College Baseball 2013

[bukie]

So much for that. Illinois gives up 4 in the 9th and trails 6-3 in the bottom of the 9th.

[toonsterwu]

I'm not surprised North Carolina was forced to a Game 7. North Carolina, this year, seems like the ... Braves of the 90's? (not the best comp ... ). A team with a lot of good-to-solid talent that can win a ton in the regular season.

 

Tech surviving to face Vandy again ... that stunned me. That said, when a guy pitches on his head ...

 

Dunno if there was really a ton that shocked me in the regionals. Central Arkansas surviving through and forcing a Game 7 might be one. Hokies losing Game 1 behind their ace doomed them.

[Guest]

I'm not surprised North Carolina was forced to a Game 7. North Carolina, this year, seems like the ... Braves of the 90's? (not the best comp ... ). A team with a lot of good-to-solid talent that can win a ton in the regular season.

 

Tech surviving to face Vandy again ... that stunned me. That said, when a guy pitches on his head ...

 

Dunno if there was really a ton that shocked me in the regionals. Central Arkansas surviving through and forcing a Game 7 might be one. Hokies losing Game 1 behind their ace doomed them.

 

Great comp on UNC. I've been annoyed all season that they're continuously rated more highly than Vanderbilt, LSU and even Oregon State.

 

Glad to see UCLA advance to the Supers. I was pretty worried, given how mediocre that offense is. I doubt they can hang against Fullerton, and I hate losing to them.

[toonsterwu]

I don't want to make it seem like I'm bashing UNC either. They are a good team, and the Braves did win a title. It's just ... their pen's spotty, and I don't really believe their SP has elite ability (thus, if they are even off a tiny bit, I think they'll run into problems). Certainly, SP hasn't been their problem ... it's the lack of offense/clutch hits, more than anything.

 

I think UNC and Vanderbilt both win tomorrow, but ... it really wouldn't stun me if both lost. I expect Vandy's hitting to come through, but it wouldn't stun me if the Jackets hitting came through as well. Curious what the SP matchup will be, but really, this feels like a game that's going to go heavy on the pen. If UNC's bats don't snap out of their funk, it's not hard to imagine FAU scoring 2-3 runs and making this a tight contest. Of course, with some time off, Thornton's probably going to be ready to go, so UNC should have a good pen arm to call on.

 

I've nearly made it through two college baseball thread posts without talking about UVA ... so close ...

 

I'm cautiously optimistic about UVA's chances to get to Omaha. The offense finally woke up, Brandon Waddell probably pitched as well as he's had in awhile (granted, Army). Silverstein's continued to be steady. I'm not sure how I feel about Mayberry, as a part of me keeps wondering if Nick Howard is the better bet (he's probably got the best arm, in terms of velocity, on the SP options). Howard's been subbing in at shortstop for Cogswell, and there seems to be a chance that Cogswell could be back. The pen's rock solid if it's not overworked. If the starters can keep us in the game until the 5th/6th, we've got a shot. Obviously, would be nice to have games like the last one against Elon, where they batted around in the 3rd.

[Slugger_16]

I was somewhat surprised that Arkansas didn't advance with their pitchers. I know K-State has a very good offense, but I thought Arkansas would be able to handle them.

 

South Carolina advances to the Super Regionals after beating Liberty 6-4 earlier today. They will play the winner of the FAU-UNC game tonight. I'm rooting for FAU. I'd love to see them knock off UNC so SC can host the Super Regional.

[Guest]

Umm, is anyone watching this ridiculous UNC-Florida Atlantic game? Down 6-2, FAU scored 6 runs in the top of the 9th, and UNC countered with 2 in the bottom of the 9th. FAU scored three runs in the 12th, and then UNC scored three of their own runs in the bottom half. It's in the top of the 13th now with FAU threatening. It's nearly 1 AM in Chapel Hill. The game is on ESPNU.

 

Also, Oregon is about to lose and not advance to the Supers. Hilarious.

[Guest]

UNC walks off in the 13th.

