Todd4State
05-11-2016, 11:47 PM
This was basically a trap game for us since it was on the road- and that concerned me a little bit going in. But our team handled it the way a good team would- we came out and got the early lead and then added on early and coasted. And we didn't have to use Brown, Billingsley, or Humphreys. That was really good to see- and apparently it turned out to be a pretty big win considering how much our RPI jumped up. It was also big because you don't want a blemish on your resume to a Sun Belt team on your last ten games. So, we avoided that as well.
We Johnny Wholestaffed it and the thing that pleases me the most is how far our bullpen has come. All the runs they scored came off of freshmen. And I think that's mainly because of the grind of the season getting to some of them- which happens to some freshmen. The high school season for Mississippi ends in two weeks essentially- so we're starting to get into uncharted waters for some of them. I certainly would have liked to have seen Houston be more efficient- but he got out of his inning without being scored upon. Cyr was a little wild, but I thought Keegan James came in and did a good job of stabilizing the game and eating up some innings for us. Rigby had a rough start hitting a guy and walking a batter but then he got out of the jam unscathed and then looked good from then on. Breaux got hit a little bit, but then Blake Smith came in and got out of the jam with a couple of big strike outs and finished the game off.
Kruger had a nice night getting a couple of hits and an RBI including a double. It's good to see him healthy behind the plate.
Lowe only had one hit tonight and one RBI.** Gavin continues to slowly climb up to .300 and he had a couple of hits including a double and an RBI. Gridley had an error and that came around to score, but he also had a couple of hits on the night. Holland had a hit and no errors which is a good night for him.
Mangum had an off night with only one double and a couple of walks.** Some has been made by TV announcers about him having only one steal even though he is going to add more of that dimension to his game as he develops. I do like that we at least attempted to steal with him once tonight but I HATE that he got thrown out because I'm afraid that is going to make Cohen hesitant to run him. Robson just isn't quite back yet. He'll get there, but when he does he CAN NOT get picked off like he did tonight. Rooker had a double and an RBI among his two hits and Reid had a single and an RBI.
So, solid workman like win for us on the road. I'm pretty pleased about that. Now we get back to the SEC and we have Auburn and Butch up next. I think we really need to sweep them and even though they have struggled this year- and they lost to a good Kennesaw State team tonight- they haven't been swept at home in SEC play this year. Our starters are going to have to bring it to pull the sweep off. We should have some opportunities to score because their pitching and defense has struggled this year- but I have watched them several times this year and sometimes things come together for them. They do have some dangerous hitters namely Anfernee Grier who is possible first round pick and Nick Tamburello. Interestingly enough, we actually are hitting better than they are as a team right now. They play in a big time hitters park so we could see some slugfests going on.
The fact that Butch was with us this fall and has been a part of our program for so long makes this series pretty interesting too. He knows our guys- but I don't know how big of a deal that is going to be because we have changed our pitching philosophy so much under Wes, but the biggest thing is at the end of the day it always comes down to execution. You can tell me to throw a guy a fastball on the inner half and know that is a weakness of a hitter- but if I leave it out over the middle of the plate because I can't execute the pitch, it's still going to get crushed. I think our guys are going to want to show out in front of Butch too- probably more in a friendly way rather than a I want to show you up way. So, it kind of goes both ways with that.
It's fun right now because we are in the hunt for the SEC Championship and a National Seed. We have to continue to take care of business like we did against Mizzou and like we did tonight. We can't totally control what happens around the rest of the SEC- but if we control our own business and play well, odds are things will take care of themselves.
We Johnny Wholestaffed it and the thing that pleases me the most is how far our bullpen has come. All the runs they scored came off of freshmen. And I think that's mainly because of the grind of the season getting to some of them- which happens to some freshmen. The high school season for Mississippi ends in two weeks essentially- so we're starting to get into uncharted waters for some of them. I certainly would have liked to have seen Houston be more efficient- but he got out of his inning without being scored upon. Cyr was a little wild, but I thought Keegan James came in and did a good job of stabilizing the game and eating up some innings for us. Rigby had a rough start hitting a guy and walking a batter but then he got out of the jam unscathed and then looked good from then on. Breaux got hit a little bit, but then Blake Smith came in and got out of the jam with a couple of big strike outs and finished the game off.
Kruger had a nice night getting a couple of hits and an RBI including a double. It's good to see him healthy behind the plate.
Lowe only had one hit tonight and one RBI.** Gavin continues to slowly climb up to .300 and he had a couple of hits including a double and an RBI. Gridley had an error and that came around to score, but he also had a couple of hits on the night. Holland had a hit and no errors which is a good night for him.
Mangum had an off night with only one double and a couple of walks.** Some has been made by TV announcers about him having only one steal even though he is going to add more of that dimension to his game as he develops. I do like that we at least attempted to steal with him once tonight but I HATE that he got thrown out because I'm afraid that is going to make Cohen hesitant to run him. Robson just isn't quite back yet. He'll get there, but when he does he CAN NOT get picked off like he did tonight. Rooker had a double and an RBI among his two hits and Reid had a single and an RBI.
So, solid workman like win for us on the road. I'm pretty pleased about that. Now we get back to the SEC and we have Auburn and Butch up next. I think we really need to sweep them and even though they have struggled this year- and they lost to a good Kennesaw State team tonight- they haven't been swept at home in SEC play this year. Our starters are going to have to bring it to pull the sweep off. We should have some opportunities to score because their pitching and defense has struggled this year- but I have watched them several times this year and sometimes things come together for them. They do have some dangerous hitters namely Anfernee Grier who is possible first round pick and Nick Tamburello. Interestingly enough, we actually are hitting better than they are as a team right now. They play in a big time hitters park so we could see some slugfests going on.
The fact that Butch was with us this fall and has been a part of our program for so long makes this series pretty interesting too. He knows our guys- but I don't know how big of a deal that is going to be because we have changed our pitching philosophy so much under Wes, but the biggest thing is at the end of the day it always comes down to execution. You can tell me to throw a guy a fastball on the inner half and know that is a weakness of a hitter- but if I leave it out over the middle of the plate because I can't execute the pitch, it's still going to get crushed. I think our guys are going to want to show out in front of Butch too- probably more in a friendly way rather than a I want to show you up way. So, it kind of goes both ways with that.
It's fun right now because we are in the hunt for the SEC Championship and a National Seed. We have to continue to take care of business like we did against Mizzou and like we did tonight. We can't totally control what happens around the rest of the SEC- but if we control our own business and play well, odds are things will take care of themselves.