College Baseball 2022

[Boston Red]

Today is opening day. I follow Louisville (where I'm from), Xavier (alma mater) and Wichita State (where I live), and I don't think there are high expectations for any of them. Louisville is certainly talented, and Eric Wedge has had a few years to get the Shockers turned around, so those two might be fine. Xavier will get beat up pre-conference, but they may be as good as any Big East team and find their way into the conference tournament finals.

In any event, glad to have some real baseball to follow even if there is snow on the ground in a lot of the country!

[Assembly Hall]

Clemson leads IU 4-0 ^4

[Sea Ray]

My Vols blast 4 HRs and win 9-0 today vs Ga Southern in a sellout at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Let the season begin

[Assembly Hall]

IU starts the season with 2 dismal defeats to Clemson. Gonna be a long season.

[goreds2]

Vanderbilt baseball debuts wearable 'pitch-signaling' devices to cut down sign-stealing, improve pace of play


Over the weekend Vanderbilt (and several other schools) debuted a new wearable pitch-signaling device. Players wear the watch-like device on their glove hand to receive pitch selection information from the coaching staff. The NCAA approved these wearable devices last year. Here they are in action:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/vanderbilt-baseball-debuts-wearable-pitch-signaling-devices-to-cut-down-sign-stealing-improve-pace-of-play/ar-AAU68kL

[Sea Ray]

Vanderbilt baseball debuts wearable 'pitch-signaling' devices to cut down sign-stealing, improve pace of play



https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/vanderbilt-baseball-debuts-wearable-pitch-signaling-devices-to-cut-down-sign-stealing-improve-pace-of-play/ar-AAU68kL

So I guess the players can't overrule the bench? That wouldn't fly in MLB but that is interesting

[Sea Ray]

IU starts the season with 2 dismal defeats to Clemson. Gonna be a long season.

Starting against a power 5 school might be an issue. Tennessee took the softie route and won 9-0, 10-3, 14-0. When I was in Knoxville they played a lot of softies before SEC action

[Assembly Hall]

Starting against a power 5 school might be an issue. Tennessee took the softie route and won 9-0, 10-3, 14-0. When I was in Knoxville they played a lot of softies before SEC action

I would assume IU uses the non-con to get working on the RPI. The B1G isn't anywhere close to the SEC when it comes to baseball.

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee beat Iona yesterday 29-0

[RichRed]

James Madison is predictably mediocre at 4-3, having been swept by Florida State before winning four in a row against George Mason and Fairleigh Dickinson, but at least we have something to cheer about in potential #1 MLB draft pick Chase DeLauter. Through 7 games, he’s hitting .379/.457/.552.

https://richmond.com/sports/college/jmus-chase-delauter-has-positioned-himself-among-top-mlb-prospects-in-nation/article_9005d75d-2737-53fb-92bf-3c41e618ce4a.html

[Boston Red]

My Xavier Musketeers took a 4-1 lead to the ninth in Tuscaloosa in their opener, and I thought maybe this was going to be a pretty good year. Four batters later they had lost 5-4. Today, X lost 16-6 at NKU to fall to 0-8 with a long swing through South Carolina upcoming. I do not think this is Xavier's year.

[SunDeck]

IU starts the season with 2 dismal defeats to Clemson. Gonna be a long season.

But they're going to sell beer at home games. I am going to try to get to the UC/IU game next week.

[RichRed]

James Madison is predictably mediocre at 4-3, having been swept by Florida State before winning four in a row against George Mason and Fairleigh Dickinson, but at least we have something to cheer about in potential #1 MLB draft pick Chase DeLauter. Through 7 games, he’s hitting .379/.457/.552.

https://richmond.com/sports/college/jmus-chase-delauter-has-positioned-himself-among-top-mlb-prospects-in-nation/article_9005d75d-2737-53fb-92bf-3c41e618ce4a.html

DeLauter went 4-5 with 8 RBIs including a grand slam in a 28-4 win over VMI. Now hitting.459/.538/.811.

Might head up to the old stomping grounds in a few weeks to watch this guy play. Look for me on The Ocho or whatever.

[goreds2]

700 WLW’s Lance Mcalister spoke with UC’s baseball coach tonight.

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/lance-mcalister-20799901/episode/lance-mcalister-with-scott-googins--93666967/

[Boston Red]

Googs was great at Xavier. I'm a big fan.

[Assembly Hall]

In case anyone missed the news:

https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-shriners-children-s-college-classic-to-be-televised-nationwide

[Sea Ray]

In case anyone missed the news:

https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-shriners-children-s-college-classic-to-be-televised-nationwide

Tennessee will be on MLB Network tonight at 8pm vs #1 Texas. Should be fun

[Assembly Hall]

Tennessee will be on MLB Network tonight at 8pm vs #1 Texas. Should be fun

As a poster on another site suggested...It would be great if the sports networks would carry college baseball while the MLB lock-out is in session. Give the sport a boost with some national attention.

[Sea Ray]

DeLauter went 4-5 with 8 RBIs including a grand slam in a 28-4 win over VMI. Now hitting.459/.538/.811.

Might head up to the old stomping grounds in a few weeks to watch this guy play. Look for me on The Ocho or whatever.

My Vols play JMU next week. Looking forward to it

[Sea Ray]

After losing to #1 Texas on Friday night, Tennessee won their next two games in Houston easily vs Baylor and Oklahoma. College baseball is a nice coping mechanism for this Reds fan during a work stoppage

[Assembly Hall]

My Hoosiers over the Bearcats yesterday afternoon. 7-0

[Boston Red]

Xavier went to Columbia and spanked South Carolina 15-7. Xavier is now 3-9, so I suspect that means South Carolina is not very good and their coach is about to get fired.

[Sea Ray]

Xavier went to Columbia and spanked South Carolina 15-7. Xavier is now 3-9, so I suspect that means South Carolina is not very good and their coach is about to get fired.

It’s their fourth straight loss after being swept by Clemson. Next up on their weekend slate is… #1 Texas . The Gamecocks pitching staff has been decimated by injuries so far.

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee swept by James Madison but that's not the whole story. Their stud CFer didn't play due to a concussion and the first game was rain delayed till the next day. Their pitching isn't as deep as Tennessee's but I think they're the best team the Vols have played this year besides Texas. Very impressed and they can hit

[Boston Red]

Xavier has turned its season around somewhat. Got 3 of 4 from IU in Bloomington. Not much pitching in that series.

[Kingspoint]

First 2 games of the series at Arizona State this weekend resulted in the Beavers a combined 35-2 score. They lost today 3-1 for their 3rd loss of the year.

Ranked 5th in the new poll released today (before today's loss)

https://www.ncaa.com/news/baseball/article/2022-03-14/college-baseball-rankings-ole-miss-new-no-1-d1baseball-poll

The last number is where they were ranked last week.

1 Ole Miss 13-2 2
2 Texas 13-4 1
3 Arkansas 11-3 3
4 Vanderbilt 13-2 4
5 Oregon State 11-2 7
6 Notre Dame 11-1 9
7 Tennessee 15-1 10
8 Florida State 10-5 8
9 Florida 13-4 11
10 Georgia Tech 13-3 13
11 Oklahoma State 9-6 6
12 Stanford 9-5 5
13 LSU 13-3 12
14 Liberty 12-2 14
15 North Carolina 14-2 15
16 Arizona 12-4 16
17 Texas Tech 14-3 17
18 Clemson 14-1 19
19 Virginia 14-1 NR
20 Georgia 13-3 20
21 TCU 11-4 21
22 Texas State 14-3 NR
23 Mississippi State 10-7 23
24 Maryland 12-2 24
25 Gonzaga 11-4 25
Dropped out: Tulane, NC State

[Sea Ray]

They're calling him the Volunteer Fireman

https://www.mlb.com/news/ben-joyce-throws-104-mph-pitch-for-tennessee

!9-1 start is the best in Tenn Vol history

[Kingspoint]

They're calling him the Volunteer Fireman

https://www.mlb.com/news/ben-joyce-throws-104-mph-pitch-for-tennessee

!9-1 start is the best in Tenn Vol history

What a perfect name. Surprised it's taken this long.

[Sea Ray]

What a perfect name. Surprised it's taken this long.

I don't think the Vols have had a Goose Gossage type guy before. RA Dickey wouldn't really qualify for such a nickname

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee beat the #1 ranked team Ole Miss 12-1 yesterday. Series continues tonight on SEC Network. Go Vols!

[Bob Sheed]

dp

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee beat the #1 ranked team Ole Miss 12-1 yesterday. Series continues tonight on SEC Network. Go Vols!

Tennessee followed that up with a 10-3 win Saturday and then won a 4-3 nail-biter Sunday to sweep the series. The Vols never trailed. I don't get why they're only ranked #5. I expect that to jump tomorrow

[Kingspoint]

Very strange that Oregon State is the only team from the PAC-12 in the Top-25. Annually there are about 5 teams with 2 or 3 in the Top-10 and 1 or 2 reaching the College World Series. Might be tough this year just to get entries into the NCAA tournament. Oregon State looks like it's on it's way to hosting a Regional, and Super-Regional.

SeaRay, ever been to a regional or Super-regional? Tennessee will be hosting both this season, and tickets will be hard to come by.

[Sea Ray]

Very strange that Oregon State is the only team from the PAC-12 in the Top-25. Annually there are about 5 teams with 2 or 3 in the Top-10 and 1 or 2 reaching the College World Series. Might be tough this year just to get entries into the NCAA tournament. Oregon State looks like it's on it's way to hosting a Regional, and Super-Regional.

SeaRay, ever been to a regional or Super-regional? Tennessee will be hosting both this season, and tickets will be hard to come by.

Never have. Sounds like fun. Waiting on the coach's poll (USA Today) to come out. If UT is atop their poll then it'll be a unanimous #1 for the Vols. They've now been #1 in the polls in baseball, football, basketball and women's basketball since 1998 at one point. No other school can say that. Florida was #1 in everything except women's BB so there's that.

The Vols baseball team looks super human right now. Great hitting. Great pitching. Fielding is their bug a boo

[Kingspoint]

Never have. Sounds like fun. Waiting on the coach's poll (USA Today) to come out. If UT is atop their poll then it'll be a unanimous #1 for the Vols. They've now been #1 in the polls in baseball, football, basketball and women's basketball since 1998 at one point. No other school can say that. Florida was #1 in everything except women's BB so there's that.

The Vols baseball team looks super human right now. Great hitting. Great pitching. Fielding is their bug a boo

You can't win an NCAA World Series without pitching depth, unlike MLB, where only 3 are needed. You need 4 in the NCAA's and closers, and clutch hitters.

Are the Vols pulling out any come-from-behind wins? That experience will benefit them if they can get it. Could also be that U of M isn't that good (right now), has Starting Pitching injuries and/or hasn't played anybody good until they faced the Vols. No doubt TEN is way ahead of everyone at the moment, unusual, because Northern teams, and TEN is definitely one of those like Oregon State, have a much colder and wetter Winter and Spring and have a hard time getting games and practices in at outdoor stadiums, so they tend to start their season out slower and with less experience. It makes it even more remarkable what TEN is doing at this point of the year (and what Oregon State does every season, especially since they are a tiny school with very low funding). These two schools will improve at a greater rate than the schools from the warmer climates. I'd love to go to Omaha.

[Kingspoint]

Here's the best poll, baseballamerica....