 

UNC used their ace (Kent Emmanuel - please don't draft him, Cubs) in the 8th and 9th on ONE DAY REST and he blew the lead. Then, they used a pitcher in extras who started yesterday. It's as though Fox couldn't bring in a reliever.

[davell]

What a damn game. As a UNC guy though, I'm appalled at the use of pitchers.

[Guest]

UNC used all 4 starting pitchers in the Regional final since their weekday starter started the game. You'd think the #1 overall seed would have a bullpen their coach could trust in a 4-run game. And judging by Twitter, UNC used to have a really good reputation of protecting pitchers.

 

On Friday, Moss threw 91 pitches. Tonight, he faced two batters and threw 5.

On Saturday, Emmanuel threw 124 pitches. Tonight, he threw 51.

Yesterday, Hobbs Johnson threw 89 pitches. Tonight, he faced one batter before being pulled and threw 6 pitches.

 

UNC's next game is Friday at 1 PM ET vs. South Carolina.

[Guest]

14 of the 16 one seeds made the Super Regionals including 7 of 8 national seeds (only No. 8 Oregon didn't). And the two other teams are both 2 seeds.

[toonsterwu]

UNC used all 4 starting pitchers in the Regional final since their weekday starter started the game. You'd think the #1 overall seed would have a bullpen their coach could trust in a 4-run game. And judging by Twitter, UNC used to have a really good reputation of protecting pitchers.

 

On Friday, Moss threw 91 pitches. Tonight, he faced two batters and threw 5.

On Saturday, Emmanuel threw 124 pitches. Tonight, he threw 51.

Yesterday, Hobbs Johnson threw 89 pitches. Tonight, he faced one batter before being pulled and threw 6 pitches.

 

UNC's next game is Friday at 1 PM ET vs. South Carolina.

 

Georgia Tech running out Buck Farmer was also pretty bad.

 

UNC's bullpen, outside of Thornton, isn't strong. My hunch is South Carolina moves on to Omaha.

[Guest]

UNC used all 4 starting pitchers in the Regional final since their weekday starter started the game. You'd think the #1 overall seed would have a bullpen their coach could trust in a 4-run game. And judging by Twitter, UNC used to have a really good reputation of protecting pitchers.

 

On Friday, Moss threw 91 pitches. Tonight, he faced two batters and threw 5.

On Saturday, Emmanuel threw 124 pitches. Tonight, he threw 51.

Yesterday, Hobbs Johnson threw 89 pitches. Tonight, he faced one batter before being pulled and threw 6 pitches.

 

UNC's next game is Friday at 1 PM ET vs. South Carolina.

 

Georgia Tech running out Buck Farmer was also pretty bad.

 

UNC's bullpen, outside of Thornton, isn't strong. My hunch is South Carolina moves on to Omaha.

 

Good call. Ditto Oregon and Jake Reed. Not shocking that all 3 of those aces on short rest were brutal.

 

I also agree that South Carolina will advance. They're well rested, unlike UNC.

[Guest]

Hahahaha:

 

“We feel like we owe it to our team to put the best guys out there to try to win the most important game of our season, to try to advance,” Fox said of his pitching moves, which later included using Sunday starter Hobbs Johnson for one batter in the 13th. “All these guys come to us and say, ‘I’ve got an inning,’ or, ‘I’ve got a batter,’ and that’s what some of them got. They are competitors. They want to go out.

 

“I’ll stand by our reputation. I don’t think we put any of them at risk. I’m proud of all of them for doing the job that they did.”

 

(Mike Fox is the head coach of UNC.)

[toonsterwu]

I can sort of understand the argument that, one of them (who was it that pitched Game 1, Emanuel?) had an inning, on the idea of getting some work in. But not sending all of them out there.

 

Buck Farmer was just bad. I forget who is Tech's HC right now, but he skipped Farmer Friday, gambling on winning, and put him on Saturday. And off the top, I think Farmer through 100+ on Saturday.

