Starkville Regional: Know the opponents

[CadaverDawg]

Let's use this thread to discuss the teams in our Regional. Anything regarding La Tech, Cal State, or SEMO is fair game.

[CadaverDawg]

1 piece of good news. If Joey Lucchesi starts for SEMO, which I'm assuming he will since he's 10-4 with a 1.70 era on the year, 120+ K's in 86 innings, & OVC honors....he is a Lefty, which most of the year we've hit pretty well. Unfortunately that will mean Mangum bats RH, but oh well. Should bode well for Kruger, Collins, and especially Hump & Rooker.

[CadaverDawg]

Here's some stats for SEMO if anyone's interested...

http://www.gosoutheast.com/custompages/stats/baseball/2016/teamcume.htm

[AlmostPositive]

What is the accepted practice when you have 50 to a 100 RPI points on your opponent... go with your ace or pitch a guy who's 75% likely to win. What do the best coaches typically do?

[CadaverDawg]

They have a masher in Osborne, with 15 bombs.

[CadaverDawg]

What is the accepted practice when you have 50 to a 100 RPI points on your opponent... go with your ace or pitch a guy who's 75% likely to win. What do the bets coaches typically do?

Definitely a gamble. I think we're going to see Hudson in Game 1. Some may hate that, but you can't afford to lose game 1 due to Houston not having his control. I think you go Hudson, then Sexton, then hope Houston & Pilk can win the Regional

[HoopsDawg]

There's just no way I would pitch Hudson in this game. I see Robbie Faulk and a lot of people on twitter saying we should. I think that's just stupid. I would pitch Sexton in game 1.

[smootness]

If we can't beat SEMO without Hudson or Sexton, we're not winning it all anyway.

[CadaverDawg]

There's just no way I would pitch Hudson in this game. I see Robbie Faulk and a lot of people on twitter saying we should. I think that's just stupid. I would pitch Sexton in game 1.

Sexton hasn't pitched a game one all year. Plus, you want to throw a low velo pitcher to a team that would prefer you do that? I think your only options are Hudson and Houston....no way I throw Sexton game 1. Houston's a risk, but a risk I'm willing to take since they haven't seen 95+ for 9 innings. You just worry about his control, bc he could ruin your depth with a piss poor outing

[HoopsDawg]

Sexton hasn't pitched a game one all year. Plus, you want to throw a low velo pitcher to a team that would prefer you do that? I think your only options are Hudson and Houston....no way I throw Sexton game 1. Houston's a risk, but a risk I'm willing to take since they haven't seen 95+ for 9 innings. You just worry about his control, bc he could ruin your depth with a piss poor outing

So? Neither had Houston and he did great against Bama. I called for him to start that game and he did.

Sexton is a veteran. He's going to throw strikes and there's a good chance he can go deep and keep the pen fresh. Then we have Hudson and Houston ready to close out the regional.

[smootness]

Sexton hasn't pitched a game one all year. Plus, you want to throw a low velo pitcher to a team that would prefer you do that? I think your only options are Hudson and Houston....no way I throw Sexton game 1. Houston's a risk, but a risk I'm willing to take since they haven't seen 95+ for 9 innings. You just worry about his control, bc he could ruin your depth with a piss poor outing

This just doesn't matter. It matters even less than batting lineup order. I'm with you on Houston for game 1, though.

[HoopsDawg]

If we can't beat SEMO without Hudson or Sexton, we're not winning it all anyway.

I'm fine with Houston starting, I just don't want it to be Hudson.

[smootness]

I'm fine with Houston starting, I just don't want it to be Hudson.

This is my thought as well. I would prefer not to use Sexton but would be ok with it.

[Brando]

Houston game 1
Hudson against CSF
Sexton to win it.

[Brando]

They have a masher in Osborne, with 15 bombs.

All due respect, their ballpark is like a little league field....

[preachermatt83]

Sexton or Houston are the only choices as far as I am concerned. But Cohen will likely throw hudson and we will just have to live with it. Hudson, sexton, pilk, or Houston should be able to handle anyone we face in the regional.

[Rexxx]

I would throw Hudson

[smootness]

I like our chances better with Houston against SEMO than with Sexton against CSF.

[basedog]

I'd go with the regular rotation, it's been good all year plus starting Hudson we have the best chance of a complete game. Sexton in game two and he gives a chance of going seven or eight innings. Then either Houston or Pilk game 3 with a rested bullpen in play.