Ten is #1, Oregon State is #2.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/college-baseball-top-25/

Oregon jumped into the Top-25 at #20 as it won a series against USC and a single game against the ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Before the year is out, there may be a couple more Pac-12 teams in the top-25. (Guess I missed Stanford was #18, falling to #24 this week)

BA's comments on TEN:

"Tennessee made as loud a statement as any team over the weekend in sweeping a series at Ole Miss. In the opener, a six-run second inning that featured a two-run homer for leadoff man and left fielder Jared Dickey got the Volunteers off and running, and it turned out to be more than enough support for righthander Chase Burns, who gave up one run on two hits with 11 strikeouts in seven innings. In game 2, righthander Chase Dollander was excellent in throwing 6.1 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts, and center fielder Drew Gilbert and third baseman Trey Lipscomb both had three-hit days to lead the offense. Sunday’s game was a tight one, as Ole Miss got a three-run homer in the eighth to make it a 4-3 game, but lefthander Redmond Walsh threw 1.1 scoreless frames to make sure that’s as close as the Rebels would get. DH Seth Stephenson and right fielder Jordan Beck led the way offensively with three-hit games, and righthander Drew Beam was impressive, allowing one run on three hits in 7.1 innings. A series at Vanderbilt will be another SEC blockbuster series for the Volunteers."


BA's comments on the Beavers:

"Oregon State had to work for it, but it got a series win at California, and it was nearly a sweep, as the Saturday loss featured OSU scoring six runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game 7-7 (there's that come-from-behind type of game I mentioned, where it happens late, though Oregon State didn't quite finish it off...they are working on that, as their losses this year have come in the 3rd games of series...depth and closing out are something that improves as the season moves along,....again, Oregon State has the weather here as a negative factor for slow starts), only to have Cal walk off with a win in the bottom of the ninth. One constant throughout the weekend was the Beavers’ relentless offensive attack. On Friday, the lineup had 14 hits, with all nine starters collecting at least one hit and five players putting up two hits. Center fielder Jacob Melton and third baseman Matthew Gretler added home runs. On Sunday, OSU had 15 hits, including three-hit games for right fielder Justin Boyd, second baseman Travis Bazzana and shortstop Kyle Dernedde. The Bears made a late push in that game, getting to within 9-8 heading to the ninth inning, but catcher Tanner Smith broke it open again with a grand slam. A home series with Stanford this weekend will be a good challenge for an Oregon State team playing very well right now."


Oregon will improve a ton when they get two of their Starting Pitchers back, who have missed the last three weeks. Oregon, unlike Oregon State, has Phil Knight's money and others' money to give them an edge (like the SEC schools, though I imagine TEN hasn't traditionally spent it on baseball, but that's easily noticed if you look at the salary of their Coaches, how many assistants they have, their indoor facilities and their stadium, and number of scholarships).


BA's comments on the Ducks:

Despite being without starting pitchers Adam Maier and Andrew Mosiello for the last three weeks, Oregon continues to roll on. After collecting a good road midweek win against Gonzaga, the Ducks won a series against Southern California to run their Pac-12 record to 7-2 and put them alone atop the league standings. Friday’s win came thanks to the early work Oregon did offensively, as it scored all nine of its runs in the first four innings, with the pitching staff making it hold up the rest of the way. Five Oregon hitters had two or more hits, with DH Brennan Milone going 3-for-5 with a home run. Shortstop Josh Kasevich also had a three-run homer to his name. After dropping the middle game when USC scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, the Ducks fought hard to capture Sunday’s finale. Down 6-1 going to the bottom of the seventh, they scored two in the seventh on a two-run homer off the bat of center fielder Colby Shade and four more in the eighth, three on a three-run homer for catcher Josiah Cromwick and one on a solo shot for left fielder Tanner Smith. Each of the three Oregon starting pitchers gave up at least five runs over the weekend, and that will continue to be a concern going forward, but for now, the bullpen and the offense are doing enough to overcome it.

[Boston Red]

Somehow Louisville is up to #8 in that poll. I'm glad to see it, but the Cards aren't that good.

[Sea Ray]

Someone explain to me how Dallas Baptist can be #1 in the RPI with 8 losses...Sounds like there's a problem with that algorithm

[Boston Red]

16 of their 23 games have been against Quad 1 opponents. And 19 of their 23 against Quad 1 or 2. #2 Tennessee, on the other hand, has played 12 of their 24 games against Quad 3/4 opponents. Those rankings will obviously change as Tennessee plays more SEC opponents and Dallas Baptist plays more Missouri Valley opponents.

The ELO ranking from WN has more to do with how good a team is (and less with how good their schedule is). There, Tennessee is #1 and Dallas Baptist #16.

[Kingspoint]

Well, Arizona is ranked 12th. I missed that, too. The reason I missed it was because this is the first time all year I looked at the Baseball America rankings, not having time to look them up. I was looking at the uneducated "D1baseballrankings.com".

[Kingspoint]

16 of their 23 games have been against Quad 1 opponents. And 19 of their 23 against Quad 1 or 2. #2 Tennessee, on the other hand, has played 12 of their 24 games against Quad 3/4 opponents. Those rankings will obviously change as Tennessee plays more SEC opponents and Dallas Baptist plays more Missouri Valley opponents.

In fact, it was nice to see Dallas Baptiste, a baseball powerhouse, get back into the Top-25. It wasn't a matter of if, but when it would happen.

[Sea Ray]

16 of their 23 games have been against Quad 1 opponents. And 19 of their 23 against Quad 1 or 2. #2 Tennessee, on the other hand, has played 12 of their 24 games against Quad 3/4 opponents. Those rankings will obviously change as Tennessee plays more SEC opponents and Dallas Baptist plays more Missouri Valley opponents.

The ELO ranking from WN has more to do with how good a team is (and less with how good their schedule is). There, Tennessee is #1 and Dallas Baptist #16.

I have no problem with saying DBA has the #1 SOS but you also gotta beat those teams. It shouldn't be enough to just play them

[Boston Red]

They're 11-8 against Quad 1/2.

The only team with a substantial nubmer of Quad 1/2 games that has way outperformed DB record-wise in those types of games is...Tennessee. RPI is goofy for sure, and Tennessee is by pretty much any objective measure better than DB. But for what RPI measures, DB deserves to be very high even if #1 is not quite right.

[Sea Ray]

They're 11-8 against Quad 1/2.

The only team with a substantial nubmer of Quad 1/2 games that has way outperformed DB record-wise in those types of games is...Tennessee. RPI is goofy for sure, and Tennessee is by pretty much any objective measure better than DB. But for what RPI measures, DB deserves to be very high even if #1 is not quite right.

By their own metric, DBA is 11-8 as you stated but by that same metric UT is 11-1. Tennessee is undefeated in every other game. This means somehow DBA is being rewarded for losing those 7 quad 1 games that UT didn't play. It's nutty. Computers are only as good as the formulas humans put into them and this one is screwed up

https://www.warrennolan.com/baseball/2022/rpi-live

[Boston Red]

Tennessee is being "punished" for now in that system for their 9 Quad 4 games. DB has only played 1.

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee is being "punished" for now in that system for their 9 Quad 4 games. DB has only played 1.

So according to this algorithm, it's better to lose 7 quad 1 games than win 7 quad 4 games. That's nutty. My coed softball team can lose quad 1 games but probably can't win quad 4 games

[Kingspoint]

I'm going to have to do this by hand, so here goes...

1. Tennessee SEC

Previous ranking: No. 7
Last week: 4-0
Overall: 23-1, 6-0 in SEC (3-1 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 6-0

March 22: Butler: W 13-3
March 25-27: @ (1) Mississippi: W 12-1, W 10-3, W 4-3

Upcoming:
March 30: Western Carolina
April 1-3: @ (11) Vanderbilt


2. Oregon State Pac-12

Previous ranking: No. 2
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 17-5, 6-3 in Pac-12 (0-0 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 6-0

March 23: Seattle: W 8-3
March 25-27: @ California: W 10-4, L 8-7, W 13-9

Upcoming:
March 29-30: @ Nevada
April 1-3: (24) Stanford


3. Virginia ACC

Previous ranking: No. 4
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 22-2, 7-2 in ACC (0-0 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 6-0

March 22: Towson: W 15-3
March 25-27: @ Wake Forest: W 8-2, W 8-0, L 8-1

Upcoming:
March 29: Richmond
March 30: Longwood
April 1-3: Georgia Tech


4. Arkansas SEC

Previous ranking: No. 6
Last week: 2-1
Overall: 18-4, 5-1 in SEC (0-1 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 6-0

March 25-27: @ Missouri: W 7-5, L 7-5, W 6-4

Upcoming:
March 29-30: Arkansas-Little Rock
April 1-3: Mississippi State


5. Florida State ACC

Previous ranking: No. 8
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 16-7, 6-3 in ACC (0-0 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 6-0

March 22: Central Florida: W 10-2
March 25-27: Duke: W 4-0, W 7-2, L 11-2

Upcoming:
March 29: vs. Florida (Jacksonville)
April 1-3: (11) Notre Dame


6. Oklahoma State Big 12

Previous ranking: No. 10
Last week: 4-0
Overall: 18-6, 3-0 in Big 12 (2-2 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 5-1

March 22: @ Oral Roberts: W 9-4
March 25-27: Kansas: W 4-2, W 4-3, W 7-2

Upcoming:
March 29: vs. Oklahoma (Tulsa)
April 1-3: @ Kansas State


7. Texas Tech Big 12

Previous ranking: No. 23
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 20-5, 2-1 in Big 12 (2-2 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 4-1-1


March 22: California Baptist: W 6-3
March 25-27: (3) Texas: W 5-4 (10), W 16-12 (10), L 12-1 (7)

Upcoming:
March 29-30: Stephen F. Austin
April 1-3: @ Kansas


8. Louisville ACC

Previous ranking: No. 15
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 19-5, 6-0 in ACC (3-0 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 5-1

March 22: Lipscomb: L 6-2
March 25-27: @ Boston College: W 6-1,W 10-6 (11), W 15-1

Upcoming:
March 29: @ Western Kentucky
April 1-3: @ Pittsburgh


9. Mississippi SEC

Previous ranking: No. 1
Last week: 1-3
Overall: 16-7, 2-4 in SEC (0-3 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 5-1

March 22: @ Memphis: W 11-8
March 25-27: (7) Tennessee: L 12-1, L 10-3, L 4-3

Upcoming:
March 29: North Alabama
April 1-3: @ Kentucky


10. Texas Big 12

Previous ranking: No. 3
Last week: 2-2
Overall: 19-7, 1-2 in Big 12 (3-3 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 4-2

March 22: Central Arkansas: W 7-2
March 25-27: @ (23) Texas Tech: L 5-4 (10), L 16-12 (10), W 12-1 (7)

Upcoming:
March 29: Texas A&M
April 1-3: @ Oklahoma


11. Vanderbilt SEC

Previous ranking: No. 5
Last week: 2-2
Overall: 19-4, 4-2 in SEC (1-2 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 4-2

March 22: Belmont: W 13-4
March 24-26: @ South Carolina: W 10-0, L 8-2, L 8-6

Upcoming:
March 29: Lipscomb
April 1-3: (1) Tennessee


12. Arizona Pac-12

Previous ranking: No. 12
Last week: 2-3
Overall: 17-7, 6-3 in Pac-12 (4-0 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 4-2

March 21: (18) Stanford: W 10-2
March 23: @ New Mexico: L 12-7
March 25-27: UCLA: L 10-2, W 4-2, L 7-3

Upcoming:
March 29: @ Grand Canyon
April 1-3: @ Washington


13. Miami ACC

Previous ranking: No. 24
Last week: 4-0
Overall: 17-6, 7-2 in ACC (6-3 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 5-1

March 23: @ Florida Atlantic: W 7-1
March 25-27: (14) North Carolina: W 8-5, W 7-3, W 3-2 (14)

Upcoming:
March 30: @ Florida Gulf Coast
April 1-3: @ Duke


14. Notre Dame ACC

Previous ranking: No. 11
Last week: 0-1
Overall: 12-5, 2-4 in ACC (2-0 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 4-2

March 25: Virginia Tech: L 10-5

Upcoming:
March 29: Northern Illinois
April 1-3: @ (5) Florida State


This is what I'm talking about where Northern teams have a difficult time the first half of the season during Winter and early Spring....here's BA's comments' about the Fightin' Irish (is that racist?...the Irish aren't thin-skinned, and could care less, and they aren't whiners):

"Due to inclement weather in South Bend, Notre Dame had its series with Virginia Tech limited to one game, a 10-5 Hokies win Friday. That game was nothing short of a heartbreaker for the Irish, as they held a 5-4 lead going to the ninth, only to have Virginia Tech score six runs in the ninth, the final three on a throwing error by pitcher Matt Lazzaro on a Virginia Tech bunt attempt with the bases loaded, to take a commanding lead. Notre Dame will go into a series at Florida State this weekend in need of ACC wins, as it has lost four in a row."