 

To be honest, I don't love this Gamecocks squad. I think they are a bit ... over-hyped. Still, I think matchups and situations are a bigger factor in supers, and I think this is a good matchup for them. Then again, wouldn't stun me if UNC's bats were productive and their starters got them to Thornton.

[Guest]

Emmanuel started Saturday, just like Farmer.

[toonsterwu]

Very nice pitching duel going on between Nola/Gray. Nola's going to be a fascinating 2014 prospect.

[Guest]

The Gray-Nola matchup was fantastic, though I didn't catch much since it went up against UCLA-Fullerton.

 

What a big win for the Bruins. Sucks that David Berg ended up throwing 55 pitches, though.

[toonsterwu]

Crazy day of baseball tomorrow. I'm kinda worried - Miss St.'s lineup doesn't worry me a ton outside of Renfore, but their strong pen bothers me. Looks like it's going to be strength on strength - their pen against UVA's lineup. Realistically, I think this could go either way (obviously, if I made a pick, I'm going UVA if it's close).

 

I'm very curious about UNC and South Carolina, primarily to see if there's any side effect from Fox's ridiculous usage of his pitchers.

 

Kubitza vs. Rodon, whenver that happens, if it happens, could be fun. NC State has to be a pick to win it all, with the way Rodon is pitching and their lineup.

[Guest]

Crazy day of baseball tomorrow. I'm kinda worried - Miss St.'s lineup doesn't worry me a ton outside of Renfore, but their strong pen bothers me. Looks like it's going to be strength on strength - their pen against UVA's lineup. Realistically, I think this could go either way (obviously, if I made a pick, I'm going UVA if it's close).

 

I'm very curious about UNC and South Carolina, primarily to see if there's any side effect from Fox's ridiculous usage of his pitchers.

 

Kubitza vs. Rodon, whenver that happens, if it happens, could be fun. NC State has to be a pick to win it all, with the way Rodon is pitching and their lineup.

 

I think the rain out from Tropical Storm Andrea really helped UNC.

[rawaction]

IU vs. Florida State in Tallahassee today at 12n. Game 1. The Seminoles are obviously the favorites, but I think these will be 2 or 3 very tough games for them. I think IU actually has a better offensive team, balanced with a couple big time bats in the middle (Schwarber and Travis). And while FSU pitchers have been hot, IU had the 6th best ERA in the nation this year, so they can hold their own. Not sure who is pitching today, but higher scoring game favors the Hoosiers. Both teams are tough to score on late with a couple good relievers on each side.

 

Here's to hoping the Hoosiers can go from their first Super Regionals to the first CWS in school history.

[toonsterwu]

Does IU have any lefties, even in the pen? IIRC, FSU struggled against lefties this year.

[Guest]

Emmanuel gives up 4 and can't make it out of the 3rd. Shocking.

[rawaction]

Does IU have any lefties, even in the pen? IIRC, FSU struggled against lefties this year.

Lefty starting today. DeNato was their ace, but has been passed by a 6-10 RHP, Sleggers. Strong thru 3. Can't throw strikes and out with 2 on and a 2-0 count in the 4th.

[rawaction]

IU vs. Florida State in Tallahassee today at 12n. Game 1. The Seminoles are obviously the favorites, but I think these will be 2 or 3 very tough games for them. I think IU actually has a better offensive team, balanced with a couple big time bats in the middle (Schwarber and Travis). And while FSU pitchers have been hot, IU had the 6th best ERA in the nation this year, so they can hold their own. Not sure who is pitching today, but higher scoring game favors the Hoosiers. Both teams are tough to score on late with a couple good relievers on each side.

 

Here's to hoping the Hoosiers can go from their first Super Regionals to the first CWS in school history.

 

Pitching was a little shaky today on both ends, but I was right in thinking a slugfest would favor IU, and it did just barely. 10-9 final.

[Sosa21MVP]

Been following the baseball Hoosiers since they clinched the B1G regular season title. I could get used to actually caring about college baseball. \:D/