Tuesday night baseball score update

[MetEdDawg]

Lot of action around the college world tonight:

#1 Vandy destroys Davidson 24-2

#3 UNC beats Charleston Southern 7-6. That is UNC's 5th win by 1 run this year

#10 Ole Miss beats Little Rock 11-8

Newly ranked #24 South Carolina beats the Citadel 9-0

#9 UGA beats Alabama State 11-3

Newly ranked #20 Texas A&M beats Corpus Christi 12-2

Newly ranked #25 Tennessee up 10-2 on Troy in the 7th

#19 Auburn up 12-9 on UT Martin in the 8th

#5 Florida up 12-0 on Florida Gulf Coast

Alabama beat UAB 4-3 and Ashcraft pitched for UAB

Pay attention folks. SEC is deep again and we had 11 from the conference ranked this week. We are showing we are among the class of the SEC but the road will be tough again this year. Our team can handle it and we got another quality win tonight.

[Choctaw Dawg]

9 out of 10 conference series we are playing ranked opponents, insane.

[Todd4State]

The SEC is always a level ahead of most of the other conferences. It's between A and AA level baseball.

While the SEC is always going to be a grind for us and everyone else in the league I do like that we have played probably a more difficult schedule than most. I think USM will eventually straighten themselves out now that we have blown their minds by beating them. That was a SEC -esque atmosphere at the very least and it was good for our team to go through that. And then Texas Tech, Sam Houston State and East Carolina are legit teams and I think UAB is better this year than they typically are. We have been tested already and now these last five games before SEC play starts we get to try to get our guys 100% right and make any minor corrections that we need to while hopefully piling up wins in the process.

[Political Hack]

9 out of 10 conference series we are playing ranked opponents, insane.

That's an impressive schedule.

[smootness]

The SEC is always a level ahead of most of the other conferences. It's between A and AA level baseball.

While the SEC is always going to be a grind for us and everyone else in the league I do like that we have played probably a more difficult schedule than most. I think USM will eventually straighten themselves out now that we have blown their minds by beating them. That was a SEC -esque atmosphere at the very least and it was good for our team to go through that. And then Texas Tech, Sam Houston State and East Carolina are legit teams and I think UAB is better this year than they typically are. We have been tested already and now these last five games before SEC play starts we get to try to get our guys 100% right and make any minor corrections that we need to while hopefully piling up wins in the process.

Eh, not really. Go look at SEC hitters like Benintendi and Rooker, and their numbers drop even in low A ball from where they were in the SEC. And the SEC has pitchers each year (and hitters obviously) who are at that level...but it also has a whole bunch of players who are not.

It's probably more akin to rookie ball.

[ShotgunDawg]

OM giving up 8 to UALR is pretty hilarious. Not good for their pitching depth

[ShotgunDawg]

Eh, not really. Go look at SEC hitters like Benintendi and Rooker, and their numbers drop even in low A ball from where they were in the SEC. And the SEC has pitchers each year (and hitters obviously) who are at that level...but it also has a whole bunch of players who are not.

It's probably more akin to rookie ball.

Agree. The idea that SEC baseball is anywhere near AA baseball is preposterous. Not sure who or how that narrative got started, but it's stood the test of time for reason, mostly I think because people don't watch AA baseball.

I'd say SEC baseball is similar to Pioneer League, Appalachian League, or NY Penn League baseball.

On the whole, the rookie ball rosters are more talented, but also younger & less polished. So the level of play evens out. I'd absolutely say that the level of play in the SEC is better than the AZL or GCL complex leagues.

That being said though, guys that dominate the SEC can go straight to A ball in professional baseball & that gives them a chance to move really fast.

[HoopsDawg]

Eh, not really. Go look at SEC hitters like Benintendi and Rooker, and their numbers drop even in low A ball from where they were in the SEC. And the SEC has pitchers each year (and hitters obviously) who are at that level...but it also has a whole bunch of players who are not.

It's probably more akin to rookie ball.

I'd say Friday and Saturday SEC ball is just as tough as A ball. But in the pros, every guy is a Friday night guy. There are no Youngstown State's in the pros.

[ShotgunDawg]

I'd say Friday and Saturday SEC ball is just as tough as A ball. But in the pros, every guy is a Friday night guy. There are no Youngstown State's in the pros.

I agree on the pitching side, but SEC aren't A ball level hitters on the whole. Every hitter in an A ball lineup is an A ball hitter

[HoopsDawg]

I agree on the pitching side, but SEC aren't A ball level hitters on the whole. Every hitter in an A ball lineup is an A ball hitter

There are some really raw/bad hitters in A ball.

[smootness]

There are some really raw/bad hitters in A ball.

Yes, and even they are better than a good many SEC hitters who never make the pros at all.

[MetEdDawg]

There are some really raw/bad hitters in A ball.

There's a lot of raw kids in A ball. I was playing in a summer wood bat league a couple years ago. Guys were throwing between 78-85 MPH so nothing super serious. First game I play in a guy comes to the ball park to play against us, gets the call from a minor league team that they want him and he leaves the ballpark before the game starts.

So in a span of a couple hours this guy was going from a summer wood bat league full of a bunch of guys that like to get together and hit the ball to the minors. There's good talent there for sure, but there's also some guys getting calls from wood bat leagues that are up there. SEC 1-6 hitters, Friday/Saturday starting pitchers, and probably the first 3 out of the bullpen for any SEC team are almost all A ball quality guys right now.

The big change for a lot of these guys is that this is now their job. They aren't going to school anymore. They are working all day at their job and that physical toll is what takes getting used to. Plus all the traveling. Our guys travel, but not as much as minor leaguers do. If you play at MSU you rarely travel early in the season and you rarely travel mid week.

[HoopsDawg]

Yes, and even they are better than a good many SEC hitters who never make the pros at all.

Gunner Halter is our 9 hole guy. He was drafted twice. He would be in A ball. Dustin Skelton was drafted out of high school, he is our 8 hole guy. He would be in A ball. Polk used to play a AA team in exhibition games and we usually held our own.

[smootness]

There's a lot of raw kids in A ball. I was playing in a summer wood bat league a couple years ago. Guys were throwing between 78-85 MPH so nothing super serious. First game I play in a guy comes to the ball park to play against us, gets the call from a minor league team that they want him and he leaves the ballpark before the game starts.

So in a span of a couple hours this guy was going from a summer wood bat league full of a bunch of guys that like to get together and hit the ball to the minors.

That would be an incredibly rare occurrence, and even then, it was almost certainly for some uber low level rookie ball team. My guess is that it wasn't even an MLB-affiliated minor league team and was actually an independent league team.

[smootness]

Gunner Halter is our 9 hole guy. He was drafted twice. He would be in A ball. Dustin Skelton was drafted out of high school, he is our 8 hole guy. He would be in A ball. Polk used to play a AA team in exhibition games and we usually held our own.

I can pretty much guarantee you that if Gunner Halter is having this kind of difficulty hitting pitching like Youngstown St., he wouldn't have made it out of rookie ball at this point. You think everyone's that drafted makes A ball?

[ShotgunDawg]

There are some really raw/bad hitters in A ball.

Agree but there is likely an equal amount of talent to balance it out.

[ShotgunDawg]

Gunner Halter is our 9 hole guy. He was drafted twice. He would be in A ball. Dustin Skelton was drafted out of high school, he is our 8 hole guy. He would be in A ball. Polk used to play a AA team in exhibition games and we usually held our own.

Halter was drafted as a pitcher, not a hitter. Dustin would not survive in A ball right now.

MLB teams play college teams in Spring Training often, & it's usually not a blow out because the college team pitches their ace while the MLB players are going through the motions

[louisvilledawg]

I agree on the pitching side, but SEC aren't A ball level hitters on the whole. Every hitter in an A ball lineup is an A ball hitter

#analysis

[ShotgunDawg]

#analysis

Amazing right?

Same thing applies to Alabama vs an NFL team.

Most Alabama players will play in the NFL. Every NFL player plays in the NFL & it's the reason Bama would never have a shot at beating an NFL team

[Commercecomet24]

Agree. The idea that SEC baseball is anywhere near AA baseball is preposterous. Not sure who or how that narrative got started, but it's stood the test of time for reason, mostly I think because people don't watch AA baseball.

I'd say SEC baseball is similar to Pioneer League, Appalachian League, or NY Penn League baseball.

On the whole, the rookie ball rosters are more talented, but also younger & less polished. So the level of play evens out. I'd absolutely say that the level of play in the SEC is better than the AZL or GCL complex leagues.

That being said though, guys that dominate the SEC can go straight to A ball in professional baseball & that gives them a chance to move really fast.

Absolutely agree on this 100%.

[Homedawg]

Gunner Halter is our 9 hole guy. He was drafted twice. He would be in A ball. Dustin Skelton was drafted out of high school, he is our 8 hole guy. He would be in A ball. Polk used to play a AA team in exhibition games and we usually held our own.

Halter wouldn't be in A ball. He'd be in short season rookie ball. There's a difference. A big one at that.