That stunts a team's growth and sets them back two weeks. It's like trying to improve your golf game by going to the course two days a week. It's impossible. Notre Dame will probably get swept @ Florida State this week, making it appear that they aren't very good, which right now, they probably aren't. A more realistic account of them will be to see how they are playing a month from now.


15. North Carolina ACC

Previous ranking: No. 14
Last week: 1-3
Overall: 18-6, 5-4 in ACC (2-5 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 5-1

March 22: Appalachian State: W 4-2
March 25-27: @ (24) Miami: L 8-5, L 7-3, L 3-2 (14)

Upcoming:
March 29: UNC Wilmington
April 1-3: Virginia Tech

Now, if you want to question something, I'd question how North Carolina only dropped one spot even though they got swept by #24 at the time Miami. NC is 2-5 against Top-25 opponents with three of those losses against a #24 team. I would have dropped them from the rankings this week.

Here's BA's comments, which don't reveal any reason why they should have only dropped one spot:

"North Carolina really took it on the chin for the first time this season in getting swept at Miami. In game 1, the Tar Heels fell behind early and their offense didn’t really get going until scoring three runs in the ninth when it was too little and too late. Righthander Brandon Schaeffer lasted just 2.1 innings in his start, which set UNC behind the eight ball early on. In game 2, UNC grabbed a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth on an Angel Zarate RBI single, but Miami answered back and took control with a four-run bottom of the seventh. And in the finale, Miami tied the game in the bottom of the ninth and walked off with a win in the 14th, but the biggest issue of the day Sunday for UNC was the offense’s inability to get anything done against the Miami bullpen, which threw nine scoreless innings spread across six different pitchers. The Tar Heels will look to get back on track this weekend against Virginia Tech."


16. Florida SEC

Previous ranking: No. 9
Last week: 2-2
Overall: 17-7, 3-3 in SEC (2-1 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 4-2

March 22: Bethune-Cookman: W 3-2
March 25-27: Louisiana State: W 7-2, L 16-4, L 11-2

Upcoming:
March 29: vs. Florida State (Jacksonville)
March 31-April 2: @ Georgia


17. Gonzaga WCC

Previous ranking: No. 19
Last week: 2-2
Overall: 16-6, 5-1 in WCC (3-2 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 4-1-1

March 22: Oregon: L 9-5
March 24-26: at Brigham Young: L 11-2, W 6-3, W 9-4

Upcoming:
April 1-3: Pepperdine


18. Dallas Baptist MVC

Previous ranking: NR
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 15-8, 0-0 in MVC (2-2 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 5-1

March 22: vs. Texas-Arlington (Globe Life Field): W 6-2
March 25-27: (19) Maryland: W 8-3, L 11-5, W 5-2

Upcoming:
March 29: @ Louisiana Tech
April 1-3: Wofford


19. Texas State Sun Belt

Previous ranking: No. 22
Last week: 2-2
Overall: 20-5, 5-1 in Sun Belt (3-2 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 6-0

March 22: @ Incarnate Word: L 4-2
March 25-27: Coastal Carolina: W 7-4, L 7-5, W 13-9

Upcoming:
March 29: @ Sam Houston State
April 1-3: @ Appalachian State


20. Oregon Pac-12

Previous ranking: NR
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 16-7, 7-2 in Pac-12 (4-1 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 4-1-1

March 22: @ (19) Gonzaga: W 9-5
March 25-27: Southern California: W 9-7, L 6-5, W 7-6

Upcoming:
March 29-30: San Francisco
April 1-3: @ UCLA


21. Louisiana State SEC

Previous ranking: NR
Last week: 2-2
Overall: 17-7, 3-3 in SEC (2-2 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 4-2

March 23: @ Louisiana Tech: L 7-6 (12)
March 25-27: @ (9) Florida: L 7-2, W 16-4, W 11-2

Upcoming:
March 29: Louisiana-Monroe
March 31-April 2: Auburn


22. Liberty ASUN

Previous ranking: No. 13
Last week: 1-3
Overall: 15-7, 3-3 in ASUN (3-1 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 4-1-1

March 22: Wake Forest: L 13-6
March 25-27: Stetson: W 4-3, L 5-3, L 7-1

Upcoming:
March 29: @ Duke
April 1-3: @ Jacksonville


23. Charlotte C-USA

Previous ranking: NR
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 16-7, 2-1 in C-USA (2-1 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 5-1

March 22: vs. Campbell (Kannapolis, N.C.): W 12-4
March 25-27: @ (25) Old Dominion: W 11-4, W 13-8, L 13-12 (10)

Upcoming:
March 29: College of Charleston
April 1-3: @ Texas-San Antonio


24. Stanford Pac-12

Previous ranking: No. 18
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 12-8, 4-5 in Pac-12 (1-3 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 3-2

March 21: @ (12) Arizona: L 10-3
March 25-27: Washington State: W 8-7 (12), W 7-1, W 8-3

Upcoming:
April 1-3: @ (2) Oregon State


25. Maryland Big Ten

Previous ranking: No. 21
Last week: 2-2
Overall: 18-5, 0-0 in Big Ten (0-0 vs. Top 25)

Weekend record: 4-2
Results
March 22: @ Maryland-Baltimore County: W 13-7
March 25-27: @ Dallas Baptist: L 8-3, W 11-5, L 5-2

Upcoming:
March 29: Towson
March 30: George Mason
April 1-3: Penn State

- - - Updated - - -


So according to this algorithm, it's better to lose 7 quad 1 games than win 7 quad 4 games. That's nutty. My coed softball team can lose quad 1 games but probably can't win quad 4 games

It's not an algorithm.

[Kingspoint]

I have no problem with saying DBA has the #1 SOS but you also gotta beat those teams. It shouldn't be enough to just play them

There's no algorithm involved here at all. That's a good thing. It's performance on the field, how you win, how you lose, what injuries do you have, on the road, at home. It's difficult to win road games in college baseball. Really have to look at where games are played.

Most schools haven't played any games against Top-25 teams, yet. TEN was 0-1 until the sweep this weekend. Teams 2-5 haven't played any against Top-25. DP has played 4 and split. That's pretty good (and I'm guessing that all 4 were on the road, but I don't know).

[Sea Ray]

I'm going to have to do this by hand, so here goes...




It's not an algorithm.

A computer program. Whatever you wanna call it.

I'm not sure whether to call Knoxville northern or not. It sure isn't South Bend but I will say their first week or so of games were awfully cold

[Sea Ray]

Make it a clean sweep. Tennessee is #1 in all the polls:

https://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaa-baseball/polls/coaches-poll/

[Kingspoint]

A computer program. Whatever you wanna call it.

I'm not sure whether to call Knoxville northern or not. It sure isn't South Bend but I will say their first week or so of games were awfully cold

There's no computer program....they do it with human minds. No computers involved. Too many variables for something as silly as that.

[Boston Red]

Xavier took 3 straight from UC. Take that Googs!

[Sea Ray]

There's no computer program....they do it with human minds. No computers involved. Too many variables for something as silly as that.

OK, there's a formula, calculation or whatever you wanna call it and that formula is flawed. I am of the opinion that they use a computer to calculate these formulas. I doubt they use paper and pencil

https://kenpom.com/blog/rpi-help/#:~:text=The%20RPI%20is%20calculated%20by,win%20is %20multiplied%20by%201.4.

[Kingspoint]

OK, there's a formula, calculation or whatever you wanna call it and that formula is flawed. I am of the opinion that they use a computer to calculate these formulas. I doubt they use paper and pencil

https://kenpom.com/blog/rpi-help/#:~:text=The%20RPI%20is%20calculated%20by,win%20is %20multiplied%20by%201.4.

I'm pretty sure it's a group of people that simply vote. If one person that votes feels like he or she wants to include some metrics to determine how they vote, then possibly, but I'm pretty certain it's all based on what their eyes tell them combined with other sources of information. It couldn't be further from them using some sort of formula, calculation or computer, which is why Baseball America consistently has the most accurate polls. They got Dallas-Baptiste right. One through 25 is all going to change over the next month as conference play gets into full swing.

[Kingspoint]

OK, there's a formula, calculation or whatever you wanna call it and that formula is flawed. I am of the opinion that they use a computer to calculate these formulas. I doubt they use paper and pencil

https://kenpom.com/blog/rpi-help/#:~:text=The%20RPI%20is%20calculated%20by,win%20is %20multiplied%20by%201.4.

Why did you post this link? It has nothing to do with baseball, and even more important to the discussion, it has nothing to do with Baseball America's voting system for their NCAA rankings.

- - - Updated - - -


Make it a clean sweep. Tennessee is #1 in all the polls:

https://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaa-baseball/polls/coaches-poll/

The other two polls are meaningless and made up of people who have no idea what they are talking about. They are dolts.

[Kingspoint]

By the way, kenpom is an idiot, too. He couldn't have been more wrong about it. Look at who won and lost the NCAA tournament games, along with the scores of the games.

[Sea Ray]

Why did you post this link? It has nothing to do with baseball, and even more important to the discussion, it has nothing to do with Baseball America's voting system for their NCAA rankings.

- - - Updated - - -



The other two polls are meaningless and made up of people who have no idea what they are talking about. They are dolts.

I'm talking about RPI for baseball. Did you think I was talking about Baseball America's ratings? RPI is not something that's voted on

https://www.abca.org/magazine/2013-1-Winter/Ground_Rules_Understanding_the_new_RPI.aspx#:~:tex t=The%20Rating%20Percentage%20Index%20(RPI,start%2 0of%20the%202013%20season.

[Sea Ray]

Someone explain to me how Dallas Baptist can be #1 in the RPI with 8 losses...Sounds like there's a problem with that algorithm

I stand by this

[Boston Red]

You're not wrong, but the RPI is more of a tool than a true ranking system. The difference between #1 and #2 in RPI is completely meaningless. Plus, as their schedules normalize during conference season UT will rise and DB will fall. Even if UT starts losing some games and DB does nothing but win.

[Sea Ray]

You're not wrong, but the RPI is more of a tool than a true ranking system. The difference between #1 and #2 in RPI is completely meaningless. Plus, as their schedules normalize during conference season UT will rise and DB will fall. Even if UT starts losing some games and DB does nothing but win.

Of course I'm a Tennessee homer but my comments here are factual and are only using Tennessee as a current example. I question RPI as a tool if it gives you credit for losing. I find that a flaw in their formula.

[Kingspoint]

I'm talking about RPI for baseball. Did you think I was talking about Baseball America's ratings? RPI is not something that's voted on

https://www.abca.org/magazine/2013-1-Winter/Ground_Rules_Understanding_the_new_RPI.aspx#:~:tex t=The%20Rating%20Percentage%20Index%20(RPI,start%2 0of%20the%202013%20season.

Again, what does this have to do with Baseball America? Who cares about RPI? It's stupid and makes no sense. Never has.

[Sea Ray]

Again, what does this have to do with Baseball America? Who cares about RPI? It's stupid and makes no sense. Never has.

It has nothing to do with BA. If I gave the impression that it did, my error. I was saying that I disagree with the RPI and gave the reasons why. I don't think I linked BA to it but if I did, my bad

[Boston Red]

I thought you two were doing a Who's on First routine.

