Reaction to Regional teams....

[CadaverDawg]

I think we definitely got one of the toughest Regional. Not necessarily by having a great #2, but by having 3 really good mid major type teams. There is no easy out. I thought they should have given us Jackson State, and given LSU Central Ark....but oh well. That Mercer team is good too.

I could see us breezing through it or not even making it out of it, but I think you have to start Pollo against Central Ark. If not Pollo, it should be one of our 3 weekend guys.

And let's look at it this way....
There may be some solid teams in this Regional, but we should still win it. We can't cry about these matchups, because I would rather have 3 solid teams than 1 great ACC team like Clemson in our Regional. We just gotta take care of business like we should

[maroonmania]

Well you definitely can't hold anyone back for a team that has already come into Starkville and kicked our butts early in the year.

[State82]

Well you definitely can't hold anyone back for a team that has already come into Starkville and kicked our butts early in the year.

Yep. This should just about clear up any questions about how to set up pitching. At least from the standpoint of holding back your best. Whoever that is.

[Quaoarsking]

I agree. Pollo against UCA, Graveman on Saturday. Hopefully, Fitts for the win on Sunday.

[CadaverDawg]

Yea, the good thing is....South Alabama won't be able to save an ace for us, I wouldn't think. Mercer is a tough first round match up for them. So, we should have an advantage when it comes to pitching depth as the Regional goes on. In other words, this is the type of Regional at a team could very easily come out of the losers bracket to win it.

[PMDawg]

I agree with the sentiment cadaver, but it's bullshit to effectively punish the 1 seed this way. That shit makes no sense whatsoever.

[Coach34]

we were never going to get Jackson St- SWAC teams are seeded as one of the last teams and they are going to get sent to a national seed regional

It went as I called it- I said we were a 10-12 regional last week- we ended up the 11th. It was pretty much a given South Alabama was coming here also.

We have one of the weaker 2 seeds in our regional in my opinion, but solid 3 and 4 seeds. We should win it- we have to play ball.

[CadaverDawg]

Oh, and in regards to the rest of the tournament....

I think Ole Miss is in really good shape. They have the ability to hold back Wahl AND Mayers probably. So they will matchup Wahl vs Rodon, but then after that game Ole Miss will have the advantage pitching wise if they save Mayers. Ole Miss could win that Regional out of the losers bracket. I would definitely pitch their Sunday guy at the very best in there first game.

And another observation.....How easy could Virginia's Regional be? There is basically zero chance at a Super in Starkville, which sucks.

[CadaverDawg]

I agree, Coach. I would rather have 3 solid weaker teams, than 1 real good 2 seed like South Carolina got.

By the Way, Coach....see why 10-12 teams in the SECT is a must now? We got 9 in, and it could have easily been 10 because I thought Auburn deserved a bid. That SECT is the only thing that got A&M in. Had they not beaten Vandy, they were out in my opinion.

[SaltyDawg]

we were never going to get Jackson St- SWAC teams are seeded as one of the last teams and they are going to get sent to a national seed regional

It went as I called it- I said we were a 10-12 regional last week- we ended up the 11th. It was pretty much a given South Alabama was coming here also.

We have one of the weaker 2 seeds in our regional in my opinion, but solid 3 and 4 seeds. We should win it- we have to play ball.

Host sites after the national seeds are not ranked in any order.

Looks to me like UVA has a very favorable regional and wouldn't expect them to even get tested there.

[Coach34]

By the Way, Coach....see why 10-12 teams in the SECT is a must now? We got 9 in, and it could have easily been 10 because I thought Auburn deserved a bid. That SECT is the only thing that got A&M in. Had they not beaten Vandy, they were out in my opinion.

There's no way to quantify that. And I've said- the SEC has gotten 9 teams in a couple of times when we only had an 8 team Tourney.

Hell, a case could be made that if it had been an 8 team Tourney- Auburn wouldnt have lost to Bama- and the committee would have seen how hot they had been lately and picked them over A&M. The loss to Bama hurt their chances a great deal imo

[Ronny]

..when we play Central Arkansas, we can't have anymore of this bullshit:


Central Arkansas 3rd - N.Rougeau grounded out to p (1-1). F. Allday hit by pitch(0-1). E. Harris singled to left field (0-0); F. Allday advanced to second. J. Davis reached on a fielder's choice (3-2); E. Harris out at second ss to 2b; F. Allday advanced to third. M. Marietta hit by pitch (1-2); J. Davis advanced to second. S. Zimmerle walked, RBI (3-2); M. Marietta advanced to second; J. Davis advanced to third; F. Allday scored. Mitchell, R. to p for Mitchell, E.. K. Kelley grounded out to ss (2-1). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.

http://www.nmnathletics.com/fls/16800/stats/bb/2013/ms0309.htm

[CadaverDawg]

Guys, the rpi's in our Regional are as follows:

MSU #10
South Alabama #18
Mercer #28
Central Ark #62

[Coach34]

Host sites after the national seeds are not ranked in any order.

