SEASON OPENER GAME THREAD: Air Force Game 1

[BeardoMSU]

Pretty sure the last game thread I started was game 3 vs Vandy for the NC....so I'm hoping that good juju comes back to us.

Lets. Go!

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[cheewgumm]

Thread names should
Show the game and our record?


Game 1 (0-0(

Or not.

Go State.

[KOdawg1]

Johnny Long at Catcher.

Cupp at SS.

Downs at DH

[Maroon Dawg]

Johnny Long at Catcher.

Cupp at SS.

Downs at DH

Anybody know the full line up yet?

[preachermatt83]

My favorite day of the year. Love seeing Dakota In the two hole

[Leroy Jenkins]

Lem said Mershon's injury was not serious but they won't risk putting him in the lineup until he's 100%.

[Commercecomet24]

Lem said Mershon's injury was not serious but they won't risk putting him in the lineup until he's 100%.

Yeah the kid wants to play BAD and could, but the smart play for the long haul is making sure he's healthy and doesn't reinjure.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

My favorite day of the year. Love seeing Dakota In the two hole

Agreed. I think they want Dakota at the plate early and often. They want to get him going early in the season. He can be the straw that stirs the drink. I could see him moving to the 3 or 4 spot later in the year, or even sooner when Mershon returns.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

Johnny Long at Catcher.

Cupp at SS.

Downs at DH


I would love to get something out of Downs. He was highly touted. It's time for him to produce.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

2B Larry
RF Dakota Jordan
1B Hines
LF Chance
3B Kohler
CF Hujsak
DH Downs
C Long
SS Cupp

Dohm on the mound

[Commercecomet24]

Agreed. I think they want Dakota at the plate early and often. They want to get him going early in the season. He can be the straw that stirs the drink. I could see him moving to the 3 or 4 spot later in the year, or even sooner when Mershon returns.

I believe Dakota was originally projected to be our 3 hole with Mershon in the 2 spot, but obviously the injury changed that. The top4 of Larry, Mershon, Jordan and Hines could really be something!

[somebodyshotmypaw]

I believe Dakota was originally projected to be our 3 hole with Mershon in the 2 spot, but obviously the injury changed that. The top4 of Larry, Mershon, Jordan and Hines could really be something!

No doubt. Those guys have to produce.

[parabrave]

Just be happy if we have no fielding errors in the infield/

[somebodyshotmypaw]

Dohm allowed the first batter to single. Clearly the pitching hasn't improved, Parker sucks, and we won't win a game all year.

[Extendedcab]

Dohm allowed the first batter to single. Clearly the pitching hasn't improved, Parker sucks, and we won't win a game all year.

Surely you jest!

[KOdawg1]

Great start. Fantastic

[magrooder]

Held'em to one with a shaky start

[MoreCowbell]

This is our best pitcher?

[magrooder]

AF starter had 26 walks last year, need to be patient

[CaptainObvious]

Well we got the first game jitters out in the first inning. Now let's blow em out.

[ZedFedder]

None of the hits were hard, just seeing eye singles.

[magrooder]

Jordan crushes a single

[KOdawg1]

Jordan crushes a single
Lots of soft contact. Need to smash

[PMDawg]

Hines....smh. 3 pitch K against a guy that throws 87-89. Not the start he wanted.

[PMDawg]

Middle of the lineup smashing this chump now. 2-1.

[magrooder]

Kohler gets an rbi, 2-1 good guys with one out

[magrooder]

Two strike outs, both looking.

[PMDawg]

Dorm not doing great so far. Gives up a leadoff single. 0-2 on 2nd batter.

[KOdawg1]

Dohm's secondary stuff isn't that great, and his fastball is pretty straight.

That's why I thought he'd be a better bullpen option instead of a starter.

[PMDawg]

K for Dohm.

[KOdawg1]

That was a good pick off move

[WSOPdawg]

I guess we missed a quick 1-2-3 B2nd for the Dogs??? What gives, SEC Network???

[BeardoMSU]

I guess we missed a quick 1-2-3 B2nd for the Dogs??? What gives, SEC Network???

No kidding.

[magrooder]

Dohm nuts up and gets out of the inning

[BeardoMSU]

Good bounce back from Nate.

[State82]

Pretty spiffy work right there.