[Sea Ray]

I thought you two were doing a Who's on First routine.

I don't know where the confusion came from but I'm glad we finally sorted it out

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee is continuing their roll vs Vanderbilt this weekend. They won easily both nights and haven't trailed. They go for the sweep today. Vanderbilt isn't going away. I think they're headed to Omaha again this year. They have all kinds of talent. Outfielder Enrique Bradfield has a future in MLB. He has Billy Hamilton speed and basestealing ability but he's not a wet noodle physically. He steals bases so easily that he slides and is upright before the ball even arrives from the catcher. Plays a good CF too. They also have a LH pitcher freshman Carter Holton who throws a 95 mph FB but his curve and changeup are in the 70s. He can throw them all for strikes.

Question: It used to be that baseball players once on a college team had to wait until after their JR year to be drafted. Is that still the case?

[Sea Ray]

Article from ESPN on the Vols and their excitement

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/baseball/story/_/id/33641496/tennessee-volunteers-bold-brash-top-college-baseball-world

They said ticket prices for games at Vandy this weekend on Vividseats.com were going for more than Final Four tx in New Orleans

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee has easily taken over #1 in the RPI, 10-1 in quad 1. Dallas Baptist is still hanging on at #2 even though they've lost 2 straight to Wofford. I am concerned that Tennessee is peaking too early but it's a fun ride nonetheless

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee takes down the VandyBoys 5-0 in the series finale

18165

[Kingspoint]

Just another note on the evidence why it's so difficult for teams up North to win a College World Series.

The 39th Parallel, which goes from the Bay Area, cutting below Denver, crossing the Ohio about where Cincinnati is, and finally ending up at about Annapolis, MD, is an interesting line in College Baseball.

Only 3 times since 1967 has a University whose location sits above that line won the College World Series. All three times, it has been the same team, Oregon State, which is way above that line, over 400 miles, which makes it pretty remarkable what the Beavers have accomplished. No school from Maryland or above, none from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, any New England State, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Colorado, Washington, Utah. It's a very interesting stat. University of Tennessee is way below that, so no problem.

[Assembly Hall]

Just another note on the evidence why it's so difficult for teams up North to win a College World Series.

The 39th Parallel, which goes from the Bay Area, cutting below Denver, crossing the Ohio about where Cincinnati is, and finally ending up at about Annapolis, MD, is an interesting line in College Baseball.

Only 3 times since 1967 has a University whose location sits above that line won the College World Series. All three times, it has been the same team, Oregon State, which is way above that line, over 400 miles, which makes it pretty remarkable what the Beavers have accomplished. No school from Maryland or above, none from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, any New England State, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Colorado, Washington, Utah. It's a very interesting stat. University of Tennessee is way below that, so no problem.

I normally hold off until football season but I have already traded my IU cap for an orange one.

[Sea Ray]

Just another note on the evidence why it's so difficult for teams up North to win a College World Series.

The 39th Parallel, which goes from the Bay Area, cutting below Denver, crossing the Ohio about where Cincinnati is, and finally ending up at about Annapolis, MD, is an interesting line in College Baseball.

Only 3 times since 1967 has a University whose location sits above that line won the College World Series. All three times, it has been the same team, Oregon State, which is way above that line, over 400 miles, which makes it pretty remarkable what the Beavers have accomplished. No school from Maryland or above, none from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, any New England State, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Colorado, Washington, Utah. It's a very interesting stat. University of Tennessee is way below that, so no problem.

Kudos to the Beavers but their weather is far better than the comparable parallel in the midwest, say Cleveland?

[Boston Red]

I can't wait until Xavier goes into Knoxville in three weeks and blows up this whole Volunteer lovefest! :)

I would also like to point out that I "coached" Volunteer Hall of Famer Chris Burke on his 18U team between senior year of high school and his freshman season at UT. Taught him everything he knows! (Definitely wasn't his dad who spent 20 years coaching in high school and college!)

[Sea Ray]

I can't wait until Xavier goes into Knoxville in three weeks and blows up this whole Volunteer lovefest! :)

I would also like to point out that I "coached" Volunteer Hall of Famer Chris Burke on his 18U team between senior year of high school and his freshman season at UT. Taught him everything he knows! (Definitely wasn't his dad who spent 20 years coaching in high school and college!)

Xavier plays the Vols? Fun! Does that happen very often?

[Boston Red]

I don't recall them playing in the past. April 26 in Knoxville.

[Sea Ray]

I don't recall them playing in the past. April 26 in Knoxville.

Me neither. Thanks for the tip

[Kingspoint]

Kudos to the Beavers but their weather is far better than the comparable parallel in the midwest, say Cleveland?

You obviously haven't lived here.

The miserable rain and wind, and the cold sweeping off of the hills of the Coast Range makes the rain feel like icycles hitting you in the face and makes for more unplayable days than in Cleveland. I lived in Indianapolis for 6 months, and when the temperature "rose" to 34 degrees, we took our shirts off and played football because it actually felt warm. You don't do that here in 44 degrees, yet alone 34 degrees.

[Sea Ray]

This run by Tennessee on the diamond is just crazy. Baseball is not a game set up for a team in any league to go 30-1 but that's what the Vols record is after beating Missouri tonight 11-4. Tennessee has set an SEC record by going 11-0 in the conference. Their avg margin of victory is 8 runs. Their team ERA is under 2. Their opponents ERA is over 10. Their team batting avg is well over .300. Their opponents' is .173

Anything can happen in Omaha. In fact there'll be a tremendous amount of pressure on them there, so no guarantees that this will result in a championship but this regular season should be enjoyed for what it is: possibly the best regular season ever by a college team

[Boston Red]

Louisville won the series against UNC with a win today. Ho hum game. Bomb threat in the 6th. Four run rally to tie in the bottom of the 9th. Walkoff in the 14th. You know, your typical day at the old ballyard.

[Sea Ray]

The Vols are playing Tennessee Tech tomorrow at Smokies Stadium, the home of the Chicago Cubs AA affiliate. Here's the interesting part: they're going to be using wood bats

[Boston Red]

they're going to be using wood bats

Can I bet the under 0.5 runs for Tennessee Tech?

[Sea Ray]

Can I bet the under 0.5 runs for Tennessee Tech?

The Vols and Golden Eagles met earlier this season in Knoxville, but the game was called in the fifth inning due to heavy rain with UT leading 5-4. That game was not be made up.

[Boston Red]

I just don't see things going well for TT hitters if they're holding lumber in their hands and facing Tennessee's staff. I'd expect Tennessee's pitchers to create a lot of firewood.

[Sea Ray]

Well Tennessee didn't bring their A game. Was swinging at off speed pitches in the dirt all night and fell to Tennessee Tech 3-2. I don't think the wood bats had much to do with it. It's baseball and it shows how amazing Tennessee's season has been to this point. Back to SEC play this weekend vs Alabama

[Sea Ray]

Quick update. The Tennessee #Vols filed a complaint to the @SEC office on Jeff Macias who missed “57 balls & strikes,” in game one of the series when he was behind the plate according to post game reports. 57!!!!!! Macias should be suspended & not allowed to call another UT game!

Jeff Macias. He umpired in the minors, reaching AAA, but did not make it to MLB. In 3 #Vols games he has made himself the certain of attention, which is the opposite of what an umpire is instructed to do. He has made it personal with Tony V & team. No more UT games for Macias!

https://twitter.com/RockyTopVols/status/1515520890959810561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5 Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1515520890959810561%7Ctwgr% 5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=

Piss poor umpiring

[Kingspoint]

https://twitter.com/RockyTopVols/status/1515520890959810561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5 Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1515520890959810561%7Ctwgr% 5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=

Piss poor umpiring

Not acceptable.

[Kingspoint]

One interesting thing about Colleg baseball in Oregon is that the U of O dropped the sport in 1981 on budget cuts. With Oregon State's success winning back-to-back World series in 2007-2008, that was a bit too much for Phil Knight to take and he donated a ton of money to get baseball back to Oregon. In 2009, they started all over again, hiring away Cal State Fullerton's heralded Manager/Coach George Horton (6 CWS appearances and 1 CWS Championship from '99-'07 w/ CSF) and let him put a staff together to establish a good foundation for the Ducks. Immediately, they began drawing away from the pool of Oregon State talent in the State of Oregon and Washington. This made it much for difficult for the Beavers to compete. Oregon went on to appear in the NCAA Tournament immediately, getting invites in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015, with their last appearance in 2021, last season. They currently are ranked 10th in the BBA rankings with Oregon State 3rd. It's pretty impressive that the Beavers can continue to do well after the departure of their great Coach Pat Casey and the resurgence of Ducks baseball and all of their assistance from Phil Knight. Walk-on hero from the back-to-back Championship Campaigns, Catcher Mitch Canham, took over for Pat Casey a couple years ago, and Mark Wasikowski took over for Horton a couple years ago at Oregon.

One thing more interesting about the Beavers.....their home plate still stands at the same spot it stood way back in 1907, the longest location of home plate for any ballpark in America, making it the longest continuous ballpark in the nation. They didn't even have lights until 2002.

[Sea Ray]

You can't win an NCAA World Series without pitching depth, unlike MLB, where only 3 are needed. You need 4 in the NCAA's and closers, and clutch hitters.

Are the Vols pulling out any come-from-behind wins? That experience will benefit them if they can get it.

Today they were down 4-1 in the 9th to the Florida Gators and they won 6-4 in 11 innings. They swept the Gators 3 games to none. They are the first team in SEC history to start off 17-1 in conference play. What they are doing is unprecedented. Doesn't mean they'll win the post season 'cause it's baseball but this season is one for the record books.

[Sea Ray]

OK, it's Xavier/Tennessee tomorrow. I don't know if there are official point spreads on this but I'm seeing folks mentioning a ten run spread. I doubt Tennessee covers that but they should win obviously

[Kingspoint]

Today they were down 4-1 in the 9th to the Florida Gators and they won 6-4 in 11 innings. They swept the Gators 3 games to none. They are the first team in SEC history to start off 17-1 in conference play. What they are doing is unprecedented. Doesn't mean they'll win the post season 'cause it's baseball but this season is one for the record books.

You say it doesn't mean they'll win the post season 'cause it's baseball, but in the NCAA playoff format, the team that wins the World Series will definitely be College's best baseball team. It's a great playoff format for baseball, where you can't rely on one or two great pitchers, or even three great pitchers. Nor can you rely on just an Ace, a Closer and a super Offense like you can at the major league level, or just a great bullpen and a great Offense. No, the team that wins the College World Series every year is College's best baseball team. If Tennessee is that, then they will win. What's often overlooked is the clutch factor. Like the NBA playoffs, you have to go through losing at each level as a team before you can win at each level as a team. Rare is the team that has no Super Regional experience to go on and win a Super Regional, even if you are the host team. Same goes for the College World Series. Rare is the team that can win a College World Series, unless that team has been to the College World Series and experienced what it takes to win it by losing it (either the year before, two years before or three years before (where Seniors now would have been true Freshman, or redshirt Freshman.

Was TEN in a Super Regional any of the last three years? Did they win a Super Regional and get to the World Series any of the last three years? If not, it's unlikely they win the College World Series this season, no matter the results of their regular season. The post-season is a whole other world and takes it completely different set of skills.

[Kingspoint]

SeaRay, Dallas-Baptiste dropped out of the BA Top-25 after losing their 2nd Straight MVC series. It's going to be difficult for them to get back in because winning these series doesn't help much.

I see that Oregon State moved up to #2 behind your Vols.

That series sweep in FLA was the Vols first in 22 years there. Those things mean a lot. A road series sweep against a reliable and consistent opponent, and like you said, how they did it with the come-from-behind 9th Inning, "we will-not-be-denied" type of win.