Why change, the other 3 teams or Arkansas, Auburn or Missouri type teams at best! You never want to go in the loser bracket!

[smootness]

Why change, the other 3 teams or Arkansas, Auburn or Missouri type teams at best!

No.

[HoopsDawg]

I'd go with the regular rotation, it's been good all year plus starting Hudson we have the best chance of a complete game. Sexton in game two and he gives a chance of going seven or eight innings. Then either Houston or Pilk game 3 with a rested bullpen in play.

Why change, the other 3 teams or Arkansas, Auburn or Missouri type teams at best! You never want to go in the loser bracket!

Bc it doesn't do any good to win game 1 if you don't win game 2. Game 2 is a tougher opponent so you throw your ace. Gotta be able to beat semo with sexton or Houston.

[GreenheadDawg]

All due respect, their ballpark is like a little league field....

Exactly. He would have half of those if he was in the dude

[GreenheadDawg]

Bc it doesn't do any good to win game 1 if you don't win game 2. Game 2 is a tougher opponent so you throw your ace. Gotta be able to beat semo with sexton or Houston.

I saw throw Houston and give him a very very short leash

[Lumpy Chucklelips]

I think Cohen will use his regular weekend rotation, which I'm fine with. I'm more concerned with SEMO's #1 shutting down our hitting. Although I have full confidence in our hitting, the old adage "good pitching beats good hitting" is real more times than not and we haven't exactly been lighting it up on offense the past few games. Plus, if our #3 or #4 can't match up with these teams 3 and 4, we won't go very far after this weekend anyway. Personally, I think our 3 and 4 will outclass any of these teams 3 and 4. We should be ok.

It's fun to speculate and see everyone's thoughts....this week will drag by until Friday. Got to talk about something.

[CadaverDawg]

This just doesn't matter. It matters even less than batting lineup order. I'm with you on Houston for game 1, though.

It does matter for some. You can't say that with certainty. I don't want to find out in a Regional regardless

[CadaverDawg]

All due respect, their ballpark is like a little league field....

Why do people keep saying this?

Their park is 330 down the lines, 380 in the gaps, & 400 to CF. A little short down the lines, but a decent sized park.

Plus, unlike us, they only play about half of their games at home, so unless most of his numbers came at home, their park is a non issue anyway.

[CadaverDawg]

Let's stay on topic....about the opponents. We can debate starters in the other thread.

I'm looking at La Tech now, will post some stuff in a little bit. If anybody wants to look up more about SEMO's lineup (Righty/Lefty), or Cal State, or La Tech....feel free to add

[ATTILLA THE DOG]

All due respect, their ballpark is like a little league field....

Same thing was said about Samford a few years ago and they knocked the cover off the ball against us

[CadaverDawg]

Louisiana Tech is only 12-11 away from home this year.

For a team that "hits well", they're only hitting .293 as a team.

They have a couple of guys with sub 2.00 era's which surprised me. 1 appears to be a starter (Casey Sutton 7-1 with a 1.63 era) and 1 a reliever (Adam Atkins 6-0 with a 1.10 era, wow). Pretty good looking staff by the numbers... 3.80 era as a team

[CadaverDawg]

Here is the link to La Tech's Stats....

http://www.latechsports.com/sports/m-basebl/stats/2015-2016/teamcume.html

[Intramural All-American]

I'll be interested to see if Fullerton throws their stud Friday or save him in hopes of winning Friday and having him available against us. He is the nations leader in ERA.

[basedog]

La Tech has a hitters park, they have decent tradition although they haven't played that well over the last several years.

Fullerton has great tradition, SE Missouri lost two to Ole Miss and split with Missouri.

I'm headed up for this regional, place should be loud, packed and full of energy!

[CadaverDawg]

Deleted. Old info page, ha

[CadaverDawg]

Here is Cal State's Stats....

http://static.psbin.com/p/8/3ng5155njvmtqd/CSF_Overall_Stats.pdf

Their team era is 2.20....that's strong.

[I seen it dawg]

Cal state better throw their ace. La Tech isn't a superstar team but the are scrappy and won't be scared. I won't be surprised if we play Tech in Game 2 winners bracket.