Looks to me like UVA has a very favorable regional and wouldn't expect them to even get tested there.

We'll just have to disagree- the facts point that they are.

SC was widely thought to be one of the last host sites picked- and they draw the top seed. It was also widely thought that NC State was in close competition for that #8 seed- and that is their Super match-up. State and Indiana were also right there fighting for a national seed discussion- we draw the 6 seed and Indiana draws the 7 seed.

It's not rocket surgery

[Quaoarsking]

Guys, the rpi's in our Regional are as follows:

MSU #10
South Alabama #18
Mercer #28
Central Ark #62

We're going to win the Regional. These are not scary teams.

[Will James]

I still hold my opinion that we have a 18% chance of Omaha.

[PMDawg]

On top of that, they probably host Rice in a Super if they manage to win that regional.

[CadaverDawg]

We're going to win the Regional. These are not scary teams.

I agree. Y'all may think I'm crazy, but I think we make it to Omaha. I think we win our Regional and then beat Virginia at their place. I am not usually very optimistic, so it feels weird saying that, but I think we can beat Virginia.

[SaltyDawg]

I'm simply pointing out that they do not officially rank the non-national seed hosts. That's a fact, and not debatable. I do agree that they often use it as a guideline and try reward more quality hosts with favorable Super Regional matchups.

[Coach34]

I'm simply pointing out that they do not officially rank the non-national seed hosts. That's a fact, and not debatable. I do agree that they often use it as a guideline and try reward more quality hosts with favorable Super Regional matchups.

I didnt say it was somewhere officially- but when they are in the room matching teams up- thats the way they do it...they dont just willy-nilly match-up regionals

[Todd4State]

My initial reaction was great- two of the mid majors I didn't want to see and then South Alabama. This regional is tougher than it looks, but I also think that being humbled by Central Arkansas early in the year may help in that there is no way we will take them lightly. If you look back- they lost a game where they knocked out Lindgren due to injury, they beat Graveman and then they beat Evan Mitchell. They haven't even seen Pollorena yet.

Mercer is a good team as well- if I was Georgia, I would have their coach as a candidate. I think they beat us a couple of years ago.

[Will James]

All 3 of Virginas starting pitchers are lefties. Shit.

Those fools get on base too and have good power throughout the lineup.

They a tough matchup. I would have much preferred FSU

[Todd4State]

All 3 of Virginas starting pitchers are lefties. Shit.

Those fools get on base too and have good power throughout the lineup.

They a tough matchup. I would have much preferred FSU

We've done OK against lefties this year. Lord knows we have played a bunch of them. All of their starting pitchers have ERA's over three. Their balance throughout the lineup is very good though.

[CadaverDawg]

All 3 of Virginas starting pitchers are lefties. Shit.

Those fools get on base too and have good power throughout the lineup.

They a tough matchup. I would have much preferred FSU

Sounds like a rotation similar to South Carolina's.

What kind of ball park does Virginia play in? Large or small?

[38843dawg]

Sounds like a rotation similar to South Carolina's.

What kind of ball park does Virginia play in? Large or small?

From their athletic website:

"After undergoing a series of changes prior to and during the 2010 season, Davenport Field now features a seating capacity of 5.074 and field dimensions of 335-377-408-377-335 (left-right). The stadium ranks amongst the premier college baseball facilities in the nation."

[CadaverDawg]

From their athletic website:

"After undergoing a series of changes prior to and during the 2010 season, Davenport Field now features a seating capacity of 5.074 and field dimensions of 335-377-408-377-335 (left-right). The stadium ranks amongst the premier college baseball facilities in the nation."

Sounds like a pretty big park....that will suit us better than a matchup with FSU in Tally

[Hump4Hoops]

That odd dimension Tally ballpack with the giant ass wall was such a pain last year. Didn't someone hit a ball like 20 feet up that retarded wall?

[Sandman14]

This region is a great draw. We will not play a ranked team until the Super Regionals.

As far as the 2-seed, USA is a great draw. We really couldn't have done much better. Many other 2 seeds are much scarier. We were not that high of a seed of the 16 hosts, so among the 11-16, USA is not a bad draw at all.

Regarding the 2-3 matchup, who cares. We want a good 3-seed so that USA won't be tempted to pitch their no. 2. We won't play but one of those two anyway, so I hope the 3 is great and knocks off USA.

Regarding Cen. Ark., we will be licking our chops to get ahold of them again. That's been a black mark on our resume all season, and we are playing much much better now, while they are playing much much worse.