FWIW, Oregon State also had a come-from-behind late win, not as definitive as Tennessee's, but a win none-the-less. Down 3-2 in the bottom of the 8th, they homered to tie it and then they won it in the bottom of the 10th. They then turned it up two notches and won the next two games Sat and Sun with scores of 8-0 and 7-1. It was against unranked WAS, but a sweep still. They did lose their opening game of the week, 13-6 to Gonzaga (ranked #13) on Tue followed by a 9-4 win over the Zags on Wed.

Beavers have a single-game at Oregon tomorrow (Tue), who fell from 10th to 25th after losing a series against a rising Washington State club. They had a come-from-behind win in the 1st game trailing 7-2 in the 9th, but all weekend their pitching (missing two starters most of the year) was finally too much for their Offense to overcome and they lost the next two games 10-8 and 8-7. Oregon is a team that will get much better when they get back those two Starters who move to the front of the line on their pitching depth.

[Kingspoint]

Auburn entered the Top-25 this week to sit at #21 with a sweep over South Carolina and wins over Kennesaw State and Alabama State. They come to TEN this weekend. That should be a good series.

Oregon State's not really been tested so far this season. They are consistent, losing only one series all year, but they are only 2-3 against Top-25. They'll get their chance with ARI and STA in the Top-10 and UCLA in the next tier, and the Ducks hanging around the bottom of the top-25 for most of the year. 13-5 in PAC-12 play is still really good. The first year they won the WS in 2007, they finished under .500 in PAC-12 play, coming on strong the 2nd half of the year and through the playoffs (becoming the first team to win the CWS through the entire losers bracket).

[Boston Red]

OK, it's Xavier/Tennessee tomorrow. I don't know if there are official point spreads on this but I'm seeing folks mentioning a ten run spread. I doubt Tennessee covers that but they should win obviously

Xavier's pitching is obnoxious bad. But they hit well, and I assume they'll be facing the C team of Tennesse pitching. So I'll go 17-9 Vols.

For reference, Xavier played a weekend series against the#2 Beavers earlier in the season and lost 13-3, 9-0 and 5-4.

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee won their games in the Super Regional last year and advanced to the College World Series

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/other-sports/2021/06/16/tennessee-baseball-college-world-series-appearances-through-the-years/7712964002/

With the kind of regular season they've had, I think the pressure of the post season will be tremendous.

I'm enjoying this historic regular season and go from there

[Kingspoint]

Xavier's pitching is obnoxious bad. But they hit well, and I assume they'll be facing the C team of Tennesse pitching. So I'll go 17-9 Vols.

For reference, Xavier played a weekend series against the#2 Beavers earlier in the season and lost 13-3, 9-0 and 5-4.

Yeah, those Tuesday games get the "C" pitching, thus Oregon State's loss to the Zags last Tuesday.

- - - Updated - - -


Tennessee won their games in the Super Regional last year and advanced to the College World Series

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/other-sports/2021/06/16/tennessee-baseball-college-world-series-appearances-through-the-years/7712964002/

With the kind of regular season they've had, I think the pressure of the post season will be tremendous.

I'm enjoying this historic regular season and go from there

Well, there ya' go. That probably makes them the favorites to win the CWS.

They've been there. They know the pressure. They are at home through the Super Regionals. Only multiple pitching injuries could stop them from "getting there". I'd be making reservations to Omaha if you have the time and money.

[Kingspoint]

OK, it's Xavier/Tennessee tomorrow. I don't know if there are official point spreads on this but I'm seeing folks mentioning a ten run spread. I doubt Tennessee covers that but they should win obviously

Yeah, probably won't cover based on what Boston RED mentioned about Tuesday likely pitchers. TEN will save all of their best pitchers for Arkansas this weekend (as they and everyone does for most weekends). Should be something like what Boston RED said, 17-9.

[Sea Ray]

Xavier's pitching is obnoxious bad. But they hit well, and I assume they'll be facing the C team of Tennesse pitching. So I'll go 17-9 Vols.

For reference, Xavier played a weekend series against the#2 Beavers earlier in the season and lost 13-3, 9-0 and 5-4.

One of our pitchers is hurt so yeah, you're getting our 4th or 5th guy but the Vols are deep. He's a left hander, Zander Sechrist. I see Xavier's starter has only thrown 6 innings this year and his longest outing is less than 3 IP. It's the bullpen depth where the men and the boys tend to separate in college ball. These midweek games are often bullpen by committee days.

[Sea Ray]

Yeah, probably won't cover based on what Boston RED mentioned about Tuesday likely pitchers. TEN will save all of their best pitchers for Arkansas this weekend (as they and everyone does for most weekends). Should be something like what Boston RED said, 17-9.

Tenn doesn't play Arkansas this year. Quirk in the schedule. As you know, it's Auburn

[Kingspoint]

Tenn doesn't play Arkansas this year. Quirk in the schedule. As you know, it's Auburn

Doh! Alzheimers moment.

[Kingspoint]

BA's poll voters don't put a lot of stock into the results of Tuesday games knowing the lineups involved in those games is not indicative of the teams that are playing. They are almost like pre-season, experiment games. Some guys get to start who won't start another game all year.

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee up 9-0 in the 6th. Musketeers putting in their 4th pitcher of the inning

[Kingspoint]

TEN had the 10-run lead covered going into the top of the 9th, up 10-0. They gave up a run and if you had the under, which is what Boston Red said, you would have won.

Great win, btw, anyway. Half a dozen ranked teams lost to unranked teams today and there are still results waiting from another half a dozen ranked teams.

[Sea Ray]

Yeah, that run Tennessee gave up with 2 outs in the 9th pissed off a lot of UT fans including this one. Oh well. I guess a ten run point spread was about right

[Boston Red]

Xavier didn't embarrass themselves. That's basically a win!

Unfortunately, if Xavier manages to win the Big East Tournament, I suspect they'll find themselves right back in Knoxville.

[Sea Ray]

Xavier didn't embarrass themselves. That's basically a win!

Unfortunately, if Xavier manages to win the Big East Tournament, I suspect they'll find themselves right back in Knoxville.

10-1 isn't embarrassing themselves? That dropped fly ball in RF was pretty embarrassing and led to a barrage of runs

[Boston Red]

Nope, 10-1 doesn't jump out to anyone. It's just a normal score for 38-3 #1 team to beat a mediocre Big East by. Didn't even beat the spread! :)

As a matter of fact, it was Tennessee's 14th win by 9 or more runs this year and it was the 15th time an opponent had been held to 1 run or less. So yesterday's contest was more or less standard operating procedure.

[Sea Ray]

What's happened to Mississippi State baseball? Tennessee swept them over the weekend including a score of 27-2 on Thursday's opener. They didn't even qualify for the SEC tournament.

[Kingspoint]

What's happened to Mississippi State baseball? Tennessee swept them over the weekend including a score of 27-2 on Thursday's opener. They didn't even qualify for the SEC tournament.

Tennessee is so much better than everyone else, it ain't funny. Hasn't been a team this good during the regular season in a very long time.

[Kingspoint]

Strange stat of the season....

Maryland has not played a Top-25 (Baseball America...every other poll is completely worthless) team all season long. BA has them ranked 9th, but they have nothing to show for it.

[Kingspoint]

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/college-baseball-takeaways-postseason-picture-takes-shape-in-acc/

Miami, TEN, UCLA, Oregon and Stanford had impressive weeks.

[Boston Red]

UConn getting swept by Georgetown was a bit puzzling. They'll get their shot at revenge Thursday at Prasco Park in game one of the Big East tournament.

[Sea Ray]

UConn getting swept by Georgetown was a bit puzzling. They'll get their shot at revenge Thursday at Prasco Park in game one of the Big East tournament.

Prasco Park is the home of the Big East tournament? Interesting. I didn't know they had seating and whatnot to do something like that

[Boston Red]

Prasco Park is the home of the Big East tournament? Interesting. I didn't know they had seating and whatnot to do something like that

I went to a Big East conference championship game at TD Ameritrade in Omaha (home of the CWS). There were no more than 300 people at the game. It doesn't take many seats to host the Big East Baseball Tournament!

[Kingspoint]

Prasco Park is the home of the Big East tournament? Interesting. I didn't know they had seating and whatnot to do something like that

TEN should advance and host a Super Regional. You going?

[Sea Ray]

TEN should advance and host a Super Regional. You going?

My weekends are booked for the next 3 weeks....graduation, mother in law memorial service, cottage opening...Wish I could swing it

[Kingspoint]

My weekends are booked for the next 3 weeks....graduation, mother in law memorial service, cottage opening...Wish I could swing it

Sorry for your wife's loss. Going to be tough for a while. Graduation should help.

[Sea Ray]

Sorry for your wife's loss. Going to be tough for a while. Graduation should help.

I appreciate your thoughts but my wife is doing great. Her mom was starting to go down hill mentally, was nearly 92 and she went very quickly sans suffering. My wife hasn't shed a tear. This service will likely be a celebration of a wonderful life.

Tennessee's season has been one for the history books. I think this puts an enormous amount of pressure on them but it's fun awfully fun to watch

[Kingspoint]

SeaRay, TEN plays their first SEC tournament game shortly vs ALA, who won one and lost one to advance to this game against the VOLS.

Sorry Oregon State Women had to go into Chattanooga and take two on Sunday from the Lady Vols to knock them out of the tournament. Oregon State women advance to play Stanfor in the Supers. Five schools from the Conference of Champions (Stanford Women just won the 200th Women's National Title for the Pac-12, the most of any Conference, by taking out the Duck Women 3-2 in Golf) made the Super-16 Women's Softball playoffs.

Oregon State won their first playoff game in the Pac-12's first ever baseball conference tourney (they need to work on the bracket as UCLA played at midnight last night, and then again at 2:00 this afternoon) and play again tonight. Stanford has the PAC-12's pitcher of the year and won the regular season conference title. Oregon went out in two straight in the tourney, and should be a 3-seed out East somewhere. Stanford plays Arizona in about 90 minutes in the 2nd Rd of the winner's bracket followed by Oregon State vs. California, starting about 8:30-9:00 at night. Oregon State had to play 13 innings yesterday.

[Kingspoint]

PAC-12 should get five or six teams in the NCAA tournament:

Stanford and Oregon State should host Regionals. UCLA might host a Regional, but probably gets a #2 Seed and gets to stay out West (Gonzaga might host). Arizona and Oregon should get #3 seeds and travel East and Southeast. California could get a #4 seed and stay out West or go to the Midwest. Washington and Washington State are good teams, but won't get in.

[Kingspoint]

UCLA has this RH Reliever, Alonzo Tredwell, who as a Junior post-TJ surgery (had it in HS) has posted over 37 innings this season a 55/5 K/BB with a .178 BAA (era of 1.70 for those who care).

That sounds like a really nice 20th Rd pick for the REDS. Don't know where he ranks....just guessing. Maybe he's a 5th Rd option. IDK. Just unbelievably effective. He's huge at 6'7", 225.

[Roy Tucker]

Just FYI, Prasco Park has approx 1000 seats. It’s a nice stadium.

“With over 1,000 permanent chair-backed seats at Prasco Park, grass in-field, canopied grandstand, press box, multi-inning electronic scoreboard, professional lighting, state-of-the-art video board, and professional quality public address and sound effects system, Prasco Park is Cincinnati’s premier amateur baseball facility.”

[Kingspoint]

Just FYI, Prasco Park has approx 1000 seats. It’s a nice stadium.

“With over 1,000 permanent chair-backed seats at Prasco Park, grass in-field, canopied grandstand, press box, multi-inning electronic scoreboard, professional lighting, state-of-the-art video board, and professional quality public address and sound effects system, Prasco Park is Cincinnati’s premier amateur baseball facility.”

Noticed the SEC umps called a normal strike zone, but the PAC-12 umps are more similar to MLB, wide and low (and inconsistent). Impressed with the SEC umps in the tourney.