[CadaverDawg]

Cal state better throw their ace. La Tech isn't a superstar team but the are scrappy and won't be scared. I won't be surprised if we play Tech in Game 2 winners bracket.

I agree.

The more I look into these teams, the better I feel about it.

Fullerton has a deep pitching staff, but they don't just rake as a team...well below .300 as a team (.266 I think)

[CadaverDawg]

Here's a CSF board that seems confident

http://www.scout.com/college/cal-state-fullerton/forums/2231-hardball-hangout/14765448-not-a-bad-draw

[CadaverDawg]

Here's a Louisiana Tech board

http://www.latechbbb.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?26-Baseball-The-Gravy-Board

[Brando]

Here's a CSF board that seems confident

http://www.scout.com/college/cal-state-fullerton/forums/2231-hardball-hangout/14765448-not-a-bad-draw

Damn, they seem pretty confident coming into Starkville against Reg Season SEC champs and someone who hasnt lost but 1 series all yr to A&M. They been in the sun damn long...

[CadaverDawg]

Just watched Cohen's interview from today, and he is planning on putting a lot of weight into righty/lefty Matchups to determine our rotation. Said he wants to look at how the SEMO lineup looks in terms of heavy right vs heavy left, & how they hit righty's vs lefty's...as well as potential 2nd game Matchups the same way, to see if that should play into our game 1 choice.

So if anyone wants to do a deep dive on SEMO's batting order (RH vs LH & averages vs RHP & LHP), we might be able to figure out where Cohen's leaning on a starter for Game 1

[smootness]

CSF has a great program, of course they're going to think they'll win. They likely don't know as much about us as we do. We would be doing the same thing.

[smootness]

Just watched Cohen's interview from today, and he is planning on putting a lot of weight into righty/lefty Matchups to determine our rotation. Said he wants to look at how the SEMO lineup looks in terms of heavy right vs heavy left, & how they hit righty's vs lefty's...as well as potential 2nd game Matchups the same way, to see if that should play into our game 1 choice.

So if anyone wants to do a deep dive on SEMO's batting order (RH vs LH & averages vs RHP & LHP), we might be able to figure out where Cohen's leaning on a starter for Game 1

SEMO's top hitters are as follows (in descending order of BA): L, L, R, S, L, R, R.

So pretty balanced. But their top 3 hitters overall are Osborne, Gandolfo, and Holst, and they're all lefties.

[CadaverDawg]

SEMO's top hitters are as follows (in descending order of BA): L, L, R, S, L, R, R.

So pretty balanced. But their top 3 hitters overall are Osborne, Gandolfo, and Holst, and they're all lefties.

Interesting.

Wish we could get a La Tech, SEMO, & CSF fan to give us a breakdown of their team

[Ifyouonlyknew]

SEMO coach Steve Bieser doesn’t know if ace Joey Lucchesi (10-4, 1.87 ERA) will start against MSU Fri. He threw 119 pitches Fri and 35 Sun.

[maroonmania]

Not sure why matchups would matter. We really only have one left starter (Pilkington) and I would be extremely shocked if he got the start on Friday as a true freshman. Seems we will be starting a righty no matter what. Now I don't know who among Hudson, Sexton and Houston fare better against lefties.

[msbulldog]

I live in W. Monroe 25 mi. from La tech., scrappy team 4-2 against Rice, beat Florida Atlantic at least twice.

[Backspin]

All due respect, their ballpark is like a little league field....

Their field dimensions are 330/380/400 which is larger than Dudy Noble....if you are referring to stadium capacity you would be correct but the game is not played in the stands. Give Osborne his due...he's earned it with 15 bombs.

[I seen it dawg]

If semo is A little on the left then I see us going Pilk.

[JohnnyQuid]

If semo is A little on the left then I see us going Pilk.

