ultra special to the Beavs for different reasons. 4. Joseph Gonzalez Speaking of old school type of players, how about Auburn starting pitcher and righthander Joseph Gonzalez? Gonzalez isn’t going to set spin rate records or wow scouts with the radar gun. But you know what he does do? He pitches at a very high level and commands the zone with precision. Gonzalez enters the weekend with a 2.90 ERA in 68.1 innings of work, along with 42 strikeouts and 14 walks. Teams are hitting him at a .265 clip, but he has recorded just two losses this season. Gonzalez will sit in the low-90s with his sinking fastball, which is his bread and butter. He’s about as sure thing as sure thing gets this weekend. 5. The two bullpens Both the Beavers and Tigers have some key pieces to watch out of the bullpen this weekend. Ben Ferrer is the bellow cow for this OSU bullpen with his off the charts competitiveness and nasty fastball and slider combo, while Verburg has pitched so many huge innings for the Beavers over the past few seasons. Ryan Brown, another hard-nosed reliever for the Beavs, pitches so much better than his ERA would indicate. It’s over five, but the times I’ve seen him pitch this spring, the stuff and results haven’t equaled what his ERA suggests, which is an average pitcher. As for the Tigers, Carson Skipper is a different look and a veteran, John Armstrong has thrown well in stints this season and Blake Burkhalter is the key cog at the backend of games. Burkhalter comes right at hitters with a mid-90s hitter, but what makes him so effective is a hard, 88-89 mph cutter that explodes on hitters as well. The lack of velocity difference makes it tough on hitters to distinguish the pitch from his fastball. An Opposing Coach Breaks Down Auburn “Auburn. They’re just a winning team, man. They’re very, very experienced and they play really clean baseball. They’ll play great defense, they’ll take care of the ball and they will pound the zone with strikes. They’ve got eight or nine pitchers with different looks and stuff, and they are doing a terrific job of mixing and matching at the backend of the bullpen.” “Auburn is really righthanded offensively and it is really tough to strikeout. They’re just a gritty, winning team that knows how to play. Sonny D has been a true difference maker for those guys. He’s one of the best players in college baseball.” “On offense, you know, they’re just an older team. They don’t chase a lot. They put the ball in play. The two guys that stood out to me when we played them were Sonny DiChiara and Blake Rambusch. Those guys are real threats, and Blake is kind of their spark plug offensively. He and Sonny kind of make them go. Besides that — I don’t want to use the word generic — but they’ve just got a bunch of good role players. Bobby Pierce and Brody Moore are playing well, Kason Howell is a fourth-year guy and Brooks Carlson is an older player, too. They’re older kids who really know how to control the strike zone. If you throw a lot of strikes, they’re definitely going to put the ball into play. They’re really hot right now, and that tends to be pretty contagious. “On the pitching side, Joe Gonzalez has really emerged for them. He’s kind of one of those old school type of pitchers — kind of like 7 or 8 years ago when everyone was just trying to sink the fastball. He’s kind of like that. While everyone else is trying to throw four seams and such, he’s just trying to get the fastball down in the zone. He’s been their most dependable pitcher. Trace Bright has done a nice job, and Mason Barnett has stepped up as of late. They can go to the bullpen in the fourth or fifth inning and be competitive the rest of the way. Blake Burkhalter is one of those guys where you’re going to have to find a way to string together hits against a guy throwing 95 with an 88-90 mph cutter. That isn’t easy to do. Carson Skipper has done a great job out of that bullpen, too.” “To beat Auburn, you gotta go take the game to them. They’re not going to give you a game. You can’t be pitching to Sonny D with people on base. You’re going to have to string hits together. They’re going to play clean defense and they’re not going to beat themselves.” An Opposing Coach Breaks Down Oregon State “Oregon State … those guys just run off Cooper Hjerpe. He was the best we saw all-season long. Supposedly his spin metrics are off the charts. The difference between last year and this year for Hjerpe is that he has figured out how to throw the slider and changeup pretty consistently. That was the total difference. I’m not sure if the righty or lefty matchup really makes a difference against him. He pitches effectively to both sides of the plate, and he’s just an excellent college player.” “For me, the guy who has really emerged and who has been a big key to their season is Ben Ferrer. He’s a little 5-foot-10, righty stock looking dude, but man, he can spot up that slider. He throws the crap out of the ball. It’s funny because after I saw him, I was asking our spin metrics guys to take a closer look at him.” “What’s so special about this guy versus some of the other guys they have is that he really locates his slider. He’s been the glue for them pitching-wise outside of Hjerpe. Mitchell Verburg — he’s been erratic at times this year, but he’s good. Ferrer goes out there and just pitches well and like a humble kid, Verburg kind of goes out there and tries to bully you a little bit. His effectiveness have been very good, though. Ferrer, though is quiet, but he’s just going to get out there and kick your ass anyway.” “Ferrer is just a blood and guts guy. Ryan Brown is good, and Jaren Hunter can really, really sink the baseball. They were starting him in the midweek earlier in the year, and I think he’s their second-best guy outside of Hjerpe.” “Jacob Melton — he was the Player of the Year in our league. I actually think Boyd is the better defender but they play both of them in center and right field sometimes. Boyd is the rock star on the team. Melton has the caveman strength that he will just hit a pop up to left field and somehow it will leave the yard. The ball just comes off his bat a little different. Boyd is the guy who’s the total stud for me, though — he’s not afraid to go crashing through the wall. Him and Wade Meckler are the heart and soul of this team.” “Their outfield is electric — there’s a lot of grit and determine out there. The Travis Bazanna kid plays with a lot of swagger, Gavin Logan plays his ass off and really received and got more strikes than any catcher in our league. They’re an elite level team, and when Hjerpe is throwing the way he did out of the bullpen against Vandy, they are very difficult to beat.”