Enjoying seeing the different venues. The Pac-12 tournament in Scottsdale (not ASU's home, as that's a couple miles north) is fun to see....looks like the REDS' spring-training facility.

[Kingspoint]

Thursday night, they finished the Big-10 game in Omaha at 2:15 a.m.

Oregon State's game was much more reasonable, getting over at about 1:20 a.m.

Really having fun watching parts of so many tournament games in so many college sports right now. French Open happening, PGA just finished. Soccer, REDS' winning games....pretty fun. NBA, of course, and replays of the Bengals' AFC run.

[Kingspoint]

Indiana goes ahead of Iowa 13-2 in the 3rd inning. They lost 30-16.

FWIW, teams that know they are going to the NCAA tournament are using, not just Tuesday pitchers, but pitchers who didn't even play mid-week during the season. I don't know where that puts IND and Iowa as I don't know anything about them as far as their tournament chances, but UCLA and Oregon State are doing exactly that. Oregon State gifted UCLA a 7-2 lead, but are leading 19-12 after 8.

[Sea Ray]

SeaRay, TEN plays their first SEC tournament game shortly vs ALA, who won one and lost one to advance to this game against the VOLS.

Sorry Oregon State Women had to go into Chattanooga and take two on Sunday from the Lady Vols to knock them out of the tournament. Oregon State women advance to play Stanfor in the Supers. Five schools from the Conference of Champions (Stanford Women just won the 200th Women's National Title for the Pac-12, the most of any Conference, by taking out the Duck Women 3-2 in Golf) made the Super-16 Women's Softball playoffs.

Oregon State won their first playoff game in the Pac-12's first ever baseball conference tourney (they need to work on the bracket as UCLA played at midnight last night, and then again at 2:00 this afternoon) and play again tonight. Stanford has the PAC-12's pitcher of the year and won the regular season conference title. Oregon went out in two straight in the tourney, and should be a 3-seed out East somewhere. Stanford plays Arizona in about 90 minutes in the 2nd Rd of the winner's bracket followed by Oregon State vs. California, starting about 8:30-9:00 at night. Oregon State had to play 13 innings yesterday.

Tennessee's first round game of the SEC tournament was vs Vanderbilt. My Vols pounded them 10-1. Not a good yr for the Commodores vs Tennessee. Got swept by the baseball, basketball and Lady Vols. Also got pounded on the grid iron

Tennessee beat LSU last night. The Vols play Kentucky tonight. Don't know where you saw that they played Alabama

[Boston Red]

That Indiana/Iowa 30-16 game was last weekend. Not today. Indiana has an 11pm date with Rutgers in Omaha tonight.

[Boston Red]

Xavier nipped Creighton 27-8 to advance to the Big East championship tomorrow. Need to beat a good UConn team twice.

[Boston Red]

So UCLA rallies from 21-12 down in the 9th and beats Oregon State 25-22 in 10....and the teams have to play again tonight. Wow, long night.

The first game lasted 5 hours and 44 minutes.

[Boston Red]

Anyone having trouble sleeping who has Big Ten Network should check out Rutgers/Indiana. They're getting rolling around 11:50 Central time in Omaha. That's a nearly 1am start time back home in Bloomington, IN and New Brunswick, NJ.

[Sea Ray]

Tennessee continued its historic dominance, winning the SEC tournament and never trailed during the 4 games. You don't get much more dominant than that. Only one other team in the history of the SEC has ever done that

[Assembly Hall]

Anyone having trouble sleeping who has Big Ten Network should check out Rutgers/Indiana. They're getting rolling around 11:50 Central time in Omaha. That's a nearly 1am start time back home in Bloomington, IN and New Brunswick, NJ.

Beware of the Hoosiers....next year.

[Kingspoint]

So UCLA rallies from 21-12 down in the 9th and beats Oregon State 25-22 in 10....and the teams have to play again tonight. Wow, long night.

The first game lasted 5 hours and 44 minutes.

Neither team was using their best pitchers in those games saving them for the upcoming weekend.

Watched them both, except for the 9th inning in the first one.

Selection Committee has a sense of humor....they put UCLA in the Auburn bracket which plays the Oregon State bracket in the Supers.

[Kingspoint]

Anyone having trouble sleeping who has Big Ten Network should check out Rutgers/Indiana. They're getting rolling around 11:50 Central time in Omaha. That's a nearly 1am start time back home in Bloomington, IN and New Brunswick, NJ.

...Brackets have to be worked out better.

[Boston Red]

The NCAA Baseball Tournament has started. Always a fun event. Hard to imagine anyone taking down Tennessee this year, but we shall see.

A couple of 3 seeds have beaten 2 seeds today, but no REAL upsets yet.

[Reds Freak]

The NCAA Baseball Tournament has started. Always a fun event. Hard to imagine anyone taking down Tennessee this year, but we shall see.

A couple of 3 seeds have beaten 2 seeds today, but no REAL upsets yet.

Some fun early tournament stories like Columbia winning its first game, two services academies competing, and Coppin State reaching the field after going 1-53 a few years ago.

The Squeeze Play whiparound coverage on ESPN on days like today is fantastic.

[Boston Red]

Kennesaw State giving up a 10 spot in the 8th to LSU to blow a 7 run lead is tough.

[Boston Red]

And New Mexico State just tied Oregon State in the 9th. That would be a huge upset!

[Boston Red]

Not exactly an exciting finish in Corvalis. Oregon State wins on 4 walks in the bottom of the 10th.

[Reds Freak]

Not exactly an exciting finish in Corvalis. Oregon State wins on 4 walks in the bottom of the 10th.

I just started paying attention to college baseball a few weeks ago so this may have already been discussed here.

What the heck is going on with the pitching? Are the balls and bats so juiced that you can't get anyone out anymore? Or is the pitching just historically awful this season? In theory, yesterday was the day to see a lot of aces and it was like watching arena league baseball.

[Boston Red]

Rough trip to the tournament for UNC Greensboro. Two games today, and they got shutout in both. Tough result to get there and not manage to scratch the scoring column.

[texasdave]

Rough trip to the tournament for UNC Greensboro. Two games today, and they got shutout in both. Tough result to get there and not manage to scratch the scoring column.

Reds fans, circa 2020, know exactly how that feels.

[Sea Ray]

I just started paying attention to college baseball a few weeks ago so this may have already been discussed here.

What the heck is going on with the pitching? Are the balls and bats so juiced that you can't get anyone out anymore? Or is the pitching just historically awful this season? In theory, yesterday was the day to see a lot of aces and it was like watching arena league baseball.

I think we're seeing a huge lack of pitching depth on a lot of these teams. When you get to the later innings, particularly teams who have already played a game or two, you get things like 4 consecutive walks, 10 run 8th or what happened in Okla St vs Arkansas where the guy in the 8th walked a run and then hit a batter and wasn't pulled as his team blew a huge lead

[Reds Freak]

I think we're seeing a huge lack of pitching depth on a lot of these teams. When you get to the later innings, particularly teams who have already played a game or two, you get things like 4 consecutive walks, 10 run 8th or what happened in Okla St vs Arkansas where the guy in the 8th walked a run and then hit a batter and wasn't pulled as his team blew a huge lead

There doesn't seem to be many dominant aces either. There's going to be some football scores today with everyone on their 3s and 4s. They might need to institute the slow pitch softball rule where your third HR in an inning is an out.

[Boston Red]

Oklahoma State was down 12-0 to Missouri St aftet 3. Now lead 17-14 bottom 6.

[Reds Freak]

Oklahoma State was down 12-0 to Missouri St aftet 3. Now lead 17-14 bottom 6.

I thought every team was going to be in double digits today. Outside of this one, the pitching has held up pretty well.

[Boston Red]

10 winner take all regional finals today. I don't ever remember seeing more than a handful of these in any given season. Super competitive regionals this year.

[Sea Ray]

The beat goes on for Tennessee. They did have to overcome a couple 4-0 deficits over the weekend. Pitching depth seems to be key to these late game comebacks.

The Vols play Notre Dame next in Knoxville

[Reds Freak]

The beat goes on for Tennessee. They did have to overcome a couple 4-0 deficits over the weekend. Pitching depth seems to be key to these late game comebacks.

The Vols play Notre Dame next in Knoxville

It wasn't easy for them, but it still felt like Tennessee was in control of the whole weekend. Even down a run last night in the 9th to Georgia Tech, it felt like it was inevitable they were going to win that game. It's hard to imagine anyone beating them twice in that ballpark, but Notre Dame only allowed seven runs in three games this weekend, which is pretty remarkable given the amount of offense this year. Maybe they have the arms to make it interesting.

[Boston Red]

I thought every team was going to be in double digits today. Outside of this one, the pitching has held up pretty well.

Well, welcome to Monday. 6 runs so far in the first inning of the first game. And that inning is not over yet.

Louisville ened up with a TD and an extra point in the first to Michigan's safety. And Louisville left the bases loaded. Does not feel like a 5 run lead with 8 innings to go is safe! But after gettin 20 against Michigan yesterday, I suspect Louisville is not quite done scoring.

[Reds Freak]

Well, welcome to Monday. 6 runs so far in the first inning of the first game. And that inning is not over yet.

Louisville ened up with a TD and an extra point in the first to Michigan's safety. And Louisville left the bases loaded. Does not feel like a 5 run lead with 8 innings to go is safe! But after gettin 20 against Michigan yesterday, I suspect Louisville is not quite done scoring.

Yea, there's going to be some marathon games today. I almost wonder if they should start these things on Thursday and build in some extra rest for the pitchers.

[Kingspoint]

Oregon State just raised the bar today after losing to Vanderbilt 8-1 yesterday.

Their Pitcher, a mid-week pitcher for the season, with every pitcher today for the Beavers on a short hook, comes out of the gate and strikes out 2 of 3 in the 1st against Vandy with brilliant pitches.

The Beavers open up the bottom of the 1st with their leadoff hitter sending a pitch, not over the wall, but out of the park. The outfielder didn't move, put his head down, and walked forward.

The Beavers' pitcher then comes out and strikes out the side in the 2nd.

Championship Baseball.

Winner of Oregon State/Vanderbilt plays Auburn in the Supers.



Have a feeling Stanford is going to put the hammer down in their game today.

- - - Updated - - -

Louisville had the toughest Regional in this tournament with Oregon and Michigan in their grouping.

[Kingspoint]

Congratulations to Notre Dame on their upset victory of the Statesboro Regional.

Unfortunately, their reward is trying to win two of three at Knoxville against Tennessee in the Supers.

- - - Updated - - -

Texas will play East Carolina in the Supers. Will be interesting who hosts as Texas was the 9th seed and East Carolina was the 8th seed, but Texas swept their Regional, while East Carolina faced an elimination game.

[Kingspoint]

Well, welcome to Monday. 6 runs so far in the first inning of the first game. And that inning is not over yet.

Louisville ened up with a TD and an extra point in the first to Michigan's safety. And Louisville left the bases loaded. Does not feel like a 5 run lead with 8 innings to go is safe! But after gettin 20 against Michigan yesterday, I suspect Louisville is not quite done scoring.

Michigan took a 9-7 lead in the 6th only to give up 4 in the bottom of the 8th. They need two in the 9th or it's over.

- - - Updated - - -

Vandy survived the emotional beginning of Oregon State and it's a 1-0 lead for the Beavs in the 3rd.

[Kingspoint]

Double for Michigan to start the 9th. Tying run at the plate.

[Boston Red]

Louisville wins. Turning my attention to Southern Miss now. Need to knock LSU out of this thing!

[Boston Red]

Congratulations to Notre Dame on their upset victory of the Statesboro Regional.

Unfortunately, their reward is trying to win two of three at Knoxville against Tennessee in the Supers.