I agree - with how cohen loves matchups I'd be shocked otherwise.

eta: or hudson. would hate to have to use him but losing game 1 would be far worse

[Todd4State]

Here is my take:

Cal State Fullerton- They are your typical West Coast baseball team and in fact they are kind of the "model" team for West mid majors. They are similar to Oregon in terms of style- Oregon's coach used to be at CSF- except that they hit the ball better and their pitching is better than the Ducks. They like to bunt- A LOT. 61 sacrifices on the year. We're going to have to shore up our defense ESPECIALLY Collins, Marrero if he catches a game against them, and our pitchers because they will test us with the short game. They try to shut you down with their pitching and then wait for you to make an error on one of their bunts and beat you 2-1. They are probably the worst hitting team in this regional- they only have two guys over .300 and they have one power guy. They like to run some too. That's how they have done it since Augie Garrido was coaching them. I think playing all of those West Coast teams like Oregon, USC, and UCLA is going to pay off for us when/if we play them even though it hurt our RPI. The BEST way to shut down a small ball team like this is to throw a power arm like Hudson and Humphreys and just try to overpower them basically. We can beat them- but WE MUST PLAY GOOD DEFENSE. Runs are going to be hard to come by against all of their pitchers- all of them are sub 3 ERA guys, so we have a very small margin for error.

Louisiana Tech- as everyone has said, they are scrappy- BUT they are ESPECIALLY dangerous to us because they have a LOT of Mississippi connections. Chrisitan Ostrander is their pitching coach and he used to be at Delta State and then was the head coach at Jones JC. Ostrander might be the most respected pitching coach with native Mississippi ties other than Butch Thompson. Jake Wells used to coach for us. But what makes them dangerous to me is the fact that they have a few Mississippi kids- some of whom no doubt wanted to play at MSU and want to prove that we screwed up. They have a literal JUCO all-star team- it's basically their entire roster and I have never seen anything like it. Their best pitcher and hitter- Casey Sutton and Chance Lunsford played at Hinds. I would have to compare them favorably to USM/South Alabama even though USM is a little bit better obviously. They are an up and coming mid major and this is their coming out party.

SEMO State- They are your typical four seed in that they have a solid team and a legit ace. They are going to try to get into a slug fest and they have the most power of any of the regional opponents plus they are statistically the best hitting opponent in field. They will run some on you too. Their ace is a senior who was the OVC pitcher of the year as a junior- and he has only gotten better this year. We have to make sure that we keep the ball down and limit mistakes whomever we pitch. If their ace goes on Friday, I'm going with Hudson because their offense is too good to risk throwing someone that might be off because their ace can shut anyone down. If not, I'd probably go ahead and go with Houston or Pilkington. Since they are LH heavy, I'd have Daniel Brown and Billingsley ready for game one.

[Todd4State]

If semo is A little on the left then I see us going Pilk.

A couple of things about that:

I'd rather have Houston pitching than Pilkington in a championship situation right now.

We have some good LH pitchers that we can use like Brown, Billingsley and then we have RH Blake Smith who has a really good breaking ball that can pitch to both LH/RH. That should take some pressure off of Pilkington if that's the way we go.

[Jack Lambert]

SEMO coach Steve Bieser doesn’t know if ace Joey Lucchesi (10-4, 1.87 ERA) will start against MSU Fri. He threw 119 pitches Fri and 35 Sun.

Our batting average is over 300 and it doesn't matter. Our guys will be focus and put some ball in play.

[GreenheadDawg]

Not being a smartass, this is a serious question. Who has SEMO faced that has the pitching to qualify this team as a "power" hitting team?

[CadaverDawg]

A couple of things about that:

I'd rather have Houston pitching than Pilkington in a championship situation right now.

We have some good LH pitchers that we can use like Brown, Billingsley and then we have RH Blake Smith who has a really good breaking ball that can pitch to both LH/RH. That should take some pressure off of Pilkington if that's the way we go.

Yea, Billingsley is RH, but your point stands

[JohnnyQuid]

I'd rather have Houston pitching than Pilkington in a championship situation right now.


100%.

[Todd4State]

Yea, Billingsley is RH, but your point stands

That's why I am a baseball guru.

[CadaverDawg]

Their field dimensions are 330/380/400 which is larger than Dudy Noble....if you are referring to stadium capacity you would be correct but the game is not played in the stands. Give Osborne his due...he's earned it with 15 bombs.

Yep

[JohnnyQuid]

Their field dimensions are 330/380/400 which is larger than Dudy Noble....if you are referring to stadium capacity you would be correct but the game is not played in the stands. Give Osborne his due...he's earned it with 15 bombs.

that's surprising - never would have thought that was the case. still the quality of pitching he see's 75% of the time wouldn't make an SEC roster. not dogging the guy it's just what it is.

[Jack Lambert]

They have a masher in Osborne, with 15 bombs.

I like our chances.