Mississippi, where college baseball tickets are like gold by Rick Cleveland June 9, 2022 Print by Rick Cleveland, Mississippi Today June 9, 2022 More than 6,300 fans at Pete Taylor Park watch a game against the Ole Miss Rebels on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. They probably could sell three times that many tickets this weekend. (Photo by Joe Harper/BigGold Photography) Toughest ticket in Mississippi sports history? If not, tickets to this weekend’s Ole Miss-Southern Miss NCAA Super Regional baseball series in Hattiesburg are certainly in the first sentence of any conversation on that subject. Tickets with a face value of $60 are going as much as $1800 on StubHub. It goes back to the old economics principle of supply and demand. In this case, the demand for tickets is far, far higher than the number of tickets available for sale. The seating capacity at USM’s Pete Taylor Park is just over 5,000. Southern Miss could probably sell 15 or 20 thousand tickets if that many were available. Exclusive Mississippi sports alerts from Rick and Tyler Cleveland Ole Miss (35-22) and Southern Miss (47-17) play Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. in Games 1 and 2. A third game, if necessary, will be played Monday at a time to be determined (by ESPN, of course). The winner of the series goes to the College World Series at Omaha. Jeremy McClain Says Southern Miss athletic director Jeremy McClain, “The bottom line is that we are not able to sell tickets to some people who have been very supportive of our baseball program.” Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter is in the same boat, if not one even more submerged. By NCAA rules, Ole Miss was allotted 600 tickets. About 250 of those are committed to players’ and coaches’ families, leaving about 350 to be sold to Ole Miss supporters. This will give you some idea of how insufficient that number is: Ole Miss baseball has more than 136,000 Twitter followers, about 8,200 season ticket holders. Carter said the Ole Miss ticket office received 3,500 Super Regional ticket requests — that, despite people knowing how unlikely it was to obtain tickets. So it is tickets with a face value of $60 are selling online for several hundreds of dollars on. secondary ticket markets. So it is people are celebrating scoring a ticket on the various Internet message boards as if celebrating a national championship. So it is both Ole Miss and Southern Miss are setting up different venues where their fans can watch the game in a crowd atmosphere. Ole Miss will hold watch parties at the school’s baseball stadium. Southern Miss will have watch parties at Spirit Park on the school’s campus, about a half mile from Pete Taylor Park where a 20-foot video wall will be set up for the ESPNU feed. No doubt, Mississippians by the thousands will opt to view the game in their own living rooms in air-conditioned comfort. McLain was asked if Southern Miss is considering an expansion of Pete Taylor Park — or “The Pete” as it often called — where the Golden Eagles shattered season ticket and attendance records this past spring. “We’re exploring it,” McClain said. “Actually, we’ve been looking at it for several months. We are in the early stages and we have some issues with expansion because of the ballpark’s surroundings. But we are looking at it and feel like there are some ways to add quality seating.” That won’t help disappointed fans this weekend, although any athletic director — or businessman — will tell you that when demand far exceeds supply, it is a nice problem to have.
Pretty cool article about what makes USMs park special. 15 year waiting list for the Roost. Basically it’s an area in the ball park where if you have a spot you can drive your car into the ball Park and tailgate. Pretty good article and good example of why college baseball > pro https://www.usm.edu/news/2022/release/right-field-roost.php
I don't get the TV times Saturday. 10a 11a 11a 1p 2p 3p ---- 9p 9:30p You go from 4,5, potentially 6 games on at the same time in the early window to 1, maybe zero games on in prime time. I guess they want to protect the hockey game starting at 7 but even the NBA finals game Friday is going against a couple of games
Just for shits and giggles. Super Regionals if they reseeded: Ole Miss at No. 1 Tennessee No. 11 Southern Miss at No. 10 North Carolina UConn at No. 4 Virginia Tech Notre Dame at No. 5 Texas A&M Arkansas at No. 2 Stanford No. 12 Louisville at No. 9 Texas Oklahoma at No. 3 Oregon State No. 14 Auburn at No. 8 East Carolina