[PMDawg]

And of course Alford is Georgia?s lead off hitter now, and he goes yard twice today. Lol

AF starting pitcher mowing us down. Retires 7 in a row before an error gets Chance on base.

[CaptainObvious]

And of course Alford is Georgia?s lead off hitter now, and he goes yard twice today. Lol

AF starting pitcher mowing us down. Retires 7 in a row before an error gets Chance on base.

Is Alford DH in the lead off spot, or did they teach him how to play 1st base? If he's playing 3rd he would have to field it and hold it until he got a runner to second so if he got another ball he could just walk it to tag third base and get the force out.

[magrooder]

Just catch the ball, Hines. Crap

[KOdawg1]

Might be in for a roller coaster with Hines at 1b

[PMDawg]

Tied at 2. Dohm not fooling anyone. Not a terrible outing (yet), not great either. Need to get out of the inning tied and turn it over to the BP.

[CaptainObvious]

Might be in for a roller coaster with Hines at 1b

Maybe should have kept Alford to play 1st. I say that tongue in cheek of course.

[PMDawg]

2 outs on a fly to RF. kohler hurt on play at 3rd, leaves game.

[magrooder]

Kohler just hurt his shoulder.

[CaptainObvious]

Don't forget what Lemonis said about Hines in the press conference. He cannot take his bad at bats to first base with him.

[PMDawg]

Out of the inning. 2-2. Dohm likely done.

[KOdawg1]

Kohler just hurt his shoulder.
Definitely dislocated.

The curse is real

[CaptainObvious]

Out of the inning. 2-2. Dohm likely done.

Hope Chester can hit.

[CaptainObvious]

I doubt Chester was on anybody's bingo card as first off the bench.

[CaptainObvious]

Wasn't that Downs problem last year? Takes too many strikes.

[CaptainObvious]

Looks like Lemonis should have gone after Shim!

[PMDawg]

Struggling mightily at the plate today. Luckily, their bullpen is supposedly pretty weak.

[PMDawg]

Siary 1 pitch, 1 HR. Nice.

[PMDawg]

Looks like Lemonis should have gone

FIFY

[99jc]

Looks like Lemonis should have gone after Shim!

Lemondick sucks!

[CaptainObvious]

Siary piping 0-2 pitches on 2 batters this inning. And both doubled!

[99jc]

SOS!

[KOdawg1]

So nice of us to wear these camo hats and green warm up shirts just for Air Force to kick our shit in at our own place in the opening game of the season.

Love it..

[KOdawg1]

Dayum

[PMDawg]

Siary with a horrible inning, gives up a lot of hard hit balls and 2 runs.

Dakota bails him out with a jack, Hines follows with a hit.

[KOdawg1]

Good Lord, just stupid

[magrooder]

Keystone kops

[BuckyIsAB****]

We aint very good

[magrooder]

Lefty Davis looked good. Should have been out of the inning sooner.

[BeardoMSU]

We aint very good

It's game 1, homie

[magrooder]

Hines needs to be looking breaking ball,

[magrooder]

Chance with the boomer 5-4 good guys

[KOdawg1]

Chance is my favorite player on this team

[The Federalist Engineer]

Bryce Chance just does his job

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[BeardoMSU]

Who we bringing in the close? (Please say Landon Sims)

[KOdawg1]

Who we bringing in the close? (Please say Landon Sims)

My vote is Brooks Auger

[magrooder]

My vote is Brooks Auger

Is he ready? I thought it would be later in the year.

[Coach34]

Auger is almost 2 years post surgery. He's 100

[Coach34]

We aint very good

Neither is LSU. They struggled with VMI. Candy needed a walk-off hit in the 9th to win over Florida Atlantic. They suck also

[KOdawg1]

Schuelke is sick

[BeardoMSU]

I like this kid.

[BeardoMSU]

Neither is LSU. They struggled with VMI. Candy needed a walk-off hit in the 9th to win over Florida Atlantic. They suck also

The US Navy lost the first battle of the Pacific, too***

[magrooder]

Auger is almost 2 years post surgery. He's 100

Thanks, I can't keep things straight. Old age.

[KOdawg1]

Third BB for Cupp.

[Leroy Jenkins]

Cupp is as advertised at Short. Smooth.

[BeardoMSU]

That kid is filthy.

[BeardoMSU]

Dogs are 1-0!

[Coach34]

Nasty sidearm shit there

[CaptainObvious]

A right handed junk ball throwing submariner John Harden closes it out! Impressive the way he kept throwing strikes!