[CSUFOrange]

Interesting.

Wish we could get a La Tech, SEMO, & CSF fan to give us a breakdown of their team

Glad to oblige! Excited about this regional, and the Titans playing at one of the best facilities and crowds in the nation. (Remodel plans look incredible) It'll be a huge test.

Todd4State summed it up pretty well, the Titans are the prototypical West Coast baseball team, get them on, get them over, get them in. Lots of small ball (sometimes to our fans' displeasure) but we can pitch with anyone in the nation and the #1 Team ERA goes to show it. Seabold and Gavin both pitched in Omaha last season along with quite a few relievers, Eastman just won the Big West championship game on the road at our rival and almost threw a CG in it as a freshman... The list goes on.

The offense has been a question mark, it's either boon or bust. They've shown they can put up huge offensive games (18 runs at UC Santa Barbara) but then put up a head scratching series loss at home against Hawaii. It's going to be interesting to see which Titan team shows up, the team that went through a tough home regional last year and then won 2/3 at Louisville to go to Omaha, or the team that's lost baffling performances to Hawaii, USC, and Maryland.

Looking forward to it! Hoping to meet the Bulldogs in Game 2! Go Titans!

[I seen it dawg]

Great post. Welcome. Better strap it up against La Tech.

[CSUFOrange]

CSF has a great program, of course they're going to think they'll win. They likely don't know as much about us as we do. We would be doing the same thing.

4 National Championships, 25 straight postseason appearances, and 38 postseason appearances in 42 years at the D1 level will do that to you. We've been spoiled, that's for sure. But that doesn't mean our fans are overlooking any of these teams in this regional by any means. They're all there for a reason, it's going to be an extremely difficult test, and traveling from Orange County to Starkville is no easy feat either.

[CadaverDawg]

Glad to oblige! Excited about this regional, and the Titans playing at one of the best facilities and crowds in the nation. (Remodel plans look incredible) It'll be a huge test.

Todd4State summed it up pretty well, the Titans are the prototypical West Coast baseball team, get them on, get them over, get them in. Lots of small ball (sometimes to our fans' displeasure) but we can pitch with anyone in the nation and the #1 Team ERA goes to show it. Seabold and Gavin both pitched in Omaha last season along with quite a few relievers, Eastman just won the Big West championship game on the road at our rival and almost threw a CG in it as a freshman... The list goes on.

The offense has been a question mark, it's either boon or bust. They've shown they can put up huge offensive games (18 runs at UC Santa Barbara) but then put up a head scratching series loss at home against Hawaii. It's going to be interesting to see which Titan team shows up, the team that went through a tough home regional last year and then won 2/3 at Louisville to go to Omaha, or the team that's lost baffling performances to Hawaii, USC, and Maryland.

Looking forward to it! Hoping to meet the Bulldogs in Game 2! Go Titans!

Thanks for the run down. Welcome to the board, looking forward to playing you guys. As much as I hate playing "name" programs bc it makes the Regional tougher...I also love it bc it's fun to play teams from outside of our normal geographic area, and I want to beat good teams and earn it if we're going to go to Omaha.

Can you tell us what your batting lineup looks like in terms of Left handed vs Right handed? Do you guys hit RHP or LHP better? How do you field it as a team...pretty good defensively? Who are we most likely to face in Game 2 if we meet up? Is he LH or RH?

Thanks. Let us know if you want to know details about MSU.

[HSVDawg]

Definitely a gamble. I think we're going to see Hudson in Game 1. Some may hate that, but you can't afford to lose game 1 due to Houston not having his control. I think you go Hudson, then Sexton, then hope Houston & Pilk can win the Regional

To me, I think folks are overthinking it by trying to say "well, SEMO is throwing their ace so we gotta throw our ace." It's simple, Hudson is our best pitcher. So, pitch him against the team with the best offensive lineup. That is not likely to be SEMO. We are the one seed, so everybody will be saving their ace for us anyway. No need in trying to figure out which ace we want ours to go against.

[CadaverDawg]

Wow, check out this post from the Cal State Fullerton board after David Murray & a few other MSU fans responded to "hick" comments....