- - - Updated - - -

Texas will play East Carolina in the Supers. Will be interesting who hosts as Texas was the 9th seed and East Carolina was the 8th seed, but Texas swept their Regional, while East Carolina faced an elimination game.

ECU hosts. Top 8 national seeds host Supers if they win their Region.

[Kingspoint]

Louisville wins. Turning my attention to Southern Miss now. Need to knock LSU out of this thing!

Louisville's Pitcher closed the door, but I didn't see how far that last shot to Center went attempting to tie it up.


Oh, man! What a catch by the Vandy CF to rob the Beavers of a 2-run Double.

- - - Updated - - -


ECU hosts. Top 8 national seeds host Supers if they win their Region.

I was wondering if there was a scenario where they reassessed the seeds.

[Boston Red]

Louisville's Pitcher closed the door, but I didn't see how far that last shot to Center went attempting to tie it up.


It was on the warning track, but it was clear the whole way that the CF had a bead on it and it was staying in the park. He had time to camp under it.

[Kingspoint]

Vandy's not going away.

- - - Updated - - -


It was on the warning track, but it was clear the whole way that the CF had a bead on it and it was staying in the park. He had time to camp under it.

thanks.

[Kingspoint]

Texas A&M hosts Louisville in the Supers.

How about the Women's College World Series? Of the four teams left, three are from the Big-12, UO, OSU, A&M, and then UCLA representing the Pac-12.

[Boston Red]

BTW, Louisville loses if Michigan gets this call at 2nd. Looks pretty clearly out to me....but I'll take it!

https://twitter.com/bigdonkey47/status/1533918073853513728?s=20&t=KRCk3ENVitbXt14afMnnTg

[Kingspoint]

BTW, Louisville loses if Michigan gets this call at 2nd. Looks pretty clearly out to me....but I'll take it!

https://twitter.com/bigdonkey47/status/1533918073853513728?s=20&t=KRCk3ENVitbXt14afMnnTg

He is out at 2nd.

The glove clearly flips the hand upwards at a 90-degree angle as the hand slides into the glove. Perfect tag.

I have seen quite a few replays in the Regionals that were clearly wrong calls by the replay officials. It's like watching the NBA.

[Kingspoint]

If Arizona beats Ole Miss, they have to play again tomorrow.

- - - Updated - - -

Vandy leads 2-1.

And, it's the 6'-7" Spencer Jones with his 11th RBI and 3rd Homerun of the Regionals. They have all been bombs. Spencer Jones will be playing in the Major Leagues.

[Kingspoint]

Here comes SMU....

[Sea Ray]

He is out at 2nd.

The glove clearly flips the hand upwards at a 90-degree angle as the hand slides into the glove. Perfect tag.

I have seen quite a few replays in the Regionals that were clearly wrong calls by the replay officials. It's like watching the NBA.

I don't see how replay didn't overturn this:

https://twitter.com/nolanbianchi/status/1533914183997263873

What's the point of replay if not to overturn something like this? It's sad enough that the ump missed the call to begin with

[Kingspoint]

Replay officials just blew another easy call in Corvallis and the same result again is that they don't overturn the call.

The replays are useless in this tournament. They are horrible in how often they blow easy calls that should be turned over.

It looks subjective at this point with too much politics or gambling involved. That's the image that it gives with how often they are wrong. It needs to be done away with if they can't do better than they are doing....a lot better than they are doing.

This mistake just forced Oregon State to change pitchers.

- - - Updated - - -


Here comes SMU....

...scored two in the 4th to make it a 1-run game in the 4th.

[Kingspoint]

Unbelievable!

Vandy's CF did it again.

This time robbing a HR away from the Beavers.

[Kingspoint]

Vandy's leadoff hitter got on base for the first time in two days. He stole 2nd and is 45 for 45 on SB attempts this year. Next guy gets up and Spencer Jones if up with two on and one out.

Same guy stole 45 bases last season.

Jones goes down swingin'!

[Sea Ray]

Unbelievable!

Vandy's CF did it again.

This time robbing a HR away from the Beavers.

He's quite a talent. I'd love to see him in our (Reds) CF

[Kingspoint]

Throwing errors by the Beavers on the Vandy double-steal gives the Commodores the lead 3-2.

- - - Updated - - -


He's quite a talent. I'd love to see him in our (Reds) CF

He's the fastest guy in College Baseball. Just created a go-ahead run with a walk and two stolen bases, including homebase. Should only take him two seasons to go through the Minors.

[Sea Ray]

Throwing errors by the Beavers on the Vandy double-steal gives the Commodores the lead 3-2.

- - - Updated - - -



He's the fastest guy in College Baseball. Just created a go-ahead run with a walk and two stolen bases, including homebase. Should only take him two seasons to go through the Minors.

He's got some "swinging for the fence" issues but he's Billy Hamilton already. Tennessee couldn't stop him from stealing any base. Not even close

[Kingspoint]

He's got some "swinging for the fence" issues but he's Billy Hamilton already. Tennessee couldn't stop him from stealing any base. Not even close

I imagine he's a heck of a lot smarter than Hamilton, being a college grad. Hamilton had learning issues.

- - - Updated - - -

Vandy should be behind about 7-2, but their tenacity actually has them leading 3-2 in the bottom of the 5th with the Beavers threatening again to score.

[Kingspoint]

2-Run HR by the PAC-12 player of the year, Jacob Melton, and the Beavers lead 4-3!

[Kingspoint]

Vandy had a chance of getting out of the bottom of the 5th down 4-3, but an OSU guy, who was 0-10 lifetime with the bases loaded delivered a 2-run single to CF. Vandy down by 3 going into the top of the 6th and starts it with a leadoff walk. Vandy has heart.

OSU's loss yesterday to Vandy was their largest margin of defeat all season (7 runs).

- - - Updated - - -

I do love College Baseball. It's more emotion driven than any of the college sports in my opinion.

[Kingspoint]

My response to why there are so many runs....

Aluminum bats are used in some conferences.

Every pitch is called from the dugout removing the ability for a pitcher to develop confidence. This lack of confidence combined with the increased pressure (I've already said it's very emotional) of the tournament games makes more pitchers unwilling to throw inside, which leads to more walks and more bad pitches thrown directly over the middle for strikes, which then get launched for extra-bases.

And, the emotional impact of a rally works it's way through a dugout making sustained rallies possible in these young men's Plate Appearances.

[Kingspoint]

What a horrible Error by the Beaver's SS (his 2nd error of the game). A routine out to end the inning and he lets it go through his legs scoring a run with runners at the corners and 2 outs, which leads to another run.

The Beaver's SS has accounted for Vanderbilt's last three runs and he got his pitcher tossed.

Championship teams don't have SS's who make even one mental error like this, let alone two. I've seen him make a similar choke error in the Pac-12 Tournament last week.

Beavers won't win the CWS even if they get in.

Stanford can. Not Oregon State. I think it's TEN by themselves, and then Stanford by themselves, and then the field.

6-5 Oregon State right now trying to hang onto a lead in the top of the 6th.

I never made an error like either of those two he made in my entire life. But, I was never in the pressure situation that he's in right now. Still, everyone's pressure breaking point is at a different level, and everyone has one, even the greatest to ever play.

[Boston Red]

USM has come back to tie LSU in the 7th, and they're still batting.

And now the Golden Eagles lead.

[Kingspoint]

After Oregon State's relief pitcher went to 3-0, he came back with three straight strikes including a nasty breaking ball that had him looking to preserve a 1-run lead going into the bottom of the 6th.

Beavers should be ahead 11-2, but it's only 6-5. That's not a good sign.

With as emotional as college baseball is, Oregon State needs to be up 5 after 8 for me to feel good.

If he didn't strike him out, Spencer Jones would have been up with the bases loaded.

[Kingspoint]

All of these elimination games is crazy.

It's great baseball.

Despite the "total number of runs", there's some really great pitching, too.

[Kingspoint]

Did you see what Vandy's 2nd Baseman just did? Fielders are unraveling in this game. The nerves are really being tested by both teams. Elimination game...late innings.

Anything can happen in this game over these last 3+ innings.

[Boston Red]

Southern Miss is pulling away from LSU. 7-4 top 7.

[Kingspoint]

...

[Kingspoint]

Vandy scores, Beavers score, Vandy scores, Beavers score, etc.

Glad the Beavers have the last at-bat.

[Kingspoint]

Vandy playing with fire....bases loaded for Jacob Melton, who may have just broke out of his slump with his 2-run HR earlier.

Pitching change, of course.

[Kingspoint]

Sit Down, Melton!

Struck out swinging with bases loaded.

Vandy down only one going into the top of the 8th.

[Kingspoint]

Beavers bringing in their Friday Starter Hjerpe on two days rest and 100 pitches to get these last two innings.

[Kingspoint]

Beavers bringing in their Friday Starter Hjerpe on two days rest and 100 pitches to get these last two innings.

He strikes out the side!

He's a completely different level of pitcher. Should get drafted in the 1st Round and win his Opening Start in both the Super Regionals and the College World Series to advance the Beavers into the Winner's bracket after their 1st game, thus increasing their odds of getting into the Championship Game vs. TEN or whoever. But, team-wise, they still have some clutch issues Defensively.

[Kingspoint]

UConn scored 6 runs on 1 hit in the 1st Inning against Maryland.

Pressure is definitely rising in these Regional winner-takes-all games.

[Kingspoint]

LSU/SMU tied up at 7-7 going to the 9th.

Vandy down 7-6 going into the top of the 9th with their 2-3-4 hitters (Spencer Jones batting 3rd in the lineup).

Ole Miss pulling away from Arizona by 8 runs and on their way to the Supers.

[Kingspoint]

LSU's CF (45 for 45 SB's on the year....Hjerpe is LH) earns a bases-loaded walk to open the inning with Spencer Jones up next.

[Kingspoint]

Hjerpe strikes out 5 over two innings including the last two to get the save in his first relief appearance of the season

Oregon State hosts Auburn. Gotta go through the SEC this year.

[Boston Red]

USM wins!

[Kingspoint]

Southern Miss moves on.

[Reds Freak]

For some reason, this Oklahoma State team annoys me. Go Hogs.

[Sea Ray]

LSU's CF (45 for 45 SB's on the year....Hjerpe is LH) earns a bases-loaded walk to open the inning with Spencer Jones up next.

You mean the Commodores' CF?

Bye bye Vandy...:cry:

- - - Updated - - -


USM wins!

Southern Miss vs Ole Miss next

[Boston Red]

My old neighbor Jackson Nicklaus had the winning hit for OU today (gave them a 5-3 lead and they won 5-4). Wichita State commit who bailed when the Shockers fired their coach.

[Sea Ray]

Maryland gets screwed by the dumbest rule in the rulebook:

Runner's interference at 1B because he was in fair territory when he got to the 1B bag. The 1B is in fair territory! Of course the runner is also in fair territory.

[Boston Red]

Dp

[Reds Freak]

The reviews are out of control this weekend.

[Boston Red]

Southern Miss vs Ole Miss next

Southern Miss and East Carolina both hosting Supers. That's great. Southern Miss has been to Omaha. ECU is maybe currently the best program to never appear in Omaha.

[Boston Red]

UConn is in, and Texas State with a very small, very early lead at Stanford. But if we dare to dream, a UConn/Texas State Super? I assume UConn would host?

[Reds Freak]

Incredible drama in Stillwater. Oklahoma State, which has scored a gazillion runs this weekend, loads the bases in the 8th down 5-3. Arkansas brings in a freshman lefty who strikes out the next two to leave them stranded.

[Boston Red]

Texas State battling at Stanford. 1-1 in the 7th and Texas State threatening.

[Boston Red]

Texas State's CLOSER threw 7 innings of 1 run baseball. In a winner take all game at #2 Stanford. Impressive.

[Boston Red]

Stanford is 3 outs from being eliminated. Down 3-1

[Kingspoint]

Stanford is 3 outs from being eliminated. Down 3-1

Are You Kidding Me?!

