Todd4State
03-29-2022, 11:12 PM
Lots of positives.
1. We got a road win. That will help our resume a little down the road. We also avoided a Q3 loss.
2. The softball lineup returned and lo and behold we scored 10 runs. I have no idea why Lemonis went away from it game three against Alabama. This lineup has to be averaging 10 runs a game or something like that. Memphis had a typical night for a Russ McNickle coached staff. Lots of walks, a couple of bombs. And they started one of their weekend guys too. He benefitted from a BS strike zone though.
3. KC Hunt returned. Yes, he gave up a couple of runs but it was good to see him out there. We need to start to see if we can stretch him out. And UT-Martin is the perfect time to start to do that.
4. The BEST part was our bullpen. We start off Tepper and Fristoe with a clean inning and look what happened. 4 IP, 6 K's, 1 hit and 2 BB's. I loved that visit from Foxhall to Fristoe after he allowed his first two to reach base. He calmed him down and got his mind right and Fristoe was off and running. Foxhall is going to have to coach these guys more than he did a Landon Sims who pretty much anyone in the stands could bring him in and let him strike everyone out. He's a unicorn though. We need Fristoe and Tepper to be confident because of our pitching staff situation. Having them try to get out of Cam Tullar's jam that he created isn't the best way to do that. Also, I thought Brandon Smith pitched well and Drew Talley is going to get a pass from me because he did his job and got screwed. I don't know if that umpire had something against Lemonis but he called the first five innings unequally to put it bluntly. Not sure if he just wanted to throw someone out, had a bad day, filled up his car with gas, or didn't get a refund on his taxes but my impression was he was looking to throw someone out on our side. Well, when he and Tweedledumb at first base both missed an easy call on a check swing after Talley did his job to strike the guy out...well sometimes you have to do what you gotta do. And Lemonis did that. Cohen will probably eat the fine because that was egregious. The strike zone seemed to change after that and we outplayed them from that point on. Anyway- I think Talley and Smith can help us out. And you know- one week after Lemonis is chewing Talley apart on the mound the next week he comes back and has his back. I could see where players would respect a coach like that. He'll tell you like it is but he also is going to be on your side if the umpire does a CB Bucknor impression.
Good to see Kam James and LoTan starting to heat up with the weather. Their home runs got us going- and I think shell shocked Memphis a little bit. And then the wheels fell off.
Memphis really should be a better program than they are. No reason for them to not be at least USM/Tulane level. But they don't care. It's kind of sad. We'll see who their next head coach is. Wouldn't surprise me if it's McNickle. They could probably do better. If Raffo keeps getting beat every night he might be their hitting coach next year.
We got Arkansas next. That's going to be tough because I'm sure we're going to be the World Series since they absolutely hate our ass. And by that I mean I'm not expecting them to drop foul balls. They're pissed we won a National Championship before them, they're pissed we have a better stadium, and they're pissed that we're from Mississippi. I'll be fine if we win one. They are last in the SEC in hitting so maybe our staff can pull one out. The good news is we should have Auger and Pico ready for Friday. Of course he'll throw Tullar. Hopefully with a very short leash. After this series we go back to Starkville for a couple of weeks in a row so we just have to weather this out and keep building our bullpen like we did tonight.
1. We got a road win. That will help our resume a little down the road. We also avoided a Q3 loss.
2. The softball lineup returned and lo and behold we scored 10 runs. I have no idea why Lemonis went away from it game three against Alabama. This lineup has to be averaging 10 runs a game or something like that. Memphis had a typical night for a Russ McNickle coached staff. Lots of walks, a couple of bombs. And they started one of their weekend guys too. He benefitted from a BS strike zone though.
3. KC Hunt returned. Yes, he gave up a couple of runs but it was good to see him out there. We need to start to see if we can stretch him out. And UT-Martin is the perfect time to start to do that.
4. The BEST part was our bullpen. We start off Tepper and Fristoe with a clean inning and look what happened. 4 IP, 6 K's, 1 hit and 2 BB's. I loved that visit from Foxhall to Fristoe after he allowed his first two to reach base. He calmed him down and got his mind right and Fristoe was off and running. Foxhall is going to have to coach these guys more than he did a Landon Sims who pretty much anyone in the stands could bring him in and let him strike everyone out. He's a unicorn though. We need Fristoe and Tepper to be confident because of our pitching staff situation. Having them try to get out of Cam Tullar's jam that he created isn't the best way to do that. Also, I thought Brandon Smith pitched well and Drew Talley is going to get a pass from me because he did his job and got screwed. I don't know if that umpire had something against Lemonis but he called the first five innings unequally to put it bluntly. Not sure if he just wanted to throw someone out, had a bad day, filled up his car with gas, or didn't get a refund on his taxes but my impression was he was looking to throw someone out on our side. Well, when he and Tweedledumb at first base both missed an easy call on a check swing after Talley did his job to strike the guy out...well sometimes you have to do what you gotta do. And Lemonis did that. Cohen will probably eat the fine because that was egregious. The strike zone seemed to change after that and we outplayed them from that point on. Anyway- I think Talley and Smith can help us out. And you know- one week after Lemonis is chewing Talley apart on the mound the next week he comes back and has his back. I could see where players would respect a coach like that. He'll tell you like it is but he also is going to be on your side if the umpire does a CB Bucknor impression.
Good to see Kam James and LoTan starting to heat up with the weather. Their home runs got us going- and I think shell shocked Memphis a little bit. And then the wheels fell off.
Memphis really should be a better program than they are. No reason for them to not be at least USM/Tulane level. But they don't care. It's kind of sad. We'll see who their next head coach is. Wouldn't surprise me if it's McNickle. They could probably do better. If Raffo keeps getting beat every night he might be their hitting coach next year.
We got Arkansas next. That's going to be tough because I'm sure we're going to be the World Series since they absolutely hate our ass. And by that I mean I'm not expecting them to drop foul balls. They're pissed we won a National Championship before them, they're pissed we have a better stadium, and they're pissed that we're from Mississippi. I'll be fine if we win one. They are last in the SEC in hitting so maybe our staff can pull one out. The good news is we should have Auger and Pico ready for Friday. Of course he'll throw Tullar. Hopefully with a very short leash. After this series we go back to Starkville for a couple of weeks in a row so we just have to weather this out and keep building our bullpen like we did tonight.