On behalf of all Titan fans, I apologize if any Mississipians were offended. I'm sure no harm was intended. Some of our fans just don't understand the difference between hicks and rednecks.
Our Governor Brown has warned against travel to the Magnolia State due to all the discriminatory legislation. If our fans attend games at your Dudley Knobjob (sp?) Stadium, will the gays, lesbians, queers, bisexuals and transgendered among us be fairly treated? Will they be allowed to use the restroom? How about our African-American and Hispanic fans? I watched a game on TV and could not see any non-whites in attendance.

For the whole thread, click this link....

http://www.scout.com/college/cal-state-fullerton/forums/2231-hardball-hangout/14765448-not-a-bad-draw

[CSUFOrange]

Thanks for the run down. Welcome to the board, looking forward to playing you guys. As much as I hate playing "name" programs bc it makes the Regional tougher...I also love it bc it's fun to play teams from outside of our normal geographic area, and I want to beat good teams and earn it if we're going to go to Omaha.

Can you tell us what your batting lineup looks like in terms of Left handed vs Right handed? Do you guys hit RHP or LHP better? How do you field it as a team...pretty good defensively? Who are we most likely to face in Game 2 if we meet up? Is he LH or RH?

Thanks. Let us know if you want to know details about MSU.

The Titans are pretty well balanced in the lineup, sometimes 4 lefties, sometimes 5, but they've been so inconsistent at times, sometimes they'll mash LHP, sometimes they come up dry. Solid defensively, 20th in the nation, but can be prone to the occasional lazy error.

Pitching-wise it's a toss up, depending on what happens in Game 1. I would expect RHP Connor Seabold to pitch Game 1, as long as a tweaked hammy doesn't hold him back. Seabold pitched in Omaha last year, and went 7-5 with a 2.42 ERA this year. Assuming they win, I would expect to see LHP John Gavin in Game 2. Gavin, also on last year's CWS team went 6-3 with a 2.16 ERA, but you could see the freshman RHP Colton Eastman who's coming off a dominant performance on the road at rival Long Beach in what ended up being the Big West championship game. Could also see transfer RHP Blake Quinn who's had a good year as well, but I'd doubt it.

How about the Bulldogs? Wish I could go this weekend, have relatives living in Starkville who were professors at MSU. Atmosphere should be electric.

[CSUFOrange]

Wow, check out this post from the Cal State Fullerton board after David Murray & a few other MSU fans responded to "hick" comments....


On behalf of all Titan fans, I apologize if any Mississipians were offended. I'm sure no harm was intended. Some of our fans just don't understand the difference between hicks and rednecks.
Our Governor Brown has warned against travel to the Magnolia State due to all the discriminatory legislation. If our fans attend games at your Dudley Knobjob (sp?) Stadium, will the gays, lesbians, queers, bisexuals and transgendered among us be fairly treated? Will they be allowed to use the restroom? How about our African-American and Hispanic fans? I watched a game on TV and could not see any non-whites in attendance.

For the whole thread, click this link....

http://www.scout.com/college/cal-state-fullerton/forums/2231-hardball-hangout/14765448-not-a-bad-draw

As with every team, don't pay attention to the bad apples that spoil the rest of the bunch. We've had a bunch of trolls impersonating long-time posters recently. Expect our fans that travel to Starkville to be knowledgeable, and easy going. Hope somewhere down the road we can host Bulldog fans in Orange County to the same hospitality that I'm sure will be extended to our fans out there.

[CadaverDawg]

The Titans are pretty well balanced in the lineup, sometimes 4 lefties, sometimes 5, but they've been so inconsistent at times, sometimes they'll mash LHP, sometimes they come up dry. Solid defensively, 20th in the nation, but can be prone to the occasional lazy error.

Pitching-wise it's a toss up, depending on what happens in Game 1. I would expect RHP Connor Seabold to pitch Game 1, as long as a tweaked hammy doesn't hold him back. Seabold pitched in Omaha last year, and went 7-5 with a 2.42 ERA this year. Assuming they win, I would expect to see LHP John Gavin in Game 2. Gavin, also on last year's CWS team went 6-3 with a 2.16 ERA, but you could see the freshman RHP Colton Eastman who's coming off a dominant performance on the road at rival Long Beach in what ended up being the Big West championship game. Could also see transfer RHP Blake Quinn who's had a good year as well, but I'd doubt it.

How about the Bulldogs? Wish I could go this weekend, have relatives living in Starkville who were professors at MSU. Atmosphere should be electric.