All this talk about the RPI's in our region being top notch is not flying with me. I simply don't care about the 3 seed. They are irrelevant unless we fail to take care of business v. a clearly lesser talented team.

Plus we beat USA already, and on their home field, and in a game we made numerous costly errors or else the game would not have been as close.

We could not have gotten a better draw. And getting UVA in supers is great too. It only would have been better if we'd have gotten FSU. But as others have said, it might be nice to avoid Talley given what happened last year.

[Sandman14]

Here are the rest of my thoughts:

SEC got hooked up. As many as 7 could make Omaha. Spread out nicely. Sometimes I feel the Committee tries to limit the potential for an all SEC affair at Omaha. This year the SEC will definitely be put to the test and could bring as many as 5. There will be a minimum of 2. I'm guessing 4, which is more than the NCAA wants.

I'm looking at them in pods of 8.

Toughest brackets are UNC and Vandy pods. Easiest are LSU's, Ole Miss's (guess will call it Oregon's), and FSU's.

MSU's "pod" is next easiest.

UNC got a cakewalk to get to supers but man, they will go through USC or Clemson. Either squad thinks of UNC as its younger step brother, traditionally. The mental edge is there. Clemson already took 1 of 3 AT UNC. I'd hate to play USC or Clemson either one if I'm UNC and the overall top seed.

Vandy got hosed with Georgia Tech in its bracket. I'd much rather have USA than the Jackets. The jackets just beat UNC 2/3 a couple weeks ago. I can tell you one thing: USA ain't beating UNC 2/3. Then Vandy gets Louisville. Louisville has been in and around the top 8 all season. They are capable. Man Vandy got burnt. They'll still win.

LSU has complete cakewalk to Omaha. Vag Tech? Gimme a break.

Arkansas got hooked up. They get to rip into Kansas State and don't have to travel too far. Then to Corvallis. That will be tough but I'll pit Stanek against anyone, anywhere, anytime. Should be some low scoring affairs. Arky isn't scared to play that game. They should be kinda pissed too after getting bich slapped by committee in favor of USC.

Ole Miss got a dream scenario. They get NC State. I'd save Wahl for pack. Then if they win, they get Oregon. VERY scary. Better yet, watch Rice have to come to Oxford. This potential bothers me. Hope it does not happen. Maybe it's impossible..I don't know..still terrible if ole miss goes there...

UCLA and Fullerton will meet up. Fullerton gets a bad draw with ASU and New Mexico, but they should be fine. UCLA has cakewalk. This "pod" is the only one where no SEC team has a shot.

Gators were a bubble team and got the 3-seed vs. 2-seed Austin Pea? Then Indiana regional? You gotta be kiddin me. UF should be at home in favor of Auburn, but instead they'll likely win their regional and then possibly knock of FSU. They've already beaten them 1/3 this year including at Tally. They certainly won't be intimidated.

That's my wrap. I'm sure there are holes, but I feel pretty good about most of it.

[Todd4State]

This region is a great draw. We will not play a ranked team until the Super Regionals.

As far as the 2-seed, USA is a great draw. We really couldn't have done much better. Many other 2 seeds are much scarier. We were not that high of a seed of the 16 hosts, so among the 11-16, USA is not a bad draw at all.

Regarding the 2-3 matchup, who cares. We want a good 3-seed so that USA won't be tempted to pitch their no. 2. We won't play but one of those two anyway, so I hope the 3 is great and knocks off USA.

Regarding Cen. Ark., we will be licking our chops to get ahold of them again. That's been a black mark on our resume all season, and we are playing much much better now, while they are playing much much worse.

All this talk about the RPI's in our region being top notch is not flying with me. I simply don't care about the 3 seed. They are irrelevant unless we fail to take care of business v. a clearly lesser talented team.

Plus we beat USA already, and on their home field, and in a game we made numerous costly errors or else the game would not have been as close.

We could not have gotten a better draw. And getting UVA in supers is great too. It only would have been better if we'd have gotten FSU. But as others have said, it might be nice to avoid Talley given what happened last year.

Having poured over the teams just now- the key to beating Central Arkansas is to not make mistakes. If we had a power arm starter, they would be in trouble. But we really didn't throw too many left handed pitchers at them, and their top hitter is left handed. Most of their guys are in the .230-.275 range. I think it's going to be important for us to try to beat them at their own game with their ace on the mound, whom we actually beat this year. Gentry pitched really well against them too. With Pollorena being left handed, he should be able to help control the running game a little bit better.

I'm not sure if Mercer has the pitching to get out of this regional.

USA is a very solid team. We had a good night against them, save one inning. Like you said, they are going to have to use their ace on Mercer. I think Graveman going up against them is probably a good match-up for us if it comes to fruition.

[Sandman14]

It actually may very well be LSU v. Oklahoma in supers, rather than Vag. Tech.