[R2Dawg]

Well I only got to see the last 2 innings, but reading the game thread we know we got some areas to improve. But hey 1-0.

That last pitcher got a wicked delivery. I think we got some pieces; just got to figure it all out.

[SaintDawg]

Schuelke is sickGents? I think we got us a legit closer. Maybe too soon to get excited, but I like what I saw

[CaptainObvious]

Time to book your rooms in Omaha boys! The Diamond Dawgs are Back!!!

[maroonmania]

I'll take it. Dohm and Siary got hit some but at least we were pounding the strike zone. Doesn't hurt nearly as much to give up some hits when you don't give up a bunch of free baserunners in front of those hits.

[Duckdog]

Any person that said we suck, we are awful etc etc has a huge pu$$y between their legs. Learn some about baseball.

[Leroy Jenkins]

He said he has 9 pitches.
5 over the top (fastball, sinker, slider, curve, change)
2 from the side (fastball, slider)
2 submarine (fastball, curve)
Add in an ambidextrous guy and this is one freaky staff.

[BeardoMSU]

He said he has 9 pitches.
5 over the top (fastball, sinker, slider, curve, change)
2 from the side (fastball, slider)
2 submarine (fastball, curve)
Add in an ambidextrous guy and this is one freaky staff.

That's nuts, lol

[Todd4State]

Solid opening day win. Dohm needs to be in the pen. Didn't seem to comfortable to me and wasn't aggressive as usual IMO. Not surprising though. Cam Schuelke brought a tear to my with that low arm slot overhand slider. That was hitter was shook. Don't believe we had any walks today- that's huge. I can live with the hits we allowed although Siary has to stop grooving pitches 0-2. He came back next inning and bounced back though. I liked that. Tyler Davis looked like the guy we thought we were getting last year.

Hope Kohler is Ok. He makes our team much better. Cupp is really good defensively. I like that he took some walks and didn't try to do too much.

Biggest issue to me was the base running mistakes. Those are simple fixes though.

Need to get Mershon and Highfill back too. We're already banged up after game one.

Johnny Long reminds me of Mitch Slauter. I'm guessing we'll start Powell tomorrow.

Bryce Chance's bomb was the big hit we needed after we got their junk ball ace out of the game. Hunter Hines looks like Pedro Cerrano tying to hit curveballs right now.

[Commercecomet24]

Told y'all not to be surprised if Scheulke was gonna be given a shot to close. He's got nasty stuff.

[BeardoMSU]

Told y'all not to be surprised if Scheulke was gonna be given a shot to close. He's got nasty stuff.

Nasty!

[BeardoMSU]

Solid opening day win. Dohm needs to be in the pen. Didn't seem to comfortable to me and wasn't aggressive as usual IMO. Not surprising though. Cam Schuelke brought a tear to my with that low arm slot overhand slider. That was hitter was shook. Don't believe we had any walks today- that's huge. I can live with the hits we allowed although Siary has to stop grooving pitches 0-2. He came back next inning and bounced back though. I liked that. Tyler Davis looked like the guy we thought we were getting last year.

Hope Kohler is Ok. He makes our team much better. Cupp is really good defensively. I like that he took some walks and didn't try to do too much.

Biggest issue to me was the base running mistakes. Those are simple fixes though.

Need to get Mershon and Highfill back too. We're already banged up after game one.

Johnny Long reminds me of Mitch Slauter. I'm guessing we'll start Powell tomorrow.

Bryce Chance's bomb was the big hit we needed after we got their junk ball ace out of the game. Hunter Hines looks like Pedro Cerrano tying to hit curveballs right now.

Nice summary, Todd.

[Todd4State]

Nice summary, Todd.

Apparently we had two walks. I don't remember them though. Still obvious improvement.

[No BS Dawg]

Apparently we had two walks. I don't remember them though. Still obvious improvement.

Yep, HUGE improvement.

[Todd4State]

Yep, HUGE improvement.

If Siary gets the ball down we only allow two runs. I can live with giving up runs to a good hitting team because they got hits. Most of the damage done in Dohm was on ground balls that found holes.