1st Batter....homerun!

2nd Batter....homerun!

Tie Game!

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Texas State's CLOSER threw 7 innings of 1 run baseball. In a winner take all game at #2 Stanford. Impressive.

That was unbelievable.

Braden Montgomery, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, had 17 Homeruns in the regular season....and confidence enough from Stanford's Coach to come in and pitch the 8th and 9th Innings of a win-or-go-home game. That was a mistake to have him go 2 innings. That's just too much for a Freshman.

[Kingspoint]

...and Stanford wins to advance against UConn.

Go Huskies!

[Boston Red]

Stanford wins. Bummer.

[Kingspoint]

Stanford wins. Bummer.

Really having fun with the NCAA Regionals this year.

[Reds Freak]

ECU and Oklahoma with Game 1 victories. Notre Dame all over Tennessee but still plenty of time for the Vols. Although one of their best players was tossed for turning around and f-bombing the umpire mid at-bat.

[Boston Red]

Notre Dame had better hold the lead tonight if they have any hope of winning the Super.

[Reds Freak]

Notre Dame had better hold the lead tonight if they have any hope of winning the Super.

No question, which is why I was shocked they brought in a reliever with 8 innings on the year and a 6+ ERA in the 7th.

[Kingspoint]

Most teams who have gotten this far so far have already survived an elimination game. This will be TEN's first tomorrow.

[Boston Red]

ECU looked like they were cruising to their first CWS appearance. But not so fast. 7-7 in the 8th now.

[Boston Red]

Two out ninth inning tying HR for ECU. Whoa.

[Boston Red]

Tennessee went back to murdering fools today.

[Boston Red]

Stanford hit 8 HRs...and lost to UConn.

[Boston Red]

Getting serious for Tennessee. Six outs from elimination. What are they made of?

[Reds Freak]

Getting serious for Tennessee. Six outs from elimination. What are they made of?

The talent is undeniable, but Tennessee players and coaches seem to act like a bunch of whiny punks out there. Evidently that's their thing now and it obviously has worked, but it makes it easy to root against them.

[Boston Red]

Tennessee out with a whimper. Hard to be sad about it.

[JohnnyBench5]

Cya Vols..


Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[Kingspoint]

Stanford hit 8 HRs...and lost to UConn.

That was a heckuva 9th inning rally by Stanford.

[Kingspoint]

Tennessee out with a whimper. Hard to be sad about it.

The Tournament is designed for the best team to win the College World Series.

Tennessee is clearly not even close to being the best team.

Happens all the time with teams that have great regular seasons. The Beavers couldn't win their Super in 2014. UCLA couldn't do it in back-to-back years.

The Top seeds get an incredible advantage by hosting both a Regional and a Super Regional, both being double-elimination tournaments, so you have to lose twice in front of your own fans at home to not advance to the World Series. The overall top seeds get the easiest Regional and easiest Super Regional. If you can't get to the World Series under those conditions, you are a team that chokes, no question about it. Tennessee choked team-wide. Their bats throughout the lineup couldn't hit in Games 1 and 3, and their pitching couldn't get it done, either. They weren't even a contender.

Notre Dame was a good team all year, one of the few teams above the 35th parallel to be good, as there are rarely great teams in the Northern Regions. They won the toughest Regional that saw Oregon go winless, and did it on the road beating the host team twice and trouncing Oregon once. They won an elimination game against the host team. They were rewarded to go into the city of a team that had one of the greatest regular seasons ever, and they took it to 'em.

[Kingspoint]

Oregon State's Ace, Hjerpe, called his coach before yesterday's game and said he was sick. Coach Mitch Canham talked to him and told him to stay home and he'll pitch on Saturday. No excuses, though. Oregon State got dominated yesterday by Auburn. The Tigers' Left-Handed Relievers completely shut down the Beavers' bats. Oregon State didn't score after the first inning until a RH pitcher came into the 9th, and the Beavers managed to get the tying run to the plate. But, they just weren't good enough to get it done.

Must win tonight, and then must win on Monday to advance.

Stanford must win tonight to advance. I think the Cardinal do it. UConnn melted away in the 9th, giving up 6 runs with the tying run on 2nd base.

Oregon State has a lot of holes, and Defensively, they are succumbing to the pressure. Auburn looks like the better team. Should come down to Monday. Glad the Beavers are at Goss Stadium because they need the advantage of the home crowd and the last at-bat on Monday. Still have to get there, and there's no gaurantee that Hjerpe will feel good enough to pitch well tonight, or even how long he can last if he does.

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Sorry, SeaRay. Teams get exposed in the playoffs. It's like Senzel whenever the game is within 3 runs either way.

[Kingspoint]

#4 seed Virginia Tech....gone. Unseeded Oklahoma took care of them.

[Kingspoint]

How impressive is Ole Miss?!

#3 Seed in their Regional and they haven't lost a game yet.

Back-to-back shutouts in the Supers! Hadn't thrown a shutout in their last 66 games.

Unbelievably impressive.

It's so hard to get to Omaha.

Ole Miss has hosted 10 Regionals in the last 21 years under their current baseball Head Coach, but this is only their 2nd trip to Omaha.

They face the winnner of the Oregon State Regional in their Game 1 of the World Series.

[Kingspoint]

When Oregon State was the #1 overall seed in 2014, they couldn't even win their Regional (losing to UCLA, if I remember, who in turn lost twice as the #1 Seed since then, both times in the Supers.

Last year's #1 seed lost in the Supers.

It's hard to get to Omaha, and it's even harder to win it. The pressure gets harder every single game as you advance. The pressure was even more difficult for Notre Dame than it was for Tennessee as they had to do it on the road, four times, against the home team. You have to be able to take your game to multiple levels, and it has to be a team-wide response. That's something that is put into place by the program, the Head Coach, and that particular group of players that season.

[Kingspoint]

That 8th and 9th inning last night at Palo Alto showed the character of Stanford and UConn going into today's game.

Looks like Stanford is ready to end this win-or-go-home game early.

But, did UConn learn anything from that 8th and 9th inning last night? They had a lot worse strength of schedule this season, so they didn't have many quality opportunities.

Let's see who they are.

2-0 Standford going into the bottom of the 1st.

Well, Stanford is Starting a Freshman, so UConn has a legitimate chance.


It helps to have a ton of Seniors, and that really matters in tournament play.

[Boston Red]

Road teams dominating.

[Kingspoint]

Mike Martin, Jr. could not duplicate Mike Martin, Sr's success.

Fired after his 3rd season at the helm.

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Road teams dominating.

Stepping up. Rising to the occasion.

I saw where Arkansas is staying at a hotel more than an hour away from Corvallis (I assume Portland). That's a long travel to-and-from.

They probably heard about no restaurants being open late in Corvallis and that their games would be late at night, long after everything, including the Dairy Queen, would be closed. At least they'll have their choice of great places to eat late in Portland. Even Salem, much closer, would not have any restaurants open late, either.

[Kingspoint]

Well, Stanford is Starting a Freshman, so UConn has a legitimate chance.


It helps to have a ton of Seniors, and that really matters in tournament play.

Stanford's Freshman couldn't get out of the bottom of the 1st Inning w/ a 2-run lead going into it.

[Kingspoint]

Stanford is taking the Huskies to the woodshed.

8-1 and UConn hasn't even got out of the 2nd, yet.

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Stanford has the best Freshman in the Country. He could skip Minor League baseball and go right into the Majors.

[Boston Red]

ECU and Texas are back from their 4 hour rain delay. Texas continues to spank the Pirates.

[Sea Ray]

Dunno what happened to Tennessee's pitching of late. I knew it'd be a rough road. Baseball is like that and I think the #1 team hasn't won it all since 2000. Good news is they're expecting possibly an even better team next year so they'll be in the thick of it. It was very fun to follow them especially in a year where the Reds are unwatchable. They did win the SEC and the SEC tournament. We can wear that gear for awhile

[Rojo Rijo]

Dunno what happened to Tennessee's pitching of late. I knew it'd be a rough road. Baseball is like that and I think the #1 team hasn't won it all since 2000. Good news is they're expecting possibly an even better team next year so they'll be in the thick of it. It was very fun to follow them especially in a year where the Reds are unwatchable. They did win the SEC and the SEC tournament. We can wear that gear for awhile

Hats off to the Vols baseball team this season. Winning 57 games and the best team in the country for pretty much the whole season.

[Kingspoint]

Dunno what happened to Tennessee's pitching of late. I knew it'd be a rough road. Baseball is like that and I think the #1 team hasn't won it all since 2000. Good news is they're expecting possibly an even better team next year so they'll be in the thick of it. It was very fun to follow them especially in a year where the Reds are unwatchable. They did win the SEC and the SEC tournament. We can wear that gear for awhile

...and you said they were in the CWS last season. That's a lot of experience. They also won their Regional. Oregon State didn't even do that in 2014 when they were ranked #1.

They've only been doing these rankings since 1999, but they needed to do it. The Regionals would be hosted based on political connections and a whole lot of crap that made it completely unfair for the majority of the nation, especially the Northern teams and smaller schools (like Oregon State).

Oregon State down 2-0 on another Sonny D Homerun.

It's a great format the NCAA has set up right now. Whoever wins the College World Series will be the best team in the Country.

Playoff baseball is completely different than regular season baseball and each game becomes more and more difficult, as mentioned over and over and over again by those announcers, players and managers who have been to the CWS before.

[Boston Red]

6 of 8 road teams advanced through the Supers to Omaha. That's pretty wild. Stanford will be overwhelming favorites to win it all.

[Kingspoint]

Auburn wins 4-3. They only had 3 hits, but made them count. Oregon State was 0-10 w/ RISP, while committing costly errors again.

Auburn was the much better team all weekend, had so much more to overcome than Oregon State (traveling across the country, the hotel more than an hour away, etc.), and still pulled it out. They made the most of their opportunities and stepped up when they needed.

3 SEC teams and Stanford in one bracket in the World Series. That tells you just how impressive Tennessee was this year, because the SEC was clearly, far and away, the best Conference in the nation. Tennessee was so good that they made the others look not as good, but they clearly are really, really good.

[Assembly Hall]

Go Irish!

[Kingspoint]

Go Irish!

I'm not sure who I want to root for...a Pac-12 team or a team above the 35th Parallel. Think I'll go with the team above the 35th Parallel because it happens so rarely, though Stanford is basically right at the 3th parallel. Stanford vs Notre Dame in the Finals would be nice.

But, an SEC team is probably going to win, even without the Vols there.

[Boston Red]

What the heck is going on with the pitching? Are the balls and bats so juiced that you can't get anyone out anymore? Or is the pitching just historically awful this season? In theory, yesterday was the day to see a lot of aces and it was like watching arena league baseball.

I guess we just needed to get down to the best teams to find the pitching. Two game yesterday among the final four teams left (now down to 3). 11 total runs scored (5-1 and 3-2)

[Boston Red]

The results from Omaha sugest the ballparks play a role in making the pitching look terrible. Some of the bandboxes the regionals and supers were played in yielded a ton of HRs. When you hit a HR in Omaha you've earned it.

[Sea Ray]

College baseball can be cruel and unpredictable. During the regular season Tennessee was 3-0 vs Ole Miss, winning 12-1, 10-3 and 4-3

Vs. Oklahoma the Vols were 1-0, winning by a score of 8-0

[Boston Red]

Good tournament, but kind of a strange way for it to end. No one gets to be the offensive hero, and instead a terrible cross up for a "wild" pitch delivers the winning run.

[Kingspoint]

College baseball can be cruel and unpredictable. During the regular season Tennessee was 3-0 vs Ole Miss, winning 12-1, 10-3 and 4-3

Vs. Oklahoma the Vols were 1-0, winning by a score of 8-0

Regular season means nothing.