We have pretty good starting pitching, but our bullpen can be suspect. Hopefully we can save our ace, Hudson, for CSF in game 2. Otherwise Sexton will start. We play decent defense, but in our losses we typically gift runs with infield errors (usually SS & 3B).

Our hitting is very good. We led the SEC in doubles and were 2nd in the league in hitting overall behind A&M. Cohen is an over-thinker, so we will hit 7-ish lefty's or righty's depending on the matchup. Tons of flexibility & options in our order. Mangum, our SEC freshman of the year, is our spark plug & led the SEC in hitting with around a .420 average. Most of our lineup hits over .300, but our 8 & 9 hole guys are .280 & .220-ish respectively. We have some decent power this year, but our ballpark plays very big, which could be a big advantage to CSF and their small ball & pitching staff.

Should be some interesting Matchups.

[CadaverDawg]

As with every team, don't pay attention to the bad apples that spoil the rest of the bunch. We've had a bunch of trolls impersonating long-time posters recently. Expect our fans that travel to Starkville to be knowledgeable, and easy going. Hope somewhere down the road we can host Bulldog fans in Orange County to the same hospitality that I'm sure will be extended to our fans out there.

Yea every group has their idiots. I hope your fans and players enjoy the trip down, and that your guys get to experience the best Dudy Noble, the Left Field Lounge, & the MSU passionate fan base has to offer. Obviously, I hope we win...but I think it could be a pretty awesome Regional. I'd hate to fall into the loser's bracket early, bc even SEMO & La Tech are going to be tough outs. Whoever makes it out of this Regional will have earned it.

[Todd4State]

The Titans are pretty well balanced in the lineup, sometimes 4 lefties, sometimes 5, but they've been so inconsistent at times, sometimes they'll mash LHP, sometimes they come up dry. Solid defensively, 20th in the nation, but can be prone to the occasional lazy error.

Pitching-wise it's a toss up, depending on what happens in Game 1. I would expect RHP Connor Seabold to pitch Game 1, as long as a tweaked hammy doesn't hold him back. Seabold pitched in Omaha last year, and went 7-5 with a 2.42 ERA this year. Assuming they win, I would expect to see LHP John Gavin in Game 2. Gavin, also on last year's CWS team went 6-3 with a 2.16 ERA, but you could see the freshman RHP Colton Eastman who's coming off a dominant performance on the road at rival Long Beach in what ended up being the Big West championship game. Could also see transfer RHP Blake Quinn who's had a good year as well, but I'd doubt it.

How about the Bulldogs? Wish I could go this weekend, have relatives living in Starkville who were professors at MSU. Atmosphere should be electric.

Dakota Hudson is a likely first round pick and as you can probably read here there is some debate about whether we should start him against SEMO or in game two. Austin Sexton is also very talented as well even though he doesn't have Hudson's stuff- he has been very reliable. Our third guy for most of the year has been a freshman Konnor Pilkington, but in the SEC Tournament one of our juniors, Zac Houston had a lights out outing and we'll see if he gets a start. Our bullpen has some guys that have been off and on all year and has been kind of pieced together. Hudson and Sexton usually give us quality starts so that offsets our bullpen somewhat. Humphreys is our closer but Blake Smith and Ryan Rigby have been our main bullpen guys. Daniel Brown has also emerged as a reliable bullpen guy for us as well.

Jack Kruger has take over at catcher and he is a very good hitter and is solid defensively. Nate Lowe hasn't hit a ton of home runs this year, but he is a very good hitter and has a very good approach. Gavin Collins has been average defensively at third but has improved over the course of the year and leads our team in home runs. He is around .300 but his average has been hurt some because he has had to learn how to play a new position and he missed most of the fall with a hand injury. Ryan Gridley is a solid shortstop defensively and is usually good for a hit a game and second base has been an issue because of injuries to two of our MIF players. Hunter Stovall will probably get the starts because he played well in the SEC Tournament and is our best defensive second baseman but John Holland is a senior who has had some clutch moments for us despite his low batting average.

Jake Mangum is a pure hitter and is a Pete Rose type player that gets on anyway he can and is all out all the time. He is a big reason why we are where we are right now. Jacob Robson is our CF and he can absolutely fly. He's also a really good bunter. Brent Rooker and Reid Humphreys (yes, same guy as our closer) are two good corner outfielders with some power and both have good outfield arms.