[Saltydog]

Just returned but here are my observations:

Dohm isn't a starter. If so, it's midweek at best. His command is better but damn, they hit his ass hard. Fastball lost about 4-5 mph but that's part of Parker's approach. To me he's more of a max effort guy that is better in short stints with a little more velo. If not for Kohler and Cupp, they get 3 more runs in that first inning.

DJ is a beast. Outstanding catch in the OF, a rocket throw to 3rd that Kohler should've caught for the assist, and a massive HR. The AF people that sat around me were highly impressed as well.

Hines is a k machine against lefties. Seems nothings changed in his approach to adjust to southpaws.

Schuelke is a just a guy that's gonna get outs. Throws strikes and keeps hitters guessing and completely off balance. Plus, he can throw multiple innings and multiple times a weekend without a problem. I think he could be a difference maker late in games that we haven't had since '21.

The bottom 4 in the lineup gave us nothing offensively tonight. Cupp is good defensively but I think he's gonna struggle at the plate. Did have a couple of walks tonight so we'll take it.

Pitching staff with only two walks. WTH. Parker doing work here. We'll see if it sustains. Oh yeah, one of the walks was an intentional walk.

Bryce Chance just looks different physically. He's been in the weight room.

Looks like we could be losing Kohler for a while. Looked like a shoulder separation to me. That's gonna hurt us. Not sure Nate Chester is the answer. Mershon's played 3rd but not effective from what I remember. We'll how this plays out but man losing Kohler the first game of the season is a tough break.

Tyler Davis looked good. I always thought he had good stuff but just needed to put it all together. Maybe he's turned the corner because we'll need innings outta the pen from a lefty.

Air Force ain't bad. Physically they have a nice looking club. I think their pitching is weak but other than that I think they're decent. Much respect for those guys.

Lemonis didn't sit on the bucket near as much tonight. I think his asshole is drawn up a bit. He knows what's on the line.

[ZedFedder]

Interested to see Khal Stephen.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Nice win. Good to see Tyler Davis have a good outing today. This was a Region/Super Region caliber player that Fox had totally messed up. He looked over like an overmatch today. The hit he gave up was a misplayed fly ball.

Bryce Chance haters, can you guys tell us who was batting cleanup today?

[MoreCowbell]

Is the ambidextrous guy still on the team? I thought he was supposed to be our ace or is he not that great he was just overhyped for being able to throw with both hands?

[No BS Dawg]

Is the ambidextrous guy still on the team? I thought he was supposed to be our ace or is he not that great he was just overhyped for being able to throw with both hands?

He is scheduled for the Sunday start. He was thrown in the fire last year, should have that working for him. Lots of potential there, my guess is staff is just going to continue to work him toward a Friday or Saturday guy at some point during this season or next.

[MoreCowbell]

He is scheduled for the Sunday start. He was thrown in the fire last year, should have that working for him. Lots of potential there, my guess is staff is just going to continue to work him toward a Friday or Saturday guy at some point during this season or next.

It was posted Dohm, Khal, Loo we?re getting the starts that is why I asked. Is Loo his nickname?

[TNDawg35]

It was posted Dohm, Khal, Loo we?re getting the starts that is why I asked. Is Loo his nickname?

Yes.

[Todd4State]

He is scheduled for the Sunday start. He was thrown in the fire last year, should have that working for him. Lots of potential there, my guess is staff is just going to continue to work him toward a Friday or Saturday guy at some point during this season or next.

They want him to start Sundays so that they can get better L/R splits against the opponent to make him even more effective.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

It was posted Dohm, Khal, Loo we?re getting the starts that is why I asked. Is Loo his nickname?

Loo is his nickname. If things go well, he will be a weekend starter all season.

I would love to see Loftin progress to the point that he could start on the weekend and maybe Dohm could go to the bullpen. Dohm just seems like a reliever to me.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Question for guys at the game. Did Air Force shift for Hunter Hines?

[HogsandDogs]

I want to say they did not, but I was flapping my gums catching up with my seat neighbors.

[Homedawg]

Question for guys at the game. Did Air Force shift for Hunter Hines?

They didn't. That's how he got a hit. Should shift on him all day.

[HogsandDogs]

They didn't. That's how he got a hit. Should shift on him all day.

That?s right. Hard bouncer right up the middle.

[Leroy Jenkins]

It's going to be like that for guys like him. Your are gonna get games, or weekends when he goes 0-4, 1-4, etc. But you are also gonna get multi-homerun weekends it is what it is. Streaky. It'll average out.