Anybody go to the intrasquad baseball games?

[Coach34]

Need some updates on what's going on. Homedawg u slacking

[Todd4State]

We hit a bunch of home runs.

Highfill isn't back yet and Cupp is hitting but not playing defense.

Apparently Noah Sullivan is going to be an impact guy from the portal but his defense is pretty bad. DH all the way.

Karson Ligon sounds like the same dude he always is. Throws hard. Command is off.

Jacob Pruett and Kevin Mannell look legit on the mound.

Two days of scrimmage so too soon to really make anything of it. But it sounds mostly positive.

[bulldogcountry1]

Official intrasquad scimmage guidance:

Over 6 total runs scored in a scimmage = Pitching sucks
6 total runs scored = Pitching and hitting both suck
Under 6 runs scored = Hitting sucks

[Cooterpoot]

Cliff Notes: We aren't going to be great

[Todd4State]

Cliff Notes: We aren't going to be great

Disagree. We don't have a Dakota Jordan type guy but our schedule is much easier. We should host this year and win at least 40 games.

[Pancho]

If not, kick the bucket........

[Cooterpoot]

Disagree. We don't have a Dakota Jordan type guy but our schedule is much easier. We should host this year and win at least 40 games.

We'll struggle to make post season. We need the pitching depth to show up and all the portal guys to work out. Need our 1B to figure things out again too. Tons of question marks with this team.

[Coach34]

This team will 100 be in a Regional. As I said last year- too much talent not to. Only question is seeding.

[BuckyIsAB****]

Every inning we play with Lemon is just another one wasted

[Todd4State]

We'll struggle to make post season. We need the pitching depth to show up and all the portal guys to work out. Need our 1B to figure things out again too. Tons of question marks with this team.

Even if Hines is the same guy he was in 2024 that's a guy that hit 16 home runs for us. If he uses the whole field more he's easily a guy that can hit 20 home runs. He's the last guy I'm worried about.

We have at least four pretty well proven pitchers- Simmons, Pico, Pruett, and Hungate. Then there is Kevin Mannell who has looked really good. Add in Nolan Stevens, Makhai Grant, and Luke Dotson who will be sophomores- we should be solid on the mound.

Only real question marks are catcher and CF. Worst case scenario you're looking at Joe Powell and Michael O'Brien. Even with them in the lineup I think we're going to be much better offensively next year because of guys like Ace Reese, Noah Sullivan, and Reed Stallman. I think we're going to strike out a lot less and have a lot more contact.

[Todd4State]

This team will 100 be in a Regional. As I said last year- too much talent not to. Only question is seeding.

Exactly. And I think we did some scheduling things to help with RPI. We essentially replaced Central Arkansas with USM at home. Playing USM twice is a good move RPI wise because they will easily be top 100 if not top 50 in RPI. Then you have the tournament in Houston.

It's still not a brutal schedule. And I'm sure there will be an emphasis on OOC games after last year's debacle so I'm expecting to have a much better record in those games this year.

[bulldogcountry1]

I'm mainly worried abot the weekend rotation. We didn't really address that in the portal, and the guys I would expect to compete are coming off arm surgery and/or inexperienced.

[basedog]

Again, it is way too early to really know. I'm not sure we will be better overall than last year, but again it's possible.

[Coach34]

I'll keep saying it:

We should be better offensively overall but its likely the starting pitching will not be as good. Silver lining tho should be an improved bullpen with 2 solid guys in the 8th and 9th innings

[State82]

And I'm sure there will be an emphasis on OOC games after last year's debacle so I'm expecting to have a much better record in those games this year.

Just this aspect alone should put us good to go.

[Coach34]

I get the Johnny Wholestaff approach midweek to get guys work- but I think we need to have a guy that goes about 4 to start in midweeks. Get them around 75 pitches. Develop another SP

[DawgFromOxford]

It seems like Simmons name pops up every year that he?s supposed to be a major contributor. Are we actually going to get anything out of him this year?

[CaptainObvious]

It seems like Simmons name pops up every year that he?s supposed to be a major contributor. Are we actually going to get anything out of him this year?

Well he shouldn't need NIL since he will be drawing Social Security next season.

[Todd4State]

It seems like Simmons name pops up every year that he?s supposed to be a major contributor. Are we actually going to get anything out of him this year?

He has been recovering from Tommy John the past two seasons and had a set back last year. He would have really helped us out last year and likely would have been our closer which would have been huge for us. May have started as well. He pitched in summer baseball and was absolutely dominant in what was essentially a rehab assignment. The only question I have about him now is what his role will be? Weekend rotation? Relief ace? Closer? Depends on how things shake out. His versatility is a good safety net for us to have.


I get the Johnny Wholestaff approach midweek to get guys work- but I think we need to have a guy that goes about 4 to start in midweeks. Get them around 75 pitches. Develop another SP

I agree. I didn't like how we would let guys rot and get in a hole during midweek games. That was a big issue last year and cost us several midweek games.


I'm mainly worried abot the weekend rotation. We didn't really address that in the portal, and the guys I would expect to compete are coming off arm surgery and/or inexperienced.

That's a fair concern. Really we don't have an obvious ace. But we did address this in the portal with Jacob Pruett. He will be in the rotation. We know Pico will be in the rotation. We don't know who the other guy is yet. Could be Stone. Could be Stevens, Grant, or Dotson. Could be a freshman like Charlie Foster or Cade O'Leary. There are potential options and that's not going to be sorted out until February. My personal guess would be Stone or Grant get the other spot. But it's really only one spot we have to figure out.

[Offshore Dawg]

Someone address this, didn't we get rid of an almost automatic out at catcher ?

[Coach34]

Yes- the defensive catcher that couldnt hit is gone. The average defensive catcher that can hit a little bit returns. Plus the injured catcher returns

[TheRef]

Honestly, as long as this team isn't a complete embarrassment and we are a lock for Regional, I'm not throwing the boat. However, we NEED to be deep in the discussion for not only hosting but national seeding. This program, and Lemon himself, set the standard of hosting regionals as the standard. If he doesn't meet his own standard for 4 years, a